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Q. Do you know of algorithm to figure our day of week for Jewish dates?

A. I don’t know of an algorithm, but Chabad.org has a date converter tool to figure these type of things out. I’m not sure how they do it. Back in our yeshiva days we had a classmate who had a … Read the rest

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Q. Why is Gebrokts OK on the 8th day of Pesach?

A. Some people, mostly Chassidim (not only Chabad) and descendants of Chassidim, observe an additional Passover restriction of Gebrokts – not making Matzah wet. It comes from a remote concern that perhaps some of the Matzah wasn’t fully baked and … Read the rest

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Q. Why the custom to take kids on outings on Chol HaMoed?

A. First of all, they have off from school for the whole week of Passover and Sukkot holidays, and are at home or synagogue for the first two and last two days of the holidays, so this is a great … Read the rest

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Q. Why the Passover emphasis on root vegetables?

A. Yes, you might have noticed we’re doing a lot of Passover dishes with onions, beets, carrots, sweet potato and especially potato. Potato is the big-time vegetable for Ashkenasic Jews who can’t eat rice, corn or beans on Passover.

But … Read the rest

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Q. Oy! My roommate came back from Easter with so much Chametz!

A. So your dorm room is now filled with cakes and pastries and other significant Chametz? Unless you are worried about tantalizing temptation, you should not worry at all about having Chametz 3 feet from your bed. The Talmud is … Read the rest

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Q. Do we wear Tefillin at all on Passover or Sukkot?

A. The answer depends on your communal custom.

Everyone agrees that we don’t wear Tefillin on the holiday days of the festival, which are the two days at the beginning and two days at the end (or one day at … Read the rest

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Q. Hey, Matzah again!?

A. Our 3-year old daughter Esther Miriam asked this question at the Seder. She came home from school with a flip Haggadah, each page featuring children from her class acting out parts of the Seder. She followed along faithfully, using … Read the rest

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Q. Why 5 Rabbis at the Seder, so much else goes by 4’s!

A. Well, you are right that #4 plays a big Passover Seder role with the 4 sons, 4 cups, 4 biblical expressions of redemption. But there’s also 3 Matzot, 2 types of dipping, Rabban Gamliel’s 3 Seder Essentials (Paschal Lamb, … Read the rest

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Q. Is there significance to burnt Shmurah Matzah?

A. No. There’s no point in burnt Matzah. But here’s why some Shmurah Matzah pieces are burnt:

Round Shmurah Matzah is handmade, and each Matzah is placed and removed from the incredibly hot wood-fired brick oven by a human – … Read the rest

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Q. I was told I need to search for Chametz immediately after dark. But I have class until 10pm?

A. Your friend is a little right, because the Code of Jewish Law encourages us to search for Chametz on the eve of Passover as soon as possible after dark, because it has to be done at night, and if … Read the rest

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