the holiday of Pesach
20
votes
3answers
326 views
Must a jew-by-choice who is a firstborn observe the fast of the firstborn
I'm interested in the question of whether a ger who is firstborn (of both parents, say, to keep things simple) must follow the rules for Ta'anit B'khorot. There are some remarks on the wikipedia page, ...
19
votes
2answers
173 views
Matza on 14 Iyar
I have seen a custom (it seems to me primarily among Chassidim) to eat matza on 14 Iyar (known as Pesach Sheni). What is the earliest source for this custom? What are the reasons given for following ...
12
votes
2answers
186 views
Why does one need to kasher burners on a stove for passover?
I don't use separate burners for milk and meat during the year, nor do I think there's any reason to do that. So why the need to kasher burners before passover?
11
votes
4answers
200 views
Pesach Sheni when Moshiach has just come
Suppose Moshiach arrives between Pesach and Pesach Sheni - would we bring a Korban Pesach on Pesach Sheni as we did not bring one for Pesach or was there no Chiyuv in the first place and we would not ...
11
votes
3answers
202 views
What happens if the non-Jew the chometz was sold to dies?
I can't imagine it has never come up before:
Someone sells their chometz before Pesach to a non-Jew. On Pesach the non-Jew dies. What happens now?
11
votes
0answers
191 views
Source for the minhag of 'gebrokts' [duplicate]
There is a not-uncommon minhag, primarily in chassidic circles called 'gebrokts' where matza is not allowed to come into contact with water during Pesach. What is the earliest source for this custom ...
10
votes
4answers
127 views
Why is there Pesach Sheini - The Second Passover?
What is the primary/basic reason why one has a second chance to bring the Korban Pesach (Passover Sacrifice) on Pesach Sheni (a month after Passover)? Other mitzvos, such as hearing the shofar or ...
10
votes
2answers
272 views
Why do we think of the korban pesach as a sheep, not as a goat?
Ask many a grade-schooler (and many an adult, for that matter) what animal the korban pesach is, and he'll tell you "a sheep".[1]
In fact, it can be a sheep or a goat. (It's explicit in chumash ...
10
votes
2answers
119 views
Why do we call the Festival of Matzos “Passover”?
Today we observe what we call "Passover" or "Pesach" beginning on the evening of the 15th of Nisan, and then for seven days in Israel and eight days elsewhere. But the Torah, at Lev. 23:5 and Exodus ...
10
votes
1answer
272 views
Koshering granite
I have been told that a granite counter top is similar to glass in that it is not porous and does not absorb taste from food that touches it.
Is there a source in halacha for this concept? What other ...
10
votes
1answer
150 views
What can I feed my elderly cat during Pesach?
I have a 19-year-old cat who is (now) on a low-protein diet, precluding the canonical week of tuna. Is there someplace I can buy chametz-free, low-protein food? Are there any consequences (for me) ...
10
votes
3answers
140 views
Hamster Food and Chometz
I have hamsters at home, and their usual food is chometz. I can feed them with cornflakes and other kitniyot for a short period (about a week, maybe more), but not for a long time. Hamsters store food ...
9
votes
5answers
240 views
Is there anywhere that you can get round machine Matzos?
Hand Matzos always seem to be round, yet machine Matzohs seem to be square. Is there any company anywhere that produces round machine Matzos? Why not?
9
votes
2answers
203 views
Source for not eating Matzah prior to פסח?
Thanks to this question I am compelled to ask:
What is the source for not eating Matzah prior to פסח?
Is there a source for not eating it for 30 days prior?
9
votes
4answers
405 views
If the last day of Passover is Friday, may I eat chametz on the Shabbat right after?
This year, 5772, the last day of Pesach in Israel is on Friday. Is there any possible way that one could contrive to eat chometz on the shabbos immediately following Pesach?
9
votes
3answers
234 views
What were the 300 plagues of the Exodus?
The הגדה says:
במצרים לקו חמשים מכות, ועל הים לקו חמשים ומאתים מכות
In Egypt, they were struck with 50 plagues, and by the Sea [of Reeds], they were struck with 250 plagues
What were ...
9
votes
4answers
339 views
Quinoa Kitniyos status
Is Quinoa Kitniyos I know it is currently a machlokes can you name the sides and what is the reasoning
8
votes
2answers
138 views
Why don't some people say Vihi Noam Motzei Shabbos of Shabbos Hagadol 5772?
Regarding saying Vihi Noam on Motzei Shabbos Shabbos Hagadol which falls out a week before Pesach (The first night of Pesach is on Friday Night) Luach Kollel Chabad writes:
On Saturday night, we ...
8
votes
1answer
137 views
Origin of Haggadah Section Titles (Kadesh Urchatz, etc.)
What is the historical origin of the section titles of the Haggadah?
(Inspired by discussion in comments on this answer to the question: Translation of haggadah section titles)
8
votes
3answers
289 views
Nozir and four cups of wine
How can a nozir fulfill the mitzvah of drinking four cups of wine at the passover seder?
p.s. It is not a riddle. My son asked me this question, and I don't know what to answer him.
8
votes
2answers
135 views
Matzah eruvin on erev Pesach
An eruv allows Jews to carry within a semi-public space on Shabbat. The space must be bounded by walls and must meet several detailed requirements. The eruv must consist of food for a meal for the ...
7
votes
6answers
509 views
Custom to refrain from eating meat at the Pesach Seder?
I recently heard from two separate people about a custom not to eat any meat at the Seder (i.e. only fish and chicken are eaten). This was surprising to me, as the minhag mentioned in the Mishnah, ...
7
votes
2answers
165 views
Why do many (most?) people call the upcoming holiday “Peysach”?
In some Ashkenazic dialects, lots of words in which the first syllable is accented and the vowel is segol are pronounced as though they had a tzeirei. Examples include "meylech," "tzeydek," and ...
7
votes
1answer
448 views
18 minute Matzah?
Are there sources EXPLAINING why we have to make matzah within 18 minutes? I understand having a time limit if in fact the reason we eat matzah is to reenact the speed which we left Egypt (that ...
6
votes
4answers
369 views
tap water on Pesach
The New Croton Reservoir supplies much of New York City's tap water, and people are allowed to — and do — go out on boats and fish. I'd venture a guess that almost every Saturday and Sunday, a piece ...
6
votes
6answers
371 views
Bedikas Chometz - 10 pieces of bread
In Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 432:2 the Rama says that the Minhag is to place bread in such a place that the searcher can find it. Both the Be'er Hataiv and the Mishna Berura say that according to the ...
6
votes
4answers
288 views
Peeling vegetables on Pesach
It is a minhag in Chabad to only eat vegetables that you can peel on Pesach. There is a possibility that either the wax coating on certain vegetables contains chometz or that certain processing of the ...
6
votes
2answers
131 views
Why isn't Ta'anit Bechorot pushed back to Thursday when Pesach falls out on Shabbas?
When the first Seder falls on Motzei Shabbas, Ta'anit Bechorot is pushed back to Thursday. Why does it stay on Friday when Pesach falls out on Shabbas?
6
votes
2answers
130 views
Are males with older sisters “firstborn” for the purposes of the Fast of the Firstborn?
Assuming you follow the tradition that only first-born males are obligated to fast the day before Passover, do the males who have an older sister count as first-born or not?
Wikipedia doesn't seem to ...
6
votes
2answers
185 views
The Passover and Yeast
What are the regulations concerning the passover ceremony and the use of yeast in bread? Is eating bread made without yeast significant and meant to represent anything in particular?
Does this ...
6
votes
5answers
155 views
Shabbos Hagadol
Why is the Shabbos before Pesach called Shabbos HaGadol? Please contribute as many answers as possible.
6
votes
6answers
223 views
6
votes
3answers
276 views
No Dairy on Pesach
Someone told me that there is a Minhag (by some) not to eat dairy the entire Pesach. I was wondering what the reason is?
6
votes
3answers
139 views
Bedikas Chometz - why use a wooden spoon?
The common custom that I am aware of is that a Bedikas Chometz set has a wooden spoon. Why do we use a wood spoon by Bedikas Chometz?
6
votes
2answers
114 views
Does it matter through whom you sell your chometz?
I have seen online forms and received emails from many far-flung places offering to sell my chometz for me. I also have a competent Rabbi in my local shul who is willing to do it. No two of these ...
6
votes
1answer
106 views
Why are there different phrasings of Korban Pesach accompaniments?
In Parshas Bo (Exodus 12:8) it says about the Korban Pesach:
וְאָכְלוּ אֶת-הַבָּשָׂר, בַּלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה: צְלִי-אֵשׁ וּמַצּוֹת, עַל-מְרֹרִים יֹאכְלֻהוּ.
And they shall eat the flesh in that ...
6
votes
1answer
121 views
Why celebrate Lag Ba'Omer on the 33rd according to the MaHaRIL?
There are several different opinions about when the students of Rabbi Akiva died, and which days we mourn for them.
Sefer HaToda'ah quotes the Maharil, who says that the students of Rabbi Akiva died ...
6
votes
1answer
178 views
Custom of not eating by other people on Pesach
There is a custom that many have to not eat by other peoples houses on Pesach. Seemingly it's even if they have the same chumras or perhaps even more chumras (what I've learned over time is not ...
6
votes
2answers
120 views
What is the preferable form of Biur Chametz?
While burning the chametz is clearly the most popular, it is really not the only solution to disposing of it right before Pesach.
Other solutions I remember learning about are scattering it in the ...
5
votes
5answers
316 views
Chabad custom of not allowing water to touch matzah on Pesach
What is the origin of this custom? This must be fairly recent and "Lubavitch-specific", because my grandparents, who were very observant, always had matzah ball soup and fried matzah with eggs for ...
5
votes
5answers
186 views
How do you pick a Hagada to use at the Seder?
There are hundreds or thousands of
editions
of the Hagada available. How do you choose which one is best to use at the Seder?
5
votes
4answers
691 views
Wearing a Kittel at the Seder
I grew up with my father wearing a Kittel at the Seder. My father wore a Kittel at the Seder immediately from when he got married. Over the years I have heard that some people do not wear a Kittel the ...
5
votes
2answers
192 views
Where's Piece Number 10?
What does one do if he/she lost one of the 10 pieces of Bread and can't find it?
(Don't worry, just curious)
5
votes
2answers
216 views
Can an immersion heater be used to kasher a sink? Does anyone have experience with this?
Normally, to "kasher" or "kosherize" a metal sink (from non-kosher to kosher, or before Passover), you clean it out well, make sure it's used for nothing hot for 24 hours, then pour boiling water all ...
5
votes
1answer
168 views
Can you eat the Beitza at the Seder?
The Halacha is not to eat roasted meat at the Seder, therfore you can not eat the Zeroa at the Seder. Can you eat the roasted egg (Beitza) at the Seder? (sources)
5
votes
6answers
544 views
Why do we link Shabbat with the Exodus from Egypt?
My four-year-old son asked me this right after Kiddush on Friday night (more or less verbatim):
Why do you say "Mitzrayim" in Kiddush every week? "Mitzrayim" is a Pesach word!
In other words, ...
5
votes
1answer
136 views
Can I have kitniot in my house on Pesach if I cannot eat them?
The question boils down to:
Can I have kitniot in my house on Pesach if I cannot eat them (in the Ashkenazic tradition)?
5
votes
2answers
269 views
Why do the laws of kitniyot still apply today to Ashkenazi Jews on Passover?
How did the tradition start?
Why is it still around today?
What is the basis for this Halacha (הלכה)?
5
votes
2answers
147 views
Preparing the Beitzah for the Seder Plate
What is the appropriate way to prepare the Beitzah for the Seder Plate?
5
votes
2answers
92 views
Are coupons for Chometz - Chometz?
Are coupons for items which are chometz, chometz themselves? Do they have a status of chometz, or can they be dealt with on Pesach?
For example: Can one acquire coupons for grain cereals on Pesach ...
