Erev Pesach: The Day Before Passover
The 24 hours preceding Passover, the culmination of weeks of scrubbing and cleaning and preparation, is the final transition from our ordinary chametz lives to Passover. From nightfall of the day before until sunset of this day, there are many observances and practices that are guided by specific times. The basic schedule is presented in the articles below; see our Passover calendar for exact times for your location.
On the night before Passover, we conduct a “search and destroy” mission to find any remaining chametz. The search is traditionally conducted with a beeswax candle, feather, wooden spoon, and a paper bag...
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To express their gratitude for being spared from the Plague of the Firstborn, all firstborn males fast on the day before Passover...
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Use this online form to sell your chametz for Passover.
Any chametz left undisposed must be sold to a non-Jew. Use this online form to quickly delegate a rabbi to sell your chametz for you.
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On the morning before Passover, before the fifth hour, we burn all the chametz that was found during the search, and anything that was left over from breakfast...
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So much of Passover depends on the clock: When we burn and sell our chametz, when we stop eating chametz, when we light candles, and more. Each of these times differs according to the location we're in...
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Guidelines for Passover when it begins on Saturday night
Approximately once every nine years, Passover begins on Saturday night, bringing with it a number of unique laws and guidelines. Let’s address them chronologically.
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Join the Discussion
In the Scriptures, it says the 14th day is the Feast of Passover, but on most Jewish Websites it says Passover is on the 15th day, can someone please explain this part.
The first seder is on the eve of the 15th as Biblically mandated and as established according to the Jewish calendar. The Passover offering was brought on the afternoon of the 14th, but the Seder was held and the holiday of Passover began, on the 15th which is why the Seder is then.
This doesn't seem correct. The Passover lamb was killed "at even" on the 14th. Was this the beginning of the 14th or at the end of the 14th? The death angel passed over Egypt at midnight on Passover night (hence the name of the day). So, the lamb must have been killed and eaten at even at the beginning of the 14th, not as the day was ending. All of the Israelites had to remain in their houses all night. The next day, during the daylight portion of the 14th, the Israelites plundered the Egyptians and prepared to leave. They left Egypt at nightfall, at the beginning of the 15th. This was the "night to be much observed." This observance was not the same night as Passover, which has its own separate observance the night before. This was the evening at the start of the First Day of Unleavened Bread.
Is chametz leavened bread. I am just learning.
Chametz is leavened bread and any other leavened product.
B"H Thank you! I found everything I needed!
Passover Why do we do this? If we don’t, what will happen?
We observe Passover because we are commanded to do so in Torah. Like everything else we do as Jews, it is based on our desire to fulfill G-d's will.
Zmanim pre-Seder It took me a long time to find what I was looking for on your site: the zmanim for the day before Seder: when the last time is for eating and burning chametz, etc. Please, next year make this more prominent and label it clearly so that we frantic housewives can find it immediately! Thank you, and Chag Kasher v'Semach.
Add a comment...git yom tiv, js
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Why do we stop eating Chametz before Passover actually starts?
The Passover offering was brought from around midday on the 14th, before Passover actually starts. The Passover offering is supposed to be brought when there is already no more chametz. As the verse states (Deuteronomy 16:3) "do not eat any Chametz with it". See Mishneh Torah Laws of Leavened and Unleavened Bread 1:8.