This year, the first day of Pesach falls on Sunday, which means that Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos. This causes changes to many Pesach observances. Below is a simplified guide to the practices of Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos.
THURSDAY
Since Erev Pesach is Shabbos, the fast of Taanis Bechoros is pushed forward to Thursday. A bechor, or the father of a minor bechor, is obligated to fast on Thursday, but he can discharge his obligation by making or attending a siyum.
Thursday night – Bedikas Chometz.
Regular bedikas chometz is performed with a beracha. After completing the bedikah, one recites the first bitul.
FRIDAY
Friday morning davening is regular, without tachanun because it is the month of Nissan. Although on Erev Pesach Ashkenazim do not say the prayers of mizmor lisodah and lamenatzeiach in davening, they do say these parts in the Friday davening since it is not Erev Pesach.
Make sure to have sold your chometz by now.
Burning the Chometz.
We burn chometz on Friday morning even though one may own chometz until Shabbos morning. Place the chometz that is to be eaten on Shabbos in a secure place and make a mental note where that chometz is located. We do not recite the second bitul after burning the chometz, but instead we recite it on Shabbos morning when we finish eating the chometz.
Doing Melacha on Erev Shabbos.
There is no limitation on doing melacha-work on this Friday because it is not Erev Pesach.
Eruvei Chatzeiros.
The minhag is to renew an eruv chatzeiros with neighbors on Erev Pesach. This year it should be renewed on Erev Shabbos.
Seder Preparations.
Ideally, all of the seder preparations should be performed on Friday, including roasting the zaroa and the egg, preparing the saltwater, making the charoses, checking and washing the marror, grinding the horseradish. Make sure to open the boxes of matzos and bottles of wine as one would before every Shabbos. Although this is unusual in today’s world, if you need to separate challah from your matzah, remember to do it before Shabbos.
Shabbos Food Preparations.
If you are preparing chometz-dik food for your Shabbos meals, do not make sticky chometz-dik food that will stick to your pots or plates. (Presumably, most people will prepare Pesach-dik food for all meals.)
Shabbos Candles.
Be careful not to place the Shabbos candelabra on the tablecloth on which one is serving chometz since one will be unable to remove the candles in order to remove the cloth.
One should kindle the Shabbos lights near where one intends to eat the Friday night meal.
SHABBOS
Friday Night Meal.
One is required to recite hamotzi at the first two Shabbos meals using two “breads” (lechem mishneh). One may use matzah for lechem mishneh, but many poskim consider the matzah that one intends to use for the seder as muktzah. Many, however, refrain from eating Pesach-dik matzah so close to the seder.
If one wants to make motzi on chometz in one part of the house and eat the Pesach-dik meal in another, one may, since his intent when washing and making hamotzi was to eat his meal in this way. He should return to the original place for bensching. Each person should eat at least one kebeitzah of bread (egg size) to fulfill the mitzvah of seudas Shabbos and to justify his making netilas yadayim with a beracha. (Since one may not weigh on Shabbos, one who wishes to weigh his chometz should do so before Shabbos.)
If eating egg matzah, grape matzah or matzah cookies (matzah ashirah) for the meals, Ashkenazim should eat as much matzah ashirah as one would eat with this type of a meal (i.e., certainly more than the egg size mentioned above). Sephardim should eat four egg sizes of the matzah ashirah. (Note that someone who has the custom not to eat matzah after Purim or Rosh Chodesh may still eat matzah ashirah.)
According to most poskim, one may eat regular (non-Pesach-dik) matzah for the Friday evening meal. Thus, this is an option for someone who does not want chometz in their house and cannot eat the amount of matzah ashirah mentioned above.
If one is serving on chometz plates a hot meal that was cooked in a Pesach-dik pot, one should pour the hot food into a Pesach-dik plate or platter before pouring it into the chometz-dik plates. (Presumably, however, most people will be serving the meals on disposable dishes.)
Shabbos Morning.
Daven early. One is required to eat one meal in the morning. There is a recommendation (hidur) to eat two meals on the morning of Erev Pesach, separated briefly.
For those who wish to eat two meals in the morning, I suggest:
Immediately after davening, make kiddush, hamotzi, eat a piece of fish, and bensch.
Take a break, and begin the next meal with enough time to finish eating the main course (at least) before the latest time to eat chometz. Some poskim prefer eating the meat also with the first morning meal before breaking. One who follows this approach should not eat so much that he cannot eat the next meal.
Bitul chometz.
When one has completed the eating of the chometz, recite the second bitul chometz. Dispose of the remaining chometz into the toilet (taking care to crumble it into small pieces and only flush a small amount at one time — it will take a bit of time) or in a public garbage (if it is within the eruv), but do not place it in your own garbage can. One may continue eating the meal without new brachos, notwithstanding that he may no longer eat chometz.
Shabbos Afternoon.
Since most people follow the opinion of davening mincha before seudah shelishis, one should daven mincha early.
Seudah Shelishis.
In the early afternoon, one may serve a heavy Pesach-dik meal (meat, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, etc.) without any hamotzi at all. If you eat “gebroktz,” it is recommended to eat kneidlich at this meal. It is permitted to eat kneidlich even if you have a minhag not to eat matzah from Purim or from Rosh Chodesh. Sephardim may serve matzah ashirah at seudah shelishis.
Some people, usually Sephardim, have a custom of cooking whole matzos and serving them for seudah shelishis. These matzos require netilas yadayim. The beracha before eating these matzos is hamotzi and they require bensching afterward. An Ashkenazi may follow this approach, as well as someone who customarily does not eat matzah for a month before Pesach. This is because one cannot fulfill the mitzvah at the seder with cooked matzah. An Ashkenazi has no requirement to have cooked matzah available, while some Sephardim follow the approach that they are required.
If one eats kneidlich or matzah ashirah for seudah shelishis, one should complete eating seudah shelishis before the “tenth hour,” which is a half hour before “mincha ketana,” or three quarters of the day. Some authorities contend that even those who eat only fruit and vegetables for this seudah shelishis should eat before the tenth hour. All agree that one may eat a small quantity of fruit or vegetables after this point.
It is advisable to take a nap Shabbos afternoon, but one should not mention that he is taking a nap in order to be awake for the seder. Some poskim consider this preparing on Shabbos for after Shabbos.
Most poskim contend that one should not move one’s seder matzos before Shabbos is over. Since many people who are eating at someone else’s house take their own matzah to the seder, they should not carry these matzos until Shabbos is over. Also remember not to begin preparations for the seder until Shabbos is over and one says, “Baruch HaMavdil bein Kodesh l’kodesh.”
Chag Kosher vesomayach!!
