Pesach
This year, Pesach begins on Monday night, April 22 and continues until Teusday night, April 30.
Chabad hosts meaningful yet non-pressuring Seders for students on both Saturday night and Sunday night. No prior knowledge necessary. Just the desire to learn and experience the most important night in the Jewish calendar.
To RSVP for the undergrad Seders with the Lipskier family, click here .
To RSVP for the grad student Seders with the Rivkin family, click here.
Click here for a detailed Pesach calendar.
SEARCHING FOR CHAMETZ
We need to rid our homes of all Chametz (leavened material) before Pesach. There is a Mitzvah to search for Chametz throughout your home and any other property you own, using a candle. The search should be conducted using a candle. To see all of the details click here.
SELLING YOUR CHAMETZ
Any Chametz that remains in your possession must be sold to a non-Jewish person before Friday morning. The tradition is to authorize a rabbi to sell your Chametz, and you can do that using this online form. Chametz that you are selling should be placed in a designated area, such as a box or a cabinet that will be closed throughout Pesach.
TIME TO STOP EATING CHAMETZ
According to Jewish law, you need to be stop eating your Chametz approximately four hours into the day (10:48 AM in NOLA 2023), and you need to burn your Chametz by no later than five hours into the day (11:54 AM in NOLA 2023).
SEDER NIGHTS
The two Seders are conducted on Friday night and Saturday night. It is very important to note that, according to Jewish law, you cannot begin Kiddush for your Seder until nightfall. So, if you are going to a Seder that starts at 7, or at 7:30, you need to make sure that they don't actually make Kiddush until nightfall - in NOLA this is 7:50 PM. (It will probably be later in other places.)
CHOL HAMOED
Starting with nightfall on Wednesday, it is still Pesach, but it is no longer Chag, which means that it is permissible to do things like drive a car, use a cell phone, etc. This period lasts until Sundown on Sunday.
THE LAST DAYS OF PESACH
On Thursday night, the seventh night of Pesach, the Chag period of Pesach resumes, and continues until nightfall on Saturday night. A very important thing to realize is that Pesach doesn't end until nightfall on Saturday night, so if you are planning to end your 8 day Chametz free period with a tall glass of vodka, you need to wait until nightfall on Saturday, don't blow it by just waiting until sundown, and ending an hour early!
Visit Chabad's award winning Pesach site. It is full of insights, stories, tips and wisdom to help make your Pesach meaningful.
