Holiday Observances

Pesach - BHT Virtual Community Seder, Thursday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m.

Please let Rabbi Feingold know if you plan to attend so that she can send you a Zoom invitation. 

Prepare your own Seder plate and dinner. 

Go to CCAR Press to get your own on-line version of the Haggadah we will use for free. 

Seventh Day Pesach/Yizkor services, Wednesday, April 15 at 10:30 a.m. 
Streamed to your computer or phone or tablet.

Pesach Rituals 
Editor’s note- Passover is just around the corner. Here is some information to guide your home celebrations. 

The Mitzvah of Removing Leaven (Chametz) 
To remove leaven from one’s home prior to the beginning of Pesach is a mitzvah. Leaven refers to products made from wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt which have been permitted to leaven. Ashkenazi custom adds rice, millet, corn and legumes (like peas, beans, etc.) to the list of items considered to be chametz. The removal of leaven is based on the Biblical injunction found in Exodus 12:15, “On the very first day, you shall remove leaven from your house.” If one does not actually remove all the leaven from one’s home, one should place it in a closet or cabinet appropriately marked so that it will not be used during Pesach. 

Searching for the leaven (bedikat chametz) on the night before the first Seder is a Pesach custom that has special appeal for children. After the house has been cleaned for Pesach, a symbolic search for the last remains of leaven is made. At various places in the home, pieces of leaven are hidden. The children, with flashlights or other illumination, search them out in the dark. The bread is gathered in a bag and burned or disposed of the next morning with the following blessing. 

Ba-ruch a-ta, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tsi-va- nu al bi-ur-cha-mets. 
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who hallows us with mitzvot and commands us to burn Chametz. 

Since leaven has been removed, one should not eat bread after breakfast on the day before the Seder. To heighten the appetite for matzah at the Seder itself, matzah is not eaten for at least a full day before the Seder. 

The Mitzvah of Abstaining from Eating Leaven (Chametz) 
To abstain from eating leaven (chametz) during the entire seven days of Pesach is also a mitzvah. As the Torah states, “You shall eat nothing leavened...” (Exodus 12:20). Among Reform Jews, abstaining from leaven may take many forms: from not eating those foods which obviously contain leaven, such as bread or cake, to the more stringent avoidance and examination of all ingredients in a particular foodstuff. 

By consciously making a choice to abstain during the whole week of Pesach, one is constantly aware of the Festival and one’s identity as a Jew. 

Got Chametz?
Please consider donating unopened chametz. Food can be dropped off at the Shalom Center -Food Pantry entrance at the back of the building (4314 39th Ave) Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. or on weekends at the INNS entrance 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Food can also be taken to Grace Lutheran Church, 2006 60th Street, Tuesday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m.

Shavuot

Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m.  - Shavuot Service and Study Session

Friday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m.  - Shavuot Yizkor services