Question #1: When?
When should I eat my morning meal on Shabbos Erev Pesach?
Question #2: How?
How do I fulfill the mitzvah of eating three meals on this Shabbos?
Question #3: Who?
May someone who has a family minhag not to eat matzoh after Purim or after Rosh Chodesh Nissan eat egg matzoh, kneidelach, cheremzelach (fried matzoh meal latkas) or boiled matzoh on this Shabbos?
Answer
This year, the first day of Pesach falls on Sunday, which means that Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos. When Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, there are numerous changes from what we do other years, such as:
(1) The traditional Shabbos Hagadol drosha is delivered a week early, on the 7th of Nissan, although technically Shabbos Hagadol is the following Shabbos, Erev Pesach.
(2) We perform our search for chometz on Thursday night, the eve of the 13th of Nissan, with a bracha, notwithstanding that, in other years, someone who performs bedikas chometz on the eve of the 13th does so without a bracha. The first bitul chometz is recited after the bedikah is completed, as it is done in a typical year.
(3) The chometz is burnt on Friday morning, the 13th of Nissan, not the 14th. The bitul chometz that is usually performed after the chometz is burned is postponed to actual Erev Pesach, which is on Shabbos.
(4) The fast and siyum of the firstborn is observed two days early, on Thursday, the 12th of Nissan, the morning before bedikas chometz, not the 14th.
(5) Haircuts and shaving, activities that are prohibited on Erev Pesach in the afternoon, are permitted on the afternoon of Friday the 13th, the day before Erev Pesach.
In addition to these changes in our usual practice, there are many shaylos that occur on Erev Pesach when it falls on Shabbos. For example, an entire literature is devoted to questions such as:
May you eat on your chometz–dik dishes on Erev Pesach, and what you should do with them after you finish eating?
Is it permitted to have hamotzi in one part of the house and then eat a meal that is Pesach-dik in a different part of the house?
Is it permitted to cook kitniyos on your Pesach-dik dishes, and then serve them on Erev Pesach?
Three meals
Perhaps the most unusual changes occur relative to eating the Shabbos meals on Erev Pesach, when our houses are all ready for Pesach. In most households, all food prepared for Shabbos will be Pesach-dik and served on disposable or Pesach-dik utensils. But how are we going to have three Shabbos meals, particularly since the majority opinion requires hamotzi for all three meals?
In a different article, I discussed the mitzvah, which may be min haTorah, of eating three meals on Shabbos as a fulfillment of the mitzvah called oneg Shabbos, treating Shabbos as a delightful experience, which is first recorded in the Book of Yeshayahu. Several interesting aspects of fulfilling this mitzvah come into play when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos. The two major issues are:
(1) When to eat the Shabbos morning meal?
(2) How should we fulfill the mitzvah of eating the third Shabbos meal?
The majority of rishonim require eating the first of the three meals on Friday evening, the second in the morning, and the third in the afternoon. Many poskim contend that there should be bread at each of the three meals; the Shulchan Aruch and most later authorities rule this way.
Putting aside the logistical difficulties of having bread in your house on Erev Pesach, we need to contend with the Torah prohibition against eating chometz on Erev Pesach, which begins min haTorah at halachic midday (chatzos), but miderabbanan begins hours earlier. Eating matzoh for the three meals is impossible, because of a takanas Chazal prohibiting eating matzoh on Erev Pesach. (Some authorities contend that the prohibition of eating matzoh on Erev Pesach is only in the daytime, and not at night. According to this opinion, you could eat matzoh for the Friday night meal.) Another consideration is that Chazal prohibited eating a large meal three hours before Pesach (Pesachim 99b). This last takkanah was instituted so that a person eats the matzoh on seder night with a good appetite.
Latest time to eat chometz
Let us begin by defining the latest time to eat chometz on Erev Pesach. According to the Gemara, Targum Onkelos, Rashi and many others, the verse in Parshas Bo (Shemos 12:15) should be translated as saying, “Seven days you are to eat matzoh, but (ach) on the day before you shall cease having sourdough (a form of chometz) in your houses, for whoever eats chometz from the first day until the seventh day (of Pesach), that person will be cut off from Yisrael.” Chazal explain that the prohibition of the “day before,” that is, Erev Pesach, is min haTorah only from midday (Pesachim 4b-5a).
Two hours
Chazal prohibited eating chometz from two hours before midday. This gezeirah was instituted so that people not miss the deadline and mistakenly eat chometz after midday, when it is prohibited to do so min haTorah (Pesachim 11b). There are many opinions how to calculate the latest time to eat chometz on Erev Pesach.
In an ordinary year, avoiding this issue is relatively easy. If you really want to eat chometz on Erev Pesach, get up early, daven, make or attend a siyum if you are firstborn, and eat breakfast. If you want to sleep in, don’t plan on eating chometz for breakfast. However, when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, the logistics are more complex; since we want to eat a nice Shabbos morning meal, we cannot eat it with matzoh, and we need to finish eating chometz by approximately a third of the day.
Many people divide the morning meal, when we are still able to eat bread, into two meals, and complete the chometz part of the later meal when it is still permitted. Although most authorities rule that seudah shelishis must be eaten in the afternoon, some opinions contend that one can fulfill eating three meals on Shabbos with a bread meal at night and two bread meals in the morning. Although the later authorities rule that, in general, seudah shelishis must be eaten in the afternoon, when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, some recommend dividing the morning meal into two halves (Magen Avraham 444:1). Since there are many opinions how to do this, someone following this approach should ask his rav or posek what to do.
Bear in mind that, assuming you will be eating chometz at the Friday night and/or the Shabbos morning meal, you should have a system planned for disposing of the leftover chometz. I suggest purchasing pitas, bagels or a similar bread product that does not produce many crumbs, calculate carefully how many you need, and then carefully brush off the crumbs in an open area or flush them down the toilet. If your rav or posek advises differently, please follow his instructions.
After eating the last of the chometz, it is very important to remember to recite the second bitul chometz, which, in an ordinary year, is recited after the chometz is burnt.
Third meal on Erev Pesach
Hundreds of years ago, a vast literature developed concerning how one fulfills eating the third meal on the Shabbos that coincides with Erev Pesach. Simply put, how can the third meal of Shabbos be eaten in the afternoon and consist of bread, if one may not then eat either chometz or matzoh?
Several options present themselves.
Tosafos (Pesachim 99b s.v. Lo) suggests eating matzoh ashirah, which is a matzoh produced using juice as its liquid, rather than water. According to the Gemara (Pesachim 36a), matzoh ashirah cannot be used to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzoh at the seder. Therefore, it might not be included in the prohibition against eating matzoh on Erev Pesach, since this prohibition should be limited to matzoh that can be used to fulfill the mitzvah seder night.
In practical terms, the most common variety of matzoh ashirah available in North America is a product called “egg matzoh.” This is really a misnomer, because the two main ingredients in egg matzoh are flour and 100% pure apple juice (not made from concentrate). In Israel, there are other varieties of matzoh ashirah available, including matzoh baked with grape juice (instead of water or apple juice), and matzoh ashirah cookies, baked with juice and chocolate (instead of water). The last of these products has a decided taste advantage over the other matzoh ashirah products, in my opinion as an avid consumer.
Although a Sefardi can fulfill the mitzvah of seudah shelishis by eating matzoh ashirah in the afternoon of Erev Pesach, Ashkenazic custom, going back to the times of the late rishonim (but not as far back as the time of Tosafos), is to refrain from eating matzoh ashirah on all of Pesach, except for the elderly, the ill and children. The main reason for this prohibition is because even a small amount of water mixing into a dough made with juice might make this dough into chometz.
Although some authorities permit Ashkenazim to eat matzoh ashirah on the afternoon of Erev Pesach (Shu’t Noda BiYehudah, Orach Chayim #21), conventional practice is not to.
By the way, those who use matzoh ashirah for Erev Pesach meals should be aware that most authorities rule that matzoh ashirah has the status of pas haba’ah bekisnin. While this is a topic beyond the scope of this article, those who decide to use matzoh ashirah should get direction from their rav or posek how much matzoh ashirah they need to eat in order to recite hamotzi, bensch, and fulfill the mitzvos of eating seudos Shabbos.
Seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach
So, if chometz is out, matzoh is out, and matzoh ashirah is out, does that eliminate all options of fulfilling the mitzvah of seudah shelishis in the afternoon of Shabbos that is Erev Pesach?
Actually, there are still several possibities.
The first one, which most people find surprising, is to eat cooked matzoh. No, I do not mean keneidlach, nor do I mean what some people know as cheremzelach. Let me explain the practical difference and the halachic ramifications:
Kneidelach, in English, matzoh balls, are made from matzoh meal, usually mixed with eggs and cooked in a soup. According to most authorities, kneidelach may be eaten on Erev Pesach, even in the afternoon, and even by those who have the custom not to eat matzoh from Purim or from Rosh Chodesh.
There are several halachic considerations regarding eating kneidelach for seudah shelishis in the afternoon of Erev Pesach.
1. According to those who rule that all three meals on Shabbos must be hamotzi, kneidelach do not qualify, since they are not hamotzi. They are also not pas haba’ah bekisnin, and remain mezonos regardless of how many of them you eat.
2. According to some authorities (see Gra, Orach Chayim, 444:1), they may not be eaten on Erev Pesach because of the prohibition against eating matzoh on Erev Pesach. As I noted before, most authorities do not rule this way, including the Mishnah Berurah, who recommends eating kneidelach as part of your seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach.
3. Remember that Chazal prohibited eating a meal in the afternoon of Erev Pesach after three quarters of the day to make sure that people eat matzoh on seder night with an appetite (Pesachim 99b). The Mishnah Berurah rules that kneidelach are included in this prohibition.
4. Those who do not eat gebroktz, should check with their rav or posek whether they are permitted to eat kneidelach on Erev Pesach afternoon and how to prepare and serve them.
Cheremzelach
Cheremzelach are a type of latka made of fried matzoh meal. May these be eaten on Erev Pesach, or are they included in the prohibition against eating matzoh on Erev Pesach? Some poskim consider them to have the same halachic status as kneidelach and permit eating them in the afternoon of Erev Pesach for seudah shelishis (Chayei Adam).
However, the Mishnah Berurah paskens that they may not be eaten on Erev Pesach. In his opinion, although cheremzelach are not matzoh and we could not fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzoh on the seder night by eating them, they are close enough to matzoh to be included in the prohibition of eating matzoh on Erev Pesach.
Cooked matzoh
Kneidelach are made of cooked matzoh meal. Cheremzelach are fried latkas made from matzoh meal. So, what is cooked matzoh? It is a large piece of matzoh that is placed in a pot or pan on top of the stove, covered with water and then cooked gently, making sure that it does not disintegrate. (Obviously, this entire procedure needs to be performed before Shabbos.) As long as the matzoh does not disintegrate, the bracha recited on a large piece of cooked matzoh is hamotzi. According to most authorities, it is permitted to eat cooked matzoh on Erev Pesach, since you cannot fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzoh on seder night with cooked matzoh. Thus, it should be permitted to eat cooked matzoh on Erev Pesach, even if you have the custom not to eat matzoh from Purim or from Rosh Chodesh.
Although there are Sefardim who have an old mesorah to prepare their matzohs this way for seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach, this method of fulfilling seudah shelishis is unheard of among Ashkenazim. The question is why?
To the best of my knowledge, the earliest authority who mentions the possibility of using cooked matzoh for seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach is the Maharil, often considered one of the primary sources for recording minhagei Ashkenaz. He simply notes that he does not know why there is no custom to use cooked matzoh.
I know of several approaches to answer his question. One approach is that the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos does not require that you prepare a product that you have no interest in eating.
Another approach is that eating three meals on Shabbos is a fulfillment of oneg Shabbos, making Shabbos a delight, and eating a product that most people do not enjoy does not fulfill the mitzvah, or is certainly not required. Unless you know of a really great recipe for cooked matzoh, most people would not consider this an appetizing solution.
A third approach is that it may, indeed, be prohibited to eat cooked matzoh on Erev Pesach. The Gra implies that, notwithstanding the opinion of Tosafos quoted above, eating matzoh ashirah or cooked matzoh on Erev Pesach violates Chazal’s prohibition to eat matzoh on Erev Pesach.
If you intend to eat this cooked matzoh in the afternoon of Erev Pesach, you should use Pesach-dik matzohs. Those who do not eat gebroktz and are careful not to cook matzoh in their Pesach pots, yet want to eat cooked matzoh for seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach, should discuss with their rav or posek how to prepare and serve it.
How do we pasken?
The primary authority for Ashkenazic practice is the Rema, who usually follows the decisions of the Maharil. Here, in two different places, the Rema reports that the accepted practice is to fulfill the mitzvah of eating seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos by eating in the afternoon meat or other filling foods (Orach Chayim 291:5; 444:1).
It is interesting to note that the Mishnah Berurah advocates eating kneidelach for seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach. This is curious, because of the following: As opposed to cooked matzoh, whose bracha is hamotzi, the bracha on kneidelach is mezonos. I noted that the Shulchan Aruch and the Mishnah Berurah ruled that, in general, we should eat hamotzi for seudah shelishis. Yet the Mishnah Berurah advocates fulfilling seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach by eating kneidelach as the best of our options.
Review
Although the Shulchan Aruch himself rules that, in general, one should eat bread to fulfill the mitzvah of eating seudah shelishis, the Rema rules that when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, we may rely on the opinions that permit fulfilling the mitzvah by eating other foods. Therefore, the following options exist regarding eating seudah shelishis on Erev Pesach:
Most Ashkenazim follow the opinion that you eat a Shabbos meal that includes everything but the hamotzi. Eating kneidelach as part of this meal is preferable, at least according to the Mishneh Berurah.
Sefardim fulfill this meal by eating either cooked matzoh or matzoh ashirah. If the decision is to fulfill seudah shelishis by eating matzoh ashirah, consult a posek how much matzoh ashirah must be eaten to recite hamotzi.
For those eating cooked matzoh, matzoh ashirah or kneidelach, it is required to eat this meal before three quarters of the day has passed, measuring the day from sunrise to sunset.
Conclusion
According to Kabbalah, searching for chometz is symbolic of searching within ourselves to locate and remove our own arrogant selves. As we go through the mitzvos of cleaning the house, searching and destroying the chometz, we should also focus on the spiritual side of this “search-and-destroy” mission.
