This year, erev Pesach falls on Shabbat. No need to panic. With proper planning, you’ll have the opportunity to come to the Seder well rested, relaxed, and to fulfill the mitzvot of the evening with more feeling and greater enthusiasm. Here are some of the important things to know about the day.
It is permitted to eat chametz Shabbat Morning until the proper halachic time noted on page 4 of the OU Guide to Passover, yet we still burn the chametz searched for on Thursday evening (April 10) early on Friday morning (April 11). This is done to avoid confusion in years when erev Pesach does not fall on Shabbat. Yet, Kol Chamira (a statement of nullification of chametz in our possession), which is normally said while actually burning the chametz, is not said on Friday, but rather on Shabbat morning (April 12) before the end of the fifth halachic hour of the day. It is permitted to eat chametz Shabbat Morning until the proper halachic time noted on page 4 of the OU Guide to Passover.
Remember, not all chametz will be burned on Friday morning. We will need, and are allowed to consume, chametz (challah) on Shabbat.
Other erev Pesach restrictions, such as omitting Mizmor l’Todah and Laminatzai’ach from shacharit; refraining from doing laundry and taking haircuts after chatzot (midday); and koshering pots and pans after chatzot are all still allowed since Friday is not erev Pesach.
This year the custom is for firstborn males to fast on Thursday. We move the fast from Friday to Thursday to avoid starting Shabbat while fasting. Bedikat Chametz (the search for chametz), as mentioned above, is performed Thursday evening with a beracha. If it is too difficult to fast until after Bedikat Chametz, it is permissible to snack before beginning the bedikah.
As in any other year, firstborn males may participate in a siyum on Thursday, which would exempt them from fasting altogether. According to the Yalkut Yosef Moadim, (in the section on Taanit Bechorot 19), the rule for Sephardim is that this year a father is not required to attend a siyum on behalf of his firstborn son if the son is still a minor. It is preferable that Seder preparations (the shank bone, charoset, maror, roasted egg, saltwater and checking the romaine lettuce) be completed on Friday, since it is prohibited to prepare on Shabbat for the next day (hachana). Even a nap on Shabbat might be considered hachana if one verbalizes that it is being taken with the intention of remaining alert and awake for the Seder.
While it would be permitted to prepare some Seder items on Saturday night, that would undoubtedly delay the start of the Seder. Since so much of the Seder focuses on educating children and their experience of the Seder with their families, it is important to start the Seder as soon as possible before children fall asleep.
According to the Vilna Gaon, horseradish should be grated immediately before the Seder so that it will be sharp. Others say it should be grated before Shabbat and stored in a sealed jar to maintain the sharpness as much as possible.
If you forgot to prepare horseradish before Shabbat and would need to grate on yom tov, the grating should preferably be done with a shinui (deviation, such as grating on a paper towel or turning the grater upside down). Romaine lettuce that requires checking for infestation should be checked before Shabbat, since it is a process that shouldn’t be rushed. It is important to drain and/or dry the lettuce very well, since water might accumulate in the storage container, and any parts of the lettuce that soak in water for more than twenty-four hours may not be used for maror. If a person needs to check lettuce on yom tov, the thrip cloth method should be avoided due to various halachic considerations regarding yom tov.
If salt water was not prepared in advance, it can be made on yom tov, though some recommend using a shinui by putting the water in the vessel before the salt. If charoset needs to be prepared before the Seder, the fruit may be diced on yom tov, but the nuts should be ground with a shinui such as crushing in a bag. No deviation is needed when adding the wine.
The shank bone and egg roasted on yom tov offer a unique set of restrictions. If roasted on yom tov, they must be eaten on that day of yom tov; and, since we refrain from eating roasted meat or chicken at the Seder, the shank bone that was prepared Saturday night must then be eaten at the Sunday daytime meal. While the egg can be eaten at the seder. In general, we may not prepare food on the first day of yom tov if the intention is to consume it on the second day or after yom tov; therefore, all Seder foods should either be prepared before Shabbat or on each Seder night and consumed that night or, for the shank bone, at the following luncheon meal.
It is permitted and expected that challah and possibly chametz foods will be eaten both on Friday night and at the early start of the Shabbat day meal. Most will prepare kosher for Pesach foods and eat on Pesach dishware with the challah being the outstanding chametz.
The challah should be cut and eaten over disposable napkins or paper towels to separate it from the Pesach food and dishes. It is recommended to wash your hands and rinse your mouth after eating the challah and commencing with the meal on Pesach dishes. Crumbs from the challah, dishes, table, or floor should be swept up and flushed down the toilet before the end of the fifth hour on Shabbat morning.
Remember to clean the broom of crumbs afterward. Sephardic communities traditionally recite haMotzi on water challah throughout the year, which can result in significant crumbs. Therefore, Sephardic poskim recommend using pita bread on Shabbat to avoid this issue.
Larger pieces of chametz may be broken into smaller pieces and flushed as well. Alternatively, large pieces of chametz may be placed in outdoor garbage pails, provided there is an eruv, but the chametz must be rendered inedible by pouring bleach or ammonia over the entire surface of the chametz. These fluids must be designated for that use before Shabbat. Otherwise, they would be muktzah.
It is permitted to brush your teeth with a dry toothbrush that was designated for Shabbat use to rid your mouth of chametz.
If you are hesitant to introduce challah into your kosher for Pesach home, you can use kosher for Pesach egg matzah for lechem mishnah. Ordinarily, the bracha for egg matzah is Borei minei mezonot. However, Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, writes (Igros Moshe) that if egg matzah is used for lechem mishnah for a Shabbat meal, the bracha is hamotzi.
It’s important to eat at least a k’baitza (a little more than two ounces) of egg matzah, in addition to other foods that will be served at the meal, to substantiate the meal and justify the hamotzi. However, for Ashkenazim, the egg matzah—like challah—can only be eaten during the time frame that chametz can be consumed. According to the opinion of the Chazon Ovadia (Laws of Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbat, footnote 11), the rule for Sephardim is that you would be required to consume four baitzim (approximately six ounces) in order to say hamotzi. However, due to the difficulty of this requirement, it is not recommended.
Now that we’ve covered the before, and most of the during, of this most unique Shabbat, how do we end it? Can we eat a proper seuda shelishit? If so, how?
Most Poskim say that seuda shelishit should be eaten throughout the year after midday, and some maintain that bread must be eaten at the meal.Under normal circumstances, on a regular Shabbat, we can eat seuda shelishit on Shabbat afternoon following mincha using lechem mishnah bread, as we do at the other meals on Shabbat. That fulfills the mitzvah of Shabbat’s third meal in the best possible way – satisfying both requirements of eating bread and eating it after chatzot (midday). Alas, this is not possible when Shabbat occurs on erev Pesach when we; 1) are not permitted to eat chametz — bread or egg matzah beyond four hours into the day, and 2) cannot eat regular matzah at all the entire day.
To fulfill the requirement for the seuda shelishit meal this year, one should eat fish, meat, or cooked fruits and vegetables.
Since there are opinions that seuda shelishit can be fulfilled earlier in the day, many will also divide the morning meal into two parts. We can recite Kiddush and haMotzi, eat one course and then recite Birkat Hamazon. After a break of one-half hour, we can wash again, say haMotzi, eat the rest of the meal and then recite Birkat Hamazon. Once again being mindful that the challah or egg matzah that would be used for lechem mishnah is consumed before the fourth hour.
Sephardic customs provided by Rabbi Rachamim Churba, Rabbi of Homecrest Congregation
