Important: Times and Practices : Eve of Passover, Eruv Tavshilin ,and the first three days of Passover

Boruch Hashem

Dear Friends,
Passover is upon us!

Please find herein  all the crucial information for the eve of Passover
and the first three days of Passover. You will G-d willing, hear from me again after Shabbat.
This post will proceed in chronological order.

1. Wednesday 8AM: 
Siyum Bechorot online: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/925486070
Because we are not actually sharing a meal together - ideally, all first-borns should also "redeem their fast" by giving the value of their normal meals for a regular weekday to charity 

It is an ancient and widespread custom for the firstborn to fast on the day before Passover. This commemorates the miracle which spared the firstborn Jewish sons from the plague which struck down the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.

There is an additional reason why we fast specifically on the fourteenth. The firstborn of the Jews were saved in Egypt because they humbled themselves before G‑d, admitting and declaring that all greatness, power, and sovereignty are His alone.

This stood in contradistinction to the Egyptians who, filled with foolish pride and egotism, declared: "I am, and besides me there is none other."

This fast is treated leniently. Thus, if there is a festive meal held that is connected with a mitzvah, for example, the celebration of a circumcision or of a siyum (the completion of a tractate of the Talmud) the firstborn son participates in the meal rather than fasting.It is therefore customary to arrange for a siyum to take place in the synagogue after morning prayers on the fourteenth of Nissan. The firstborn sons who are present participate in this festive meal and, having broken their fast, may continue to eat for the rest of the day.

2. End -time for eating Chametz and the time by which unsold Chametz must be destroyed:

A) According to Jewish law, it is forbidden to eat chametz after the fourth halachic hour (in Greater Springfield, MA, for 2020, that is 10:40 AM on 14 Nissan, the morning before Passover).   

B) All chametz should be burned before the sixth hour (in Greater Springfield, MA for 2018 -that is- 11:46 AM on Wednesday, April 8th 14, Nissan, the morning before Passover) . From then until after Passover is over no Chametz may be owned or consumed. 

Please note that Chametz in your garbage cans is owned by you and presumed edible, so all Chametz refuse must be off your property by 11:46 AM on Wednesday 4/8/20.

C) The Reason: Why does the prohibition start before Passover begins? The Torah states: “You shall slaughter the Passover sacrifice to the L‑rd, your G‑d. . . . You shall not eat leaven with it.”Tradition interprets this to mean that the prohibition of chametz starts from the time when the Passover sacrifice could be offered: from midday of the 14th of Nissan.
3. Candle -lighting and Havdalah times for the first 3 days of Passover:
A) Wednesday Evening, 4/8 - Do the ERUV TAVSHILIN - see discussion below (Note I): Yom Tov candles should be lit 7:06 PM - they may be lit later, also
Seder Should begin no earlier than 7:26 PM
B) Thursday Morning 4/9  -Yom Tov Service with Hallel - Shema no later than 9:35 AM
C) Thursday Evening   4/9 - Candles should be lit no earlier than 8:07 PM
The Omer is counted, (see Note II below for more on this) but no earlier than 8:07 PM 
The 2nd Seder should begin after 8:07 PM
D) Friday Morning 4/10: Yom Tov Service with Hallel - Shema no later than 9:35 AM
E) Friday Evening 4/10 -Shabbat Chol Hamoed - Candle Lighting NO LATER THAN 7:08 PM
F) Shabbat Morning 4/11- Shabbat Service with all insertions for the Festival of Passover, Hallel, Passover Musaf - Shema no later than 9:35 AM
G) Shabbat Evening - Havdalah no earlier than 8:11 PM 

Important Seder Information
The Seder This year as per health advice concerning COVID19 -you should only share the Seder with those who are part of your household who you are in regular contact with anyway:
1. Seder Ingredients: Matzah, the “Food of Faith When our forefathers left Egypt, they were in such a hurry that there was no time to wait for the dough to rise. They therefore ate matzah, unleavened bread. With only this food (but with great faith), our ancestors relied on the Almighty to provide sustenance for the entire Jewish nation—men, women and children. Each year, to remember this, we eat matzah on the first two nights of Pesach, thereby fulfilling the Torah’s commandment, “Matzot shall you eat . . .” Matzah symbolizes faith. In contrast to leavened bread, matzah is not enriched with oil, honey or other substances. It consists only of flour and water, and is not allowed to rise. Similarly, the only “ingredients” for faith are humility and submission to G‑d, which come from recognizing our “nothingness” when compared with the infinite wisdom of the Creator.

1. One of the holiday’s primary obligations is to eat matzah during the Seder. It is preferable to use shmurah matzah to fulfill this commandment. Shmurah means “watched,” and it is an apt description of this matzah, the ingredients of which (the flour and water) are watched from the moment of harvesting and drawing. Also in the bakery itself, shmurah matzot are under strict supervision to avoid any possibility of leavening during the baking process. This intensive process and careful guarding gives the shmurah matzah an added infusion of faith and sanctity—in fact, as the matzah is being made, all those involved constantly repeat, “L’shem matzot mitzvah”—“We are doing this for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah.”Shmurah matzot are round, kneaded and shaped by hand, and are similar to the matzot that were baked by the Children of Israel as they left Egypt. It is thus fitting to use shmurah matzah on each of the two Seder nights for the matzot of the Seder plate. Please contact Rabbi Yaffe if you would like to order Shmurah through the Synagogue.

 

2. Matzah is eaten three times during the Seder:

1. After telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt (Maggid), washing our hands for bread (Rachtzah) and reciting the blessings (Motzi Matzah), 1¾ ounces of matzah are eaten. If this is difficult an ounce can be eaten.
2. For the sandwich (Korech), ¾ of an ounce of matzah is eaten.
3. For the afikoman at the end of the meal (Tzafun), a minimum of ¾ of an ounce (and ideally 1½ ounces) of matzah are eaten. In each instance, the matzah should be eaten within 7 minutes, 9 minutes if difficult. How much is one ounce of Matzah? Half a piece of shmurah matzah is generally one ounce.  If store-bought matzot are used, the weight of the box of matzot divided by the number of pieces shows how much matzah is the equivalent of one ounce.
4. Wine for the 4 cups: For each of the four cups at the Seder, it is preferable to use undiluted wine. However, if needed, the wine may be diluted with grape juice. (One who cannot drink wine may use grape juice alone.) It is preferable to drink the entire cup each time. However, it is sufficient to drink only the majority of each cup. How large a cup should be used? One that contains at least 4 fluid ounces. We drink the wine:
   1. At the conclusion of kiddush.
   2. After telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, before eating the matzah of Motzi Matzah.
   3. At the conclusion of the Grace After Meals.
   4. After reciting the Hallel.

Notes:
I. Eruv Tavshilin
BH
Please Remember to do the Eruv Tavshilin before sunset (7:20 PM) on Wednesday - Erev Pesach /Passover Eve 4/8/20  On Jewish holidays, within each 24-hour (night-day) holiday unit, we are permitted to make preparations for all of that unit, but we are forbidden to make any preparations for the following unit, which begins after nightfall.
The one exception is when a Friday holiday is followed seamlessly by Shabbat, in which case, cooking is permissible on Friday through a mechanism known as an eruv tavshilin, whereby the cooking process is begun prior to the holiday. If a holiday day -- whether the first or second day of a holiday -- falls on a Friday, an eruv tavshilin is set aside on the day preceding the holiday (Wednesday or Thursday afternoon), so that we will be permitted to prepare for Shabbat (cooking as well as any other necessary preparations) on the holiday. Only one eruv is required per household.
This eruv consists of a matzah, and a cooked food, such as meat, fish, or an unpeeled hard-boiled egg. Take the food items (it is a good idea to wrap them in aluminum foil, or another distinctive packaging, to easily keep them apart from the rest of the foods in your home), and give them to another person (if possible an individual who is a non-dependant), and say:

I hereby grant a share in this eruv to anyone who wishes to participate in it and to depend on it.
The one holding the food raises it a handbreadth, and then returns it to the person making the eruv, who then recites the following:

Blessed are you, L-rd our G‑d, king of the universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments, and commanded us concerning the mitzvah of eruv.
Through this [eruv] it shall be permissible for us to bake, cook, put away a dish [to preserve its heat], kindle a light, prepare, and do on the holiday all that is necessary for Shabbat -- for us and for all the Israelites who dwell in this city.
The eruv is put away until Shabbat, when it is eaten. In many communities, it is customary to use the  matzah as one of the two loaves used at the Shabbat meal.

Important notes:
The eruv tavshilin only allows food preparations if the food will be ready with ample time remaining before Shabbat; enough time to theoretically allow the food to be consumed before sunset (if a troop of guests happens to trudge in to your home). This is an imporant detail to bear in mind when preparing the cholent, which cooks on the stove until the following day.
The eruv tavshilin only allows one to cook on Friday for Shabbat, it does not permit cooking from one day of the holiday to the next (i.e. Thursday for Friday).
On holidays it is only permissible to cook from a pre-existent flame, one that is burning since the onset of the holiday.

II. Counting the Omer: (From the Book of Our Heritage by Eliyahu Kitov)

The Biblical Command to Count the Omer

The Torah writes: "And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day that you bring the omer [offering] that is raised, seven complete weeks there shall be until the morrow of the seventh week you shall count fifty days (Leviticus 23:15-16).

These verses command us to count seven weeks from the time that the omer, the new barley offering, was brought in the Temple, i.e., from the sixteenth of Nissan. We begin our count on the second night of Passover (the night of the second Seder in the Diaspora) and continue until Shavuot, which is the fiftieth day after the offering.

We actually count forty-nine days, for our Sages had a tradition that the Torah's use of the word fifty meant until the fiftieth day.

It is a mitzvah for each individual to count the days of the omer by himself, for the Torah states: And you shall count for yourselves. This mitzvah is applicable today even though the Holy Temple no longer stands and we no longer bring the omer offering. Some maintain that the obligation today is Rabbinic.

When to Count the Omer

The correct time for counting the omer is at the beginning of the night, for the verse states that we are to count seven complete weeks and the count can be complete only if we commence when the sixteenth of Nissan begins.

Since we commence counting the omer at night, we continue to count at night throughout the entire forty-nine days.

We first recite the evening prayers, for the mitzvah of Ma'ariv and of saying the Shema is obligatory every day and a mitzvah that is frequently obligatory takes precedence over a mitzvah that is performed less often.

Immediately after the Amidah, we count the omer. If one neglected to count then, he may count throughout the night; and if he forgot to count at night, he may count during the day, but without the blessing.

How to Count the Omer

We first recite the blessing on counting the omer "Who has commanded us to count the omer"] and then count, saying: "Today is the... day of the omer" Some congregations have a custom of saying baomer, in the omer, while others have a custom of saying laomer, of the omer. On the first night one says: "Today is one day of the omer" and on the second night one says: "Today is two days of the omer"

This practice is followed until the seventh day, when we make a slight change and say: "Today is seven days which is one week of the omer".

Congregations that follow the Sephardic rite say: "Today is the seventh day of the omer which is one week"; i.e., the word omer is always juxtaposed to the number of the day rather than to the concurrent count of weeks.

From the seventh day on, one adds the count of weeks to the count of days; e.g., "Today is eight days which is one week and one day of the omer" and the Sephardic wording is "... eight days of the omer which is one week and one day."

If one made a mistake and neglected to count either the days or the weeks, he must count again but does not recite another blessing..

When counting, one should be careful to use the correct grammatical form (e.g., using the word yamim, days, until ten and then yom from that point on, and using the masculine form for the count of the weeks].

The blessing and the counting should be said while standing, for the verse (Deuteronomy 16:9) states: When the grain is standing in the fields. But if one sat while counting, he has nevertheless fulfilled the obligation.

After counting the omer, it is customary to say: "May it be Your will that that the Beit haMikdash be rebuilt speedily in our days."

More Details Regarding Sefirat HaOmer

The count is to be made at the beginning of the night, i.e., as soon as three stars appear. If one counted earlier [but after sunset], he is not required to count again, but nevertheless it is proper to do so, albeit without a blessing, after the appearance of the stars.

If one is asked what is the proper count for that night: If the person being asked has not yet counted himself, he should not say the number of that night for he will in effect have counted the omer without saying a blessing and he will be unable to count again with a blessing.

Rather, he should say: "Last night was such and such." One should be especially careful on Lag baOmer, the thirty third night of the omer, for it is quite common to refer to that day by its number.

Before reciting the blessing one should know the number of the day. However, if one recited the blessing without being aware of the number and added the number only after having heard it said by someone else, he has fulfilled the obligation.

If one thought that he knew the number of the day when he recited the blessing but realized that he was mistaken after hearing it said by others, he may still count and need not repeat the blessing.

If he recited the blessing and then counted the wrong number: If he remembered within about 18 seconds and he did not say anything else before realizing his mistake, he may count the proper number without repeating the blessing. And if not, it is considered as if he has not counted, and he recites the blessing and counts anew.

If he neglected to count one day [i.e., both at night and on the following day], or if he counted the wrong number, he may no longer recite a blessing when he subsequently counts but he must nevertheless continue to count. However, if he does not remember whether he counted or not, he may continue to count the remaining days of the omer with a blessing.

It is customary that following the counting of the omer, one recites Psalm 67, for according to tradition that psalm has forty nine words, corresponding to the days of the omer

In the Diaspora, where a second Seder is conducted on the night of the sixteenth of Nissan, some have the custom to count the omer at the end of the Seder. Were we to count before the Seder, we would declare the day as the sixteenth of Nissan, and the second Seder, which is held because of a doubt that the date might really be the fifteenth, would seem to be superfluous.

It is customary among the pious and righteous to read the Torah portion which deals with the omer, at the conclusion of the Seder, in Eretz Yisrael, and at the conclusion of the second Seder in the Diaspora.

By reading the portion, it is as if we were fulfilling the obligation of bringing the offering, as per the Sages' dictum that "our lips are our service." In many Sephardic communities in Israel, it is customary to read this portion before the first counting of the omer.

Mrs Yaffe and I wish you all a wonderful, liberating, and uplifting Passover and eagerly anticipate with G-d's help  seeing you all again in person and in the best of health.

(Rabbi) Shlomo Yaffe