Passover: The Festival of Freedom
Find the Rabbinical Assembly Pesach Guide Here
We are excited to welcome you to our annual CBI Community Second Night Seder. All are welcome from birth to 120. REGISTER HERE The seder is offered at cost. Sponsorships are very much appreciated. Please contact me if the cost is a burden. No one in our community will be turned away WITH ADVANCED NOTICE!
Passover 2025/5785 will be a meaningful time for all of us. We look forward to seeing you at our annual second night Passover Seder.
This year we know that many still remain displaced due to the hurricanes. CBI would like to help match hosts and guests for the first night seder. On this attached form, please share how many guests you can welcome OR how many seats you need at the Seder. Hosts and guests, please let us know if you keep kosher. We do not want to send someone to a kosher-style seder if they cannot eat there! We hope this initiative will help ameliorate some of the harm from this crazy year and allow our community to better come together.
The central narrative of the Haggadah and of Passover is twofold: our journey from slavery to freedom and our journey from idolatry to serving HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Holy One. While I truly love the song Dayenu, it would not have been enough for us to stop at any point of our journey. We needed not only to escape Egypt, but to receive the Torah and to live as Jews.
Transforming our kitchens, adapting our diets, and celebrating Passover lifts our spirits. Passover prep should not be slavery, yet when we sit down for the Seder we should feel truly free!
Join me for my birthday, April 3 at 7PM for a Jews and Brews: Passover Edition and April 4th at noon for Lunch and Learn with the Rabbi: Passover Edition. We will discuss the spiritual, physical and logistical aspects of Pesach. All are welcome in person. Additionally, my “sermon” on Shabbat HaGadol, April 12th, will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions about Pesach that you wish.
Since we are forbidden to OWN chametz, you may appoint me as your agent to sell your chametz using our online Sale of Chametz Form. I must receive your completed form by Friday April 11th at 8:30AM. (Assuming the buyer does not want your chametz back, you may unlock the chametz cabinet at 9 pm on Sunday April 20th, following your Havdalah at 8:45 pm.)
Thursday April 10th is the Fast of the Firstborn. We will be having a Shacharit service at 8:00 am in person and on zoom, followed by an in-person seudat mitzvah breaking the fast following services, generously sponsored by Beth Ann and Joan Redisch. With Shabbat, things get a little complicated. Shabbat morning the 12th you will want to stop eating chametz by 11:00 am and destroy it by 12:15 pm. Since burning on Shabbat is not permitted, throwing it in the trash is an acceptable way of destroying chametz. If you want to be extra sure, you can sprinkle a little kitchen cleaner on top to ensure it is totally inedible.
As we gather again this year, let us find inspiration from one another and our beautiful traditions. Let this be a year of blessing and health for us all.
With love,
Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Rabbi Weintraub's Tips for Passover:
Based on updated guidelines from The Rabbinical Assembly, most things haven't really changed. We needn't add unnecessary prohibitions.
-
Sell your Chametz - here's our online form.
-
Clean your home as best you are able.
-
Do some Passover shopping in your pantry. What you already have may be acceptable.
-
Matzah is ONLY required at the seder. You do not NEED to eat it the rest of the week.
-
Focus on what is meaningful to your family. Consider adding an additional item to your Seder plate that reflects how your family is responding to our current plague.
-
Take time to be mindful if even for a few moments. What "emotional-Chametz" is on your heart?
The Rabbinical Assembly's Pesah Guides:
If you have a question regarding these guides, please contact Rabbi Weintraub for further guidance.
- Rabbinic Assembly Virtual Seder
- Electronic Seder Guidelines
- 5785 Pesah Guide
- Special Passover Recommendations Regarding Supply Issues
- Passover Preparation
- Kashrut Recommendations for Pesah
Additional Resources
- Many organizations have created Seder supplements depending on your interests and desires.
- JTS has videos and articles about Passover: https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/passover-learning/
- Exploring Judaism, the online home of Conservative/Masorti Judaism has a number of helpful articles: https://www.exploringjudaism.org/holidays/passover/
- You can order a Passover toolkit from the JDC: https://www.jdcentwine.org/reordered/
- They also have Seder supplements regarding Ukrainian Jews:
- https://www.jdc.org/passover/
- HIAS (formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) has an entire Haggadah, as well as additional readings. https://hias.org/passover/
- The American Jewish World Service offers a haggadah and readings: https://hias.org/passover/
- The Religious Action Center offers some: https://rac.org/pesach-reading-inserts
Passover Songs with Hazzan Schultz
Hosting Passover for the First Time?
Are you now the youngest (and maybe the only) person in your home? Haven't had to sing the Four Questions in a few years or want to help your children learn? Learn Ma Nishtana and other Passover songs with Hazzan Schultz on our YouTube Channel.
