The holiday of Pesach commemorates the Israelites’ salvation from bondage in Egypt. Pesach is also one of the Shalosh Regalim, the three biblical agricultural festivals on which the Israelites made aliyah laregel/pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.

HOLIDAY PREPARATION: 

Members of the DN community who are interested in being hosted for Pesach Seders please reach out to hospitality@dnoam.org so that we can connect you to those who are excited to hosts guests for Seder. 

Kosher for Passover Foods Each year the OU puts out a Pesach guide with relevant information. This year’s guide can be accessed here:
OU Guide to Passover - 2025
CRC Pesach Guide - 2025
Star-K Pesach Guide - 2025

Selling Personal Chametz - On Pesach we eat matzah rather than leavened bread, to remember the hastily-made matzah the Israelites ate on their way out of Egypt when their bread didn’t have time to rise. Not only do we not EAT chametz, but we don’t OWN chametz, either. Many people have a custom to sell their chametz to a non-Jew, who usually agrees to sell it back after Pesach ends.

As we have done in the past DN has arranged for the sale of your personal Chametz. Please fill out the 2025 Chametz Sale Form NO LATER THAN THURSDAY APRIL 10 AT NOON!

Ma’ot Chitim, literally “Money for Wheat,” refers to the tzedakah we give to fulfill our communal obligation to provide the poor among us with matzah and other items necessary to observe Pesach. If you would like to make a donation for Maot Chitim, we suggest Tomchei Shabbat of Manhattan.

Bedikat Chametz is a formal search for chametz in our homes that we remove before Pesach begins. Many have the custom to hide ten pieces of bread around their home to find during the search. Many have the tradition to search by candlelight or flashlight and to use a wooden spoon and feather to gather the found chametz to dispose of the next morning.the search for chametz, is usually performed the night before Pesach.

This year, since Erev Pesach falls out on Shabbat, we perform Bedikat Chametz on Thursday night 4/12 not before 7:59 PM.

• Before the search, we recite the bracha:
  בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֶינוּ מֶ֫לֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִרְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָ֫נוּ עַל בִּעוּר חָמֵץ.
  
  Baruch Atta, Adonai, Eloheinu, Melech Ha’olam, asher kiddeshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al bi’ur chametz.
  
  Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who sanctified us through mitzvot, and commanded us concerning the removal of chametz.
• After the search, we recite the following:
  כָּל־חֲמִירָא וַחֲמִיעָא דְּאִכָּא בִרְשׁוּתִי דְּלָא חֲמִתֵּהּ וּדְלָא בִעַרְתֵּהּ וּדְלָא יְדַעְנָא לֵהּ לִבָּטֵל וְלֶהֱוֵי הֶפְקֵר כְּעַפְרָא דְאַרְעָא
  
  Kol chamira vachami’a de’ikka virshuti, dela chamitteih udela vi’arteih udela yeda’na leih, libbateil velehevei hefker ke’afra de’ar’a. 
  
  All chametz in my possession which I have not seen or removed, or about which I am unaware, is hereby nullified and ownerless as the dust of the earth.

Meals on Shabbat Erev Pesach

• On Shabbat morning, chametz may not be eaten after  10:56 AM. Therefore, the second Shabbat meal (what is usually lunch) should be eaten before this time. 
  
  Darkhei Noam will be taking a break between Torah reading and Musaf to make kiddush and hamotzi at approximately 10:00 AM
• All chametz should be disposed of before 11:59 AM. On Shabbat this is achieved by flushing crumbs down the toilet or throwing chametz down a garbage chute. Kol chamira is recited at this time (see text above). 
• Any meals eaten after this time should not consist of either chametz nor matzah.

Havdalah for Saturday 4/12 (before the seder)

When Shabbat ends, we recite “Vatodi’einu” during ma’ariv or “Baruch haMavdil bein Kodesh leKodesh,” after which time we light Pesach candles (from an existing flame) and can start preparing for the seder. Havdalah is not made separately; it is inserted into kiddush during the Kaddesh portion of the first seder.

CHAG KASHER V’SAMEACH
A ZISSEN PESACH