PASSOVER 5785 (2025) Bulletin

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schedule
All Holiday & Shabbat Services at Magain David

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​a printable version of the schedule

Checking of the Chametz - Thursday, April 10
Check for hametz and burn it after nightfall.

Shabbat Hagadol, Friday/Saturday April, 11/12
Shabbat Hagadol is the Shabbat immediately before Pessach where we have a special Torah and Haftarah reading.
It is also a shabbat where we traditionally discuss and announce a lot of the laws for Passover.
 
Friday Night, April 11, Candle Time: 7:24 pm
No Service Friday Night

Shacharit, April 12: 9:00am
Followed by a kiddush lunch (no chametz)

Erev Passover First Night  - Saturday, April 12
Candle lighting: 8:24 pm
Mincha/Arvit - 8:00 pm
followed by a Seder at 8:15 pm. RSVP HERE

Passover Day 1 - Sunday, April 13
Shacharit: 9am, followed by a kiddush lunch

Second Night - Sunday, April 13
Minha/Arvit: 8:00 pm - We start counting the Omer
Candle lighting: 8:25 pm
followed by a Seder at 8:15 pm. RSVP HERE

Passover Day 2 - Monday, April 14
Shacharit: 9am, followed by a kiddush lunch
Mincha following lunch
Yom Tov ends: 8:26 pm

Chol Hamoed - April 15 to April 18
Services will be on their weekday schedule with Anshey Sfard, starting at 7 am in the morning.

Seventh Night of Passover, Friday April 18
Candle lighting 7:30pm
No Service / Dinner

Seventh Day of Passover, Saturday April 19
Shacharit: 9:00am
followed by a kiddush lunch
Mincha following lunch
Candle lighting: 8:31 pm

Eighth Day of Passover, Sunday April 20
Shacharit: 9:00am
followed by a kiddush lunch
Mincha following lunch
Yom Tov ends: 8:32pm

We can eat the Hametz that we sold after we buy it back Sunday night after 9:15 pm

TA'aNIT B'CHORIM - Fast of the first born

This year, because Pesach starts at the end of shabbat, the fast will begin on Thursday April 10th at dawn instead of the day before Pesach.
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If a boy is too young to fast, his father should fast for his son. However a man can absolve himself from fasting by participating in Seudat Mitzvah: a Seudah for a Bar Mitzvah, Brit Milah and/or finishing a book from the Talmud.

Summary of the Main Laws of Pessah

Please note that this year (2025) the laws might be a bit different that the normal years, so some of the usual laws below might conflict with what we must do this year since Pesach starts at the end of Shabbat on April 12th at night. Please review the laws and message by Rabbi Benzaquen specially for 2025 by clicking here.
The following are by Rabbi Ezran (Z"L) and copied from previous bulletins

  1. The Shabbat before Pessah is called Shabat Hagadol – the Big Shabbat. This title is used to indicate that the Jewish people enjoyed complete freedom from the Egyptian enslavement a whole week before they actually left Egypt. The custom today is to dedicate Shabbat Hagadol to review the laws and the customs of the Holiday.
  2. Only five grains – Wheat, Barley, Spelt, Oat and Rye -become Hametz after they come in contact with water for more than 18 minutes and are not baked by then. The conclusion from this definition of Hametz is that rice, beans, corn, and garbanzo are not and cannot be Hametz. A person who does not eat those items on Pessah is following a custom- and only a custom- and not the Jewish law.
  3. To eliminate the possibility that a grain of wheat is in the rice we check the rice three times. Sometimes the rice is ‘coated’ with starch therefore we must rinse the rice several times before we use it in Pessah. If the family tradition is not to eat these items in Passover, a person should follow the family tradition.
  4. Medicine – In a life threatening illness a person is allowed to use any medicine that the doctor prescribes even if it does contain Hametz. If the illness is NOT life threatening a person can consume medicine that has hametz ingredients only if the medicine is not tasty and it is swallowed without chewing.
  5. Beauty Aids, including toothpaste, may be used in Pessah regardless of their ingredients if they were bought before Pessah. The same is correct for glue and shoe polishing materials.
  6. One is permitted to buy the following items BEFORE Pessah and use them during Pessah, even if they do not have a special Kasher LePessah symbol. 
    1. 100% pure orange juice, 100% pure apple juice, and 100% pure Kosher grape juice, so long they have no additional ingredients
    2. 100% pure corn oil
    3. 100% pure natural honey and pure natural jelly
    4. Cottage cheese without any additional ingredients.
    5. Milk 
  7. Hametz which is going to be consumed after Pessah should be sold to a Goy through a synagogue. The form of selling the Hametz is available on the main page and it should be sent to the synagogue as soon as possible.
  8. The time for checking Hametz is on the day before Erev Pessach (check schedule above) after nightfall. Ten pieces of bread wrapped with paper should be put in different corners of the house. Using the light of only one candle, a person recites the Beracha – Al Biur Hametz. After checking for Hametz throughout the house, the blessing “Kol Hamira Vahamia” is said.
  9. The ten wrapped pieces of bread and Hametz, which is left over, should be burnt not later than the morning before erev Pessach (check schedule above). After burning the Hametz –the blessing "Kol Hamira Vahamia" is recited.
  10. The last time to eat Hametz on the morning before Pessach (see schedule above). 
    A person is not allowed to eat or to enjoy Hametz in any way, like feeding it to a pet or selling it, after that time.
  11. A person who did not check for Hametz on the night before erev Pessach should check for it on the morning before erev Pessach. If they do not check before then it should be checked on the first possible opportunity during Pessah.
  12. If a person does not plan to be at his home during Pessah and he leaves his home less than thirty days before the Holiday, he should check for Hametz, with the ten pieces of wrapped bread and one candle, the night before he leaves. 
    However the blessing of Al Beur Hametz and Kol Hamira is not said. Kol Hamira should be recited on the eve of Pessah even if the person is not at his home.
  13. Maot Hitttim.  A sacred custom obligates each member of the community to contribute – according to his or her best ability – money for the poor for Pessah. This money is dedicated to answer their needs and to enable them to celebrate the holiday properly.
  14. The Sedarim are celebrated on the first and second nights of Pessah (see schedule above). A person should recline to his or her left side when eating the Haroseth, the Korech,  the Matzah after the blessing of Hamotzi, and when drinking the four cups of wine. Reclining emphasizes the fact of freedom on Pessah. We do not recline during the eating of the maror alone.
  15. Counting of the Omer will begin on the second night of Pessach.