How to Prepare for Passover
Preparing for Passover (Pesach, פסח) involves both practical steps and meaningful rituals. Here is a clear guide to help you get ready.
- Clean and Remove Chametz (חמץ— leavened food)
Chametz refers to foods made from fermented grains, such as bread, pasta, cakes, and cereals.
What to do:
- Go through your kitchen and remove all chametz products
- Clean surfaces where crumbs may have accumulated (counters, tables, cabinets)
- Check less obvious places: bags, drawers, car, couch
- Decide what to:
- Throw away
- Donate
- Store separately (if you follow the custom of selling chametz)
For many, this is an opportunity for an overall cleaning of the home – taking out old clothes from the closet, drawers, expired medications, new toothbrushes. In many Progressive homes, the focus is on intention — making a real effort without requiring perfection.
Some people observe the symbolic ritual of מְכִרַת חָמֵץ – selling the chametz. If we have opened boxes which cannot be given away, we may want to observe the mitzvah of “bal tashchit” (“do not waste”). We put all this chametz in a sealed box in a hidden part of the pantry and sign a form, sending it to our rabbi or a designated person in the community who then symbolically sells the chametz to a non-Jew for the duration of Pesach as a statement that there is no chametz in our possession. We then “buy it back” at the end of the holiday.
Here is a formula for the form:
I, the undersigned, promise to obtain no benefit from any chametz I may have owned. With my signature, I am dispossessed of all chametz and all products containing even the smallest percentage of chametz possessed by me knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic law, at the premises located at. I have explained this commitment and the importance of observing the rituals of Passover to my family and friends so they can help fulfill this mitzvah.
- Ritual:Bedikat Chametz (בדיקת חמץ — searching for chametz)
This ritual takes place the night before the Passover seder.
How it works:
- Turn off the lights
- Use a candle or flashlight
- Search for small pieces of chametz around the house
- Collect them (traditionally with a feather and spoon, but any method works)
You can say a blessing before the search begins:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל בִּעוּר חָמֵץ
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al biur hameitz.
Praised are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who sanctified us through His mitzvot and commanded us to remove all chametz.
After the search, we can recite the traditional formula in Aramaic, the spoken language of Jews 2000 years ago:
כָּל־חֲמִירָא וַחֲמִיעָא דְּאִכָּא בִרְשׁוּתִי דְּלָא חֲמִתֵּהּ וּדְלָא בַעֲרִתֵּהּ לִבָּטֵל וְלֶהֱוֵי הֶפְקֵר כְּעַפְרָא דְאַרְעָא.
Kol hamira v’hamia d’ika virshuti, d’la hamiteih udla viarteih udla y’dana leih, libateil v’lehevei hefkeir k’afra d’ara.
All chametz in my possession which I have not seen or removed, or of which I am unaware, is hereby nullified and ownerless as the dust of the earth.
This is also a moment for reflection — noticing what might otherwise be overlooked.
Bi’ur Chametz – בִּעוּר חָמֵץ – burning the chametz
It is traditional to stop eating all chametz by the end of the morning on Erev Pesach (Passover Eve).
We may keep these crumbs overnight and perform the next day the ritual of burning the chametz. We can put the crumbs in an old tin can or any container that can safely contain a flame and go outside. As we burn the crumbs, we can say what spiritual chametz we are hoping to throw away – that “puffs up” a person such as ego, pride, and arrogance, mental clutter.
We can recite the traditional formula in Aramaic:
כָּל־חֲמִירָא וַחֲמִיעָא דְּאִכָּא בִרְשׁוּתִי דֹּחֲזִיתֵּה וּדְּלָא חֲזִיתֵהּ, דְּחֲמִתֵּהּ וּדְלָא חֲמִיתֵהּ, דְּבִעֲרִתֵּהּ וּדְלָא בִּעַרְתֵּהּ, לִבָּטֵל וְלֶהֱוֵי כְּעַפְרָא דְּאַרְעָא.
Kol hamira vahamia d’ika virshuti dahaziteih udla haziteih, dahamiteih udla hamiteih, d’viarteih udla viarteih libateil v’lehevei hefkeir k’afra d’ara.
All chametz in my possession, whether I have seen it or not, whether I know about it or not, whether I have removed it or not, is hereby nullified and ownerless as the dust of the earth.
- Prepare for the Seder (סדר— “order”)
The Seder is the central ritual of Passover.
What to prepare:
- A Haggadah (הגדה — “telling”) for each participant
- Wine or grape juice – enough for 4 cups per person
- Matzah (מצה — unleavened bread)
- A matzah bag to keep the broken piece of matza and a matzah bag for the afikomen to hide for the children to find at the end of the meal. Many people prepare an afikomen matza and bag for each child at the seder.
- Prizes for the “ransom” of the afikomen for the children.
- A Seder plate with symbolic foods:
- Maror (bitter herbs symbolizing the bitterness of slavery)
- Charoset (sweet mixture symbolizing the mortar for the bricks used in slavery)
- Karpas (vegetable symbolizing springtime)
- Zeroa (roasted shank bone or alternative symbolizing the Pesach sacrifice in the Temple)
- Beitzah (hardboiled egg symbolizing the festival sacrifice and for many, it also symbolizes the endless cycle of life)
- Bowls of salt water for dipping the Karpas and the egg (symbol of the tears of slavery)
- Elijah’s Cup (5th cup of wine) and Miriam’s Cup (water) which are mentioned near the end of the seder as symbols of the hope for redemption
- Something new or unusual that will arouse questions. Many people will place a food or object that relates to a contemporary challenge
The Rambam instructed:
(The seder leader) should make changes on this night so that the children will see and will ask: “Why is this night different from all other nights?”….
(Mishnah Torah, Chametz U’Matzah 7:3)
Many Progressive Seders also include modern readings, songs and discussion starters on themes such as freedom, justice, and inclusion.
4. Shop for Passover-Friendly Food
During Passover, our tradition is to not eat chametz.
What to buy:
- Matzah and matzah-based products
- Vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, fish
- Products that are marked Kosher for Passover (if you follow that practice)