Passover Observanceand Prayer Outline
The Seder night, when family and friends gather together to commemorate our redemption from slavery in Egypt, is more than just a festive meal – the Seder is a crucial vehicle for understanding the Exodus. For those experiencing the Seder night for the first time, or as a reference for those who want a refresher, this page is an outline of what to expect.
YOM TOV – The First Festival Days
Passover is a 7 day (8 days outside of Israel) holiday. The first day (first two days outside of Israel) are Yamim Tovim – days which are observed with the same rules as the Sabbath. (Cooking from an existing flame and carrying, however, are permitted).
Candle Lighting
Shabbat and all Jewish holidays always begin the evening before. When Passover begins on Saturday night (immediately following Shabbat), candles are lit no earlier than one hour after sunset on both the first and second night of Yom Tov.
Because one may not create a fire on Shabbat or Yom Tov, the candles must be lit from a pre-existing flame. For this reason, many people light a yahrtzeit candle (25 hour candle) before Shabbat, or leave a burner lit on the stove before Shabbat.
The procedure for lighting candles for a holiday varies slightly from Sabbath candle-lighting:
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- The blessings are said before lighting the candles.
- The end of the blessing is changed to represent the Yom Tov [festival] and includes Shabbat, when applicable:
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo-haynu Melech Ha-olam, asher kideshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzeevanu l’hadlik ner shel [Shabbat v’] Yom Tov.
Blessed are you L-rd, our G-d, Ruler of the world, who sanctified us through His commandments and commanded us to kindle the lights of the [the Sabbath and] Yom Tov [festival].
Evening services are held in the synagogue.
The Seder
Changes in the morning synagogue service
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- During Shacharit, the morning service, the Festival Amidah is recited.
- Hallel
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- Hallel is a collection of Psalms that are recited on the festivals and Rosh Chodesh (the new month).
- Hallel can be found in the siddur (Jewish prayerbook).
- Full Hallel is recited on the first two days of Passover. Half-Hallel is recited on the remaining days of the holiday.
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- The Torah Reading
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- On the first day of Passover, Exodus 12:21-51 is read in synagogue.
- On the second day of Passover, Leviticus 22:26-23:44 is
read in synagogue. - The maftir (additional reading) on both days is Numbers
28:16-25. - The haftorah (prophetic message) on the first day is from the Book of Joshua, 3:5-7, 5:2-6:1, and 6:27.
The haftorah on the second day is from Kings II, 23:1-9 and 23:21-25.
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- The Prayer for Dew
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- On Passover, the prayer for rain, which began on Shmini Atzeret (the final days of Sukkot), is discontinued and the prayer for dew is now recited.
- The cantor recites the prayer for dew during the repetition of the Mussaf (additional) service on the first day of Passover.
- In the Silent Amidah, morid ha’tal, “He who makes the dew descend,” is inserted. Morid ha’tal is added to each service until Shmini Atzeret. Many congregations, however, merely omit the previously said mashiv ha’ruach u’ morid ha’geshem.
- In the weekday Amidah, v’ten bracha, “and give blessing,” replaces v’ten tal u’matar liv’racha, “and give dew and rain for a blessing,” in the 9th blessing.
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The Festive Lunch
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- The Festival day Kiddush (blessing over wine), found in the siddur (prayer book), is recited.
- Ha’Motzee – After a ritual washing of the hands, the blessing is made over two whole matzot, the pieces of which are sprinkled with salt.
- A festive meal is eaten, followed by the Grace After Meals with the addition of Y’aleh V’Yavo, “He will go up and he will come…” for the Passover holidays and the holiday insertion towards the conclusion of “Harachamon.”
Mincha
The afternoon service is recited with the special Festival Amidah (and the special insertions for Shabbat, when applicable).
Havdalah
At the conclusion of the second day of Yom Tov, Havdalah, separating holy days from week days, is recited in the evening Amidah. This Havdalah is followed by the formal Havdalah, which consists of only the blessing over grape juice (HaGafen) and the Havdalah blessing (HaMavdil), which can be found in the prayer book
One may not prepare on the first day of Yom Tov for the second day of Yom Tov. One should wait until after nightfall to set the table, prepare the Seder plate, or any other activity not meant for the enjoyment of the first day itself.
CHOL HAMOED – The Interim Days
Passover is a 7 day holiday (8 days outside of Israel). The first day and the last day (first two days and last two days outside of Israel) are Yamim Tovim – days which are kept like Sabbath (Cooking from an existing flame and carrying, however, are permitted). The in between days are known as Chol HaMoed – weekday of the festival.
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- During Chol HaMoed, it is customary to continue the holiday spirit and avoid unnecessary work. Many people do not go to work, avoid shopping, and try to refrain from such chores as laundry, except for that which is essential for the holiday.
- The prohibition of eating chametz continues throughout the holiday.
- In the synagogue, the Torah is read and Half-Hallel (festive Psalms) and Mussaf (the additional service) are added to the daily service.
- On Shabbat of Chol HaMoed (or if Shabbat falls on the seventh day of Passover), Shir HaShirim, Song of Songs, is read before the Torah Reading. This is an Ashkenazic custom.
THE LAST TWO DAYS
Candle lighting
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- Shabbat and all Jewish holidays always begin at sunset of the evening before. On the Sabbath and Yom Tov [festival] candles are lit 18 minutes before sunset to welcome the holiday. On the second night of Yom Tov, candles are lit no earlier than one hour after sunset.
- Two candles (minimum) are lit, then both hands are waved towards the face, symbolically drawing in the light of the candles and the sanctity of the Sabbath/Yom Tov. The eyes are covered and the blessing is recited. On the second night, Saturday night, the blessing is said first, without the Shabbat addition, and only then are the candles lit (from a pre-existing flame).
On Friday night, insert the bracketed words:
Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo-haynu Melech Ha-olam, asher kideshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzeevanu l’hadlik ner shel [Shabbat v’]Yom Tov.
Blessed are you L-rd, our G-d, Ruler of the world, who sanctified us through His commandments and commanded us to kindle the lights of [the Sabbath and] Yom Tov (festival).
On the last days of Passover one does not add the additional blessing, sheh’heh’cheh’yanu, as one does on other festivals.
Evening services are held in the synagogue.
A festive meal is eaten, preceded by the Festival Kiddush, ritual washing of the hands and Ha’Motzee, which is made over two whole matzot. The meal is followed by the Grace After Meals with the addition of Y’aleh V’Yavo, “May there rise and come…”, in honor of the holiday, and the Harachamon for the festival.
Because Yom Tov and Shabbat overlap, be sure to include all the Shabbat additions on Friday night and Saturday. On Saturday night, the festival Kiddush is altered to include Havdalah for the conclusion of Shabbat.
Changes in the morning synagogue service
During Shacharit, the morning service, the Festival Amidah is recited.
Hallel
Hallel is a collection of Psalms that are recited on the festivals and Rosh Chodesh (the new month). Only the Half-Hallel is recited after the first (two) days of Passover.
Hallel can be found in the siddur (Jewish prayerbook).
The Torah Reading
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- On the seventh day of Passover, Exodus 13:17-15:26 is read in synagogue.
- On the second day of Passover, Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 is read in synagogue.
- The maftir (additional reading) on both days is Numbers 28:26-31.
- The haftorah (prophetic message) on the seventh day is from the Samuel II 22:1-51.
The haftorah on the second day is from Isaiah 10:32-12:6.
Yizkor – The Memorial Service
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- The Yizkor Memorial Service is recited on the last day of all festivals — Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot and on Yom Kippur.
- While those who have passed away are no longer able to effect their own spiritual growth, the deeds of their children may result in additional merit for their souls.
- According to some Ashkenazic customs, those whose parents are both living leave the sanctuary during Yizkor. In Sephardic custom, everyone remains in the sanctuary while the cantor recites Yizkor.
A festive meal is eaten, preceded by the daytime festival Kiddush, ritual washing of the hands and HaMotzee, which is made over two whole matzot. The meal is followed by the Grace After Meals with the addition of Y’aleh V’Yavo, “May there rise and come…”, in honor of the holiday and the Harachamon for the festival.
Mincha
The afternoon service is recited with the special Festival Amidah (and the special insertions for Shabbat, as well as including the weekly Torah reading for Shabbat Mincha, when applicable).
Havdalah
At the conclusion of the second day of Yom Tov, Havdalah, separating holy days from week days, is recited in the evening Amidah. This Havdalah is followed by the formal Havdalah, which consists of only the blessing over grape juice (HaGafen) and the Havdalah blessing (HaMavdil), which can be found in the prayer book.
Passover
The holiday of Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt which led to the birth of the Jewish nation at Sinai. The Passover Seder, which is held on the first (and second night outside of Israel) of Passover, is perhaps the most widely observed Jewish practice. This outline will provide you with the basics of the Passover holiday, laws and customs.
