Chametz Disposal

Biur Chametz: Friday, April 11

Ahavas Achim, 216 South 1st Avenue, Highland Park NJ

Friday, April 11 from 9:30am to 11:30am

There will be a communal burning of chametz available in Congregation Ahavas Achim’s parking lot.

Please save a very small amount of chametz from the bedikah the night before and burn it. Please do not place plastic bags with the chametz into the fire. If burning is not possible, one may flush the chametz down a drain.

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Township of Edison. Corner of North 8th Avenue and Edgemount Road

Friday, April 11 from 7:00am to 11:30am

Kehilla of Raritan Valley has B’H once again arranged for Biyur Chametz and Pesach Waste Disposal in Edison.

Garbage, recycle trucks and chametz burning will be available at the corner of North Eighth Avenue and Edgemount Road (Tennis Courts/Earl Schenck Miers Park).

Please limit chametz burning to what is ritually necessary and note that this is for Edison residents only.

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Highland Park Department of Public Works, 444 Valentine Street, Highland Park NJ

Friday, April 11 from 6:30am to 1:00pm

A Chometz disposal drop-off service is offered for any resident to drop off garbage and recycling materials, the morning before Passover (Wednesday, April 5, 2023). Chometz disposal will be offered during the hours of 6:30am to 1:00pm at the Department of Public Works building, 444 Valentine Street in Highland Park.

• Please follow our regular recycling rules and separate garbage and chometz from recycling items such as glass, plastic, paper and cardboard

• Please note: All Chometz should be dropped off by 1:00pm. Please do not leave items after this time, as there is no garbage storage at this location.

For additional information please call (732) 247-9379.

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We like to thank our two municipalities for offering these services for their Jewish residents. Please be respectful of the workers and follow the rules and regulations.

Counting the Omer Cheat Sheets

If you would like a chart to help you remember to count Sefirat HaOmer, you can download it from https://shalmon.com/sefira (pick your nusach) and print it out to keep in your siddur or on your fridge. If you go to this page you will also see the current day’s count, with the beracha.

You can also get a Sefirat HaOmer app from Rusty Brick for your smartphone.:

Pesach Schedule

Thursday, April 10 — Ta'anit Becherot

Ashkanazim First Born need to fast. Sephardim aren't required to fast.

Etz Ahaim will offer a Siyum after Shacharit, and it is highly recommended for everyone to attend. Everyone is welcome to participate. For those fasting, you can come to the siyum and you can end your fast.

• Shacharit: 6:30am
• Mincha/Arvit: 7:00pm
• Bedikat Chametz: 7:56pm — Nulify Chametz After the Search

Friday, April 11

If you're planning on eating chametz on Shabbat, you should nulify your chametz after you finish your meal when you destroy your chametz on Shabbat.

If you're not planning on eating chametz on Shabbat, you should nulify your chametz after burning it.

• Shacharit: 6:30am
• Burn Chametz: by 11:50am
• Mincha/Kabbala Shabbat: 7:00pm
• Candle Lighting: 7:13pm

Saturday, April 12 Erev Pesach — Parashat Tzav/Shabbat HaGadol B

• No Youth Groups
• Latest Shema is at 8:58am

• Shacharit: 6:30am
  • No Kiddush at the Synagogue
• No Chametz: After 10:10am
• No Navi Class
• Mincha: 1:15pm
• Seuda Shlishit: Should be eaten at home after Mincha and before 2:30pm if you're having matzah.
• Arvit: 7:40pm
• Candle Lighting: After 8:18pm
• Afikoman: Eat before 12:57am

Sunday, April 13 — Pesach I

• Youth Groups for ages 3 to 8 in the Upper Classrooms: 9:30am to End of Shacharit
• Recite Shema: by 8:58am

• Shachrit: 8:45am
  • No Kiddush at Synagogue
• Class: History of the Matzah Machine: 6:40pm
• Mincha: 7:20pm
• Arvit: 7:40pm
• Candle Lighting: After 8:18pm
• Afikoman: Eat before 12:57am

Monday, April 14 — Pesach II

• Youth Groups for ages 3 to 8 in the Upper Classrooms: 9:30am to End of Shacharit
• Recite Shema: by 8:58am

• Shachrit: 8:45am
  • No Kiddush at Synagogue
• Class: Agada: 6:40pm
• Mincha: 7:20pm
• Arvit: 7:40pm
• Yom Tov Ends: 8:10pm

Tuesday, April 15 — Pesach III (Ch"M)

• Shaḥarit: 6:30am
  • After Services: Coffee and Halacha
• Pre-Minḥa Class 6:40pm
• Minḥa/Arvit: 7:00pm
  • Talmud — Daf HaYomi: After Minḥa/Arvit

Wednesday, April 16 — Pesach IV (Ch"M)

• Shaḥarit: 6:30am
  • After Services: Coffee and Halacha
• Pre-Minḥa Class 6:40pm
• Minḥa/Arvit: 7:00pm
  • Talmud — Daf HaYomi: After Minḥa/Arvit

Thursday, April 17 — Pesach V (Ch"M)

• Shaḥarit: 6:30am
  • After Services: Coffee and Halacha
• Insights on the Parasha: 6:40pm
• Minḥa/Arvit: 7:00pm
  • Talmud — Daf HaYomi: After Minḥa/Arvit

Next Friday, April 18 — Pesach VI (Ch"M)

• Shaḥarit: 6:30am
  • After Services: Coffee and Halacha
• Daf Yomi: 6:00pm
• Minḥa: 7:00pm
• Candle Lighting: 7:22pm

Ma'ot Chitim – Wheat Money

In the opening paragraph of the Haggadah recited at the Seder, we declare: All who are hungry, let them come and eat. Our nation is a singular entity, and in order to experience freedom ourselves, we must also ensure that our brothers and sisters have the means to celebrate freedom too.

In preparation for the Passover holiday, it is age-old tradition to contribute generously towards funds that ensure that indeed everyone who is in need has the necessary provisions for the holiday—food, matzah, wine, festive clothing, etc. Rabbi Tal has been collecting money through his charity fund to allow those in need to be able to buy what they need in order to celebrate Pesach.

Please continue this tradition by contributing whatever you can to the Rabbi’s Charity Fund.

Comprehensive Guide for Pesach Preparations

Since Pesach falls right after Shabbat this year, there are some differences in the preparation for Pesach and how we can smoothly move from Shabbat right into Pesach. For example, the Fast of the First Born is moved to Thursday rather than having someone fast on Shabbat. We search for Cchametz on Thursday and burn the chametz we won’t be using for Shabbat, we do not nulify our chametz until Shabbat.

All of these halachaic changes for both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews is documented in this booklet.

Finding Chametz on Pesach

What should someone do on Chol Hamoed Pesach if they find chametz in their house or see chametz lying in the middle of a street or sidewalk where it can be crushed, and thus be disrespectful to the food.

The Shulchan Aruch says in Siman 446 that if a person finds chametz in their house on Chol Hamoed they should immediately get rid of it. The Mishnah Berurah in Siman 445 says that the best way to get rid of it is to burn it, but since we already recited the bracha of Be'ur Chametz before Pesach, we should not recite it again and just burn it without a bracha.

HaRav Frank points out that there is an issue that since we already sold our chametz to a non-Jew before Pesach, all chametz in our possession belongs to them, and we cannot burn something that isn't ours. Therefore, he says that we should place the chametz with the rest of the chametz that was sold to the non-Jew. 

However, many poskim argue that we must burn the chametz since the non-Jew doesn't care about it. They only paid a token sum for the chametz. All the poskim agree that if something became chametz on Pesach itself, that was not included in the sale, and should be burned.

However, what happens if we find a piece of chametz on Yom Tov and not Chol Hamoed? Then, one should cover the chametz from view because we don't want you seeing it and perhaps eat it. Once covered, you should wait until nightfall after Yom Tov, and burn it. 

You can also ask a non-Jew to dispose of the chametz for you by flushing it down the toilet. The Mishnah Berurah says that the custom is to covering it and wait until nightfall for Chol Moed. This is because we don't necessarily trust the non-Jew to dispose of it properly and the non-Jew might decide to eat it rather than destroying it.

The Magen Avram says in Baba Metzia 23 that when you see chametz on the floor, you can't leave it there. You must pick it up because you are not allowed to leave food lying on the floor because it's a disrespectful way to treat food. 

The Magen Avram says that if you see chametz lying in the middle of a street or sidewalk where it might be crushed, you are not allowed to pick it up because by picking it up, you are acquiring the chametz on Pesach. However, you can use your foot to move it to the side of the road or sidewalk. This way, you can deal with the situation without acquiring the chametz. Another option is to hold the chametz lower than 3 tefachim (about 10 inches) from the ground when you carry it, but many poskim argue with this approach. They say that you can only carry the chametz in order to burn it. 

Therefore, you should not touch the chametz, even with your feet, even if that chametz is lying in the middle of a street or sidewalk where it can be crushed because you don't have the obligation to stop the disrespect of the chametz because on Pesach chametz is like dust to you.

Rabbi Tal's Commentary on the Halachot of Pesach and the Seder

Just in time for Pesach, Rabbi Tal has published a set of English commentaries on the halachots of Pesach and commentary on the Seder. These commentaries were compiled by his students at Yeshivat Torat Emet from their classes they took at Congregation Etz Ahaim after Shacharit.

A PDF of the book is available from our website at https://www.etzahaim.org/s/Haggadah-2021-5784.pdf.

The book is free. However, if you’d like to help underwrite the cost of this book, please contact Rabbi Tal at rabbi@etzahaim.org for more information, or click on the link below.

Passover Guides Galore

Passover is coming, and we’ve loaded our webpage with all the various guides you need for Pesach. We have guides from the OU, the Jersey Shore, Orthodox Rabbinate, Rabbi Borosan’s Sephardi Pesach List and Guide, Star-K’s Petfood list, and even a guide to Kosher for Passover Trader Joe’s Food.

Go to our page at https://www.etzahaim.org/pesach-guides and download your Pesach guides now.

Also don’t forget to sell your chametz at https://www.etzahaim.org/chametz or order your Sephardic Mehadrin Shmera Matza at https://www.etzahaim.org/matzah.