Preparation

Preparation for Passover in our homes tends to be very involved. Dishes used throughout the year are often put away, and special Pesach dishes take their place. Regular food supplies are discarded or locked away, and matzah replaces the bread we normally eat. Concerned over the economic strain Passover imposed, the Rabbis established an annual fundraising campaign, known as Maot Chitim, whose sole purpose is to help Jews celebrate Passover. This mitzvah has been taken very seriously throughout Jewish history and in Jewish communities around the world.

On the last night before Pesach begins, a house search for leavened products, called Bedikat Chametz, takes place. Every family member is given a lighted candle to carry around the house. (Perhaps a flashlight for the younger set!) And the search begins. Families have strategically placed ten pieces of chametz in easy-to-remember locations, and as chametz is found, it is swept with a feather onto a wooden spoon and into a paper bag to be burned or disposed of the next morning. The formula for this ritual is found in the Hagaddah (literally, “the telling”), our guide to the Seder