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Shopping for Passover
While shopping for Passover we must be
careful that the foods we buy are not only kosher but are also kosher
for Passover -- that is, completely chometz-free.
In addition to 'raw ingredients', there
are many kosher for Passover package foods available. However, be
careful to purchase only those packages foods that display the insignia
of the reliable supervising agency, to together with the P or "Kosher
for Passover [also see:
Kosher Symbols]
Obviously , all leavened foods -- such
as bread and cake -- made from wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt are
actually chometz and are prohibited on Passover. Example are
breakfast cereals, licorice, most candy bars, pasta, vinegar, beer, and
whiskey.
The Search for Chometz:
On the evening of April 21 we search
our homes for chometz.
Consult a Siddur for details.
Bedikat Chametz Kits
Burning the Chometz:
On the morning of April 22, we burn the
chometz that was found during the search and all other chometz that is
not stored away to either be sold to a non-Jew or eaten on Friday or
Saturday morning..
How to Sell the Chometz
Since we can't own chometz on Passover,
we need to sell -- before the time indicated on the calendar -- to a
non-Jew all chometz that we will not consume or destroy before Passover.
This is not a simple transaction. That is why we empower a
competent Rabbi to do it for us.
The Shabbat Before Passover
Since this year the eve of Passover is
on the Shabbat, we do the following:
- We make our home kosher for Passover
by Friday afternoon, April 22.
- We prepare food for Shabbat using
only kosher-for-Passover pots, pans and other utensils and only
kosher-for Passover foods.
The only chometz we keep for this
Shabbat is a small amount of bread and cake, which we keep completely
separated from everything else in our home. Each time we eat this
chometz, we afterwards wash our hands and mouths. We are careful
to not let any of this chometz, even crumbs, fall onto our
kosher-for-Passover foods, utensils or home.
On Shabbat morning, Saturday April 23,
we eat chometz only until the time indicated on the calendar.
After that time we may eat only foods which are kosher for Passover.
However, we do not eat matzah until the Seder. All crumbs of bread
and other chometz left-over we flush down the toilet before the time
indacted on the Calendar.
Nissan 15-16 The Seder Nights
The first two nights of Passover, we
conduct a
Seder -- a festive yet solemn event. At a table royally set
with our best crystal and silver and the finest of kosher wines, we
re-enact the Exodus from Egytp in ancient times. We also
pray for the forthcoming redemption and speedily in our days.
At the
Seder, each person considers himself as if he was going out of
Egypt. We are with our people as they descend into exile and
suffer cruel oppression. We are with them when G-d sends the
ten plagues to punish Pharaoh and his nation, with them as they
Egypt and with them at the crossing of the Reed Sea.
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