Pesach. Eight days of freedom.
Sell or remove chametz, kasher the kitchen, and lead a Seder telling the story of the Exodus on the first two nights.
Print your Pesach packet.
PDF — cover, the five essentials, step-by-step, the blessings, your shopping list, and a one-page FAQ. Personalized with your local times when you set your ZIP.
What you really need to know.
Pesach, one step at a time.
- EREV PESACH
Bedikas Chametz the night before.
Search the home for chametz by candlelight after nightfall on Erev Pesach (or 14 Nissan eve). Burn it the next morning by mid-morning.
- EREV PESACH
Kasher the kitchen.
Switch to Pesach-only utensils, cover counters, kasher items that can be kashered, and put all chametz in a sold/sealed area.
- NIGHT 1
Light candles + Shehecheyanu.
Light Yom Tov candles before sundown. Recite the Yom Tov blessing + Shehecheyanu.
- NIGHT 1
Conduct the Seder.
Follow the 15 steps of the Haggadah from Kadesh to Nirtzah. Drink 4 cups of wine, ask 4 questions, eat matzah and maror, tell the story.
- NIGHT 2
Light candles for night 2.
Light from an existing flame after dark. Begin counting the Omer.
- NIGHT 2
Second Seder + start Omer count.
Same Seder as night 1. Count the first night of the Omer at the end of the meal.
- DAYS 3–6
Chol HaMoed — intermediate days.
Work is restricted but not forbidden. Many take family time, day trips, and continued learning. Tefillin not worn.
- DAY 7
Seventh day of Pesach.
Yom Tov. Splitting of the Sea remembered. Many stay up to learn Torah.
- DAY 8 (DIASPORA)
Eighth day + Yizkor.
Yizkor recited at the morning service. Havdalah at night.
What to say, and when.
Bedikas Chametz blessing
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל בִּעוּר חָמֵץ
Baruch atah Adonai… asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al biur chametz.
…who has commanded us concerning the removal of chametz.
Al Achilas Matzah
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מַצָּה
Baruch atah Adonai… al achilas matzah.
…who has commanded us concerning the eating of matzah.
Al Achilas Maror
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מָרוֹר
Baruch atah Adonai… al achilas maror.
…who has commanded us concerning the eating of bitter herbs.
Shopping & prep list.
- ·Matzah (handmade shmurah for the Seder, machine-made for the week)
- ·Wine or grape juice (4 cups per person per Seder, ~3 oz each)
- ·Maror (horseradish or romaine lettuce)
- ·Charoses ingredients (apples, walnuts, wine, cinnamon)
- ·Karpas (parsley, celery, or boiled potato)
- ·Salt water (for dipping)
- ·A roasted egg (beitzah) and shank bone (zeroah) for the Seder plate
- ·Yom Tov candles for two nights + day 7/8
- ·Long-burning candle to light from on subsequent nights
- ·Haggadahs for everyone at the table
- Recite Hallel each yom tov morning (partial on Chol HaMoed and last days).
- Add Yaaleh V'Yavo on all 8 days.
- Count the Omer starting night 2.
- Yizkor on day 8 (the last day in the diaspora).
Common questions.
How many Seders are there?
Two in the diaspora (first and second nights of Pesach), one in Israel.
What is chametz?
Chametz is leavened product from wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt — anything where the grain contacted water for 18 minutes or longer and rose.
Do I need to kasher my kitchen?
Yes — switch to Pesach-only utensils, cover countertops, and kasher items that halachically can be kashered. Ask an Orthodox rabbi for guidance on specific items.
What if I can't lead a full Seder?
Do as much as you can — the four cups, matzah, maror, telling the story (even briefly), and Hallel. Find a Seder host through /find-help if you don't want to do it alone.
See Pesach on your calendar.
100 years of local candle lighting and Havdalah times — including every Pesach between now and 2126.
Open the calendar