PESACH RESOURCES – 5786 (UPATED MARCH 16, 2026)
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Chaverim yekarim - Dear friends:
Well, it’s almost time for Pesach! You know, the “Festival of Freedom”, the holiday on which we celebrate our release from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt by abiding by the very strict dietary and ritual rules created by the Rabbis and Jewish Tradition, including eating the hardtack called matzah for eight days. Freedom, you say? God said, “Send forth My people, so they may serve me.” That’s how it is typically translated. But the Hebrew word for “so they may serve me”, “v’ya’avduni”, might easily be translated as “so they will slave for Me”. The root for “serve”, “avad”, is also the root for “eved” – “slave”. So, how do you manage Pesach in such a way as to avoid complete slavery?
Here are some simple rules:
1. Accept that you are not perfect – and neither is anyone else! You don’t have to do it all! You can’t do it all!
2. Prepare the house by cleaning and removing the chametz. A short but very useful guide to kashering your kitchen and home and identifying foods that are or are not kosher for Passover 5786/2026 can be found at:
3. Prepare the food for the Seder.
4. Prepare the food for the remainder of the holiday by shopping for it before Pesach.
5. Prepare yourself and your family spiritually.
6. Prepare yourself and your family intellectually.
7. Do not drive yourself or anyone else crazy – see number rule #1.
8. Remember that Pesach really is about freedom; freedom is fun; have fun! See rule #7.
9. Any questions? Ask a rabbi!
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Are you looking for ways to make your Seder more meaningful, more accessible, more involving for children, more interesting, shorter, etc.? Then check out these resources on-line:
a. The Rabbinical Assembly’s Pesach Guide 5786 can be downloaded at the following site:
b. Additional Pesach kashrut and other resources from the Rabbinical Assembly may be found at:
c. Pesach kitchen kashering from a strictly Orthodox perspective can be found at:
https://artscroll.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/kosher-kitchen_ch-15.pdf
d. MyJewishLearning.com is, IMVHO, the best Jewish educational resource on the web, and has material on virtually everything you might ever want to know about Judaism, but don't know how or whom to ask. The homepage is easily navigable. For Pesach, explore this page, with its 33(!) additional pages of links (!), 10-15 per page, over 350 links in all, to all kinds of information and resources - recipes, planning tips, DIY Haggadot, customs of different communities, and just about anything you might want to know about Pesach:
e. Passover according to Chabad in a straightforward manner. Lots of useful material. Follow the various links on this page:
f. Especially good for beginners, National Jewish Outreach Program’s extensive and accessible collection of how-tos, background materials and videos, from the folks who bring you Shabbat Across America (also has Shabbat and other holiday resources):
https://njop.org/passover/passover-seder-101-web-series/
g. How about a downloadable Haggadah? Check these out:
PJ Library has lots of accessible educational Jewish books and and other materials for free. This haggadah seems really long, but it's in big print with lots of illustrations.
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It might not be "the best", but this printable PDF covers all the halakhic basics in about 8-10 pages. I would definitely use this for a short but meaningful Seder if pressed for time (school night, hungry little ones, etc,)
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Some of the very nice things about this Chabad Haggadah - it's a printable PDF file; it has lots of explanations of the hows and whys of the seder; and, it has a modern, accessible, non-literal translation. One drawback - it's 114 pages long, including introductory material and appendices. You can print only the pages you want.
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Sefaria is a one-stop source for thousands of Jewish texts and teaching/study materials.
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Barebones, no explanation, but has transliterations for the bulk of the haggadah.
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6. Last, but not least, everyone's favorite:
Yep, that's right, a scanned version of the complete Maxwell House Haggadah. Ah, the memories ...
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NOTE: A Google search for "free downloadable haggadah" or "haggadah online" will lead to some useful and many not-so-useful resources. If you go this route, be sure they are legitimate and not come-ons from Christian missionary groups.
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h. Another very nice on-line resource is excellent, and includes material in Spanish and French (Be sure to follow all the internal links):
Exploring Judaism is a project of Conservative/Masorti Judaism.
i. Courtesy of the Rabbinical Assembly, a useful source sheet with discussion questions that is appropriate for group study or around the seder table can be found here:
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One of my seminary teachers suggested that, in addition to whichever Haggadah of choice you use for your Seder, you should every year acquire a new Haggadah with commentary and illustrations to help you prepare and make your Seder more enjoyable. Ask your local Jewish bookseller, consult with a rabbi, explore the web – there are beautiful and accessible Haggadot available. My Jewish Learning has a nice article about choosing a Haggadah for your seder here: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/how-is-this-haggadah-different/ Here are some of my favorites for getting ready:
1. Passover Haggadah – The Feast of Freedom. The Rabbinical Assembly, 1982. Clear spiritual commentary.
2. A Passover Haggadah – Go Forth and Learn. Rabbi David Silver. Jewish Publication Society, 2011. A new classic.
3. The Haggadah Treasury. Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Artscroll, 1978. Midrash and traditional teachings.
4. From Bondage to Freedom – The Passover Haggadah. Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D. Shaar Press, 1995. Tradition blended with insights relating to addiction and dependency.
5. A Different Night – The Family Participation Haggadah. Noam Zion and David Dishon. Shalom Hartman Institute, 1997. Difficult to use at the seder, but lots of great ideas - especially in the leader's guide.
6. Studies on the Haggadah from the Teachings of Nechama Leibowitz. Urim Publications, 2002. Deep Torah from a great scholar.
7. The Hirsch Haggadah. Samson Raphael Hirsch. Feldheim Publishers, 1993. The 19th century voice of Orthodoxy.
8. A Feast of History. Chaim Raphael. Steimatzky’s, 1972. (Out of print but available used) The lengthy historical essay is interesting and useful.
9. The Origins of the Seder. Baruch Bokser. JTS Press, 2002 (Paperback edition). Not a Haggadah, but for those interested in an academic treatise that opens the eyes to history.
10. Passover – The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration. Dr. Ron Wolfson. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2010 (2d edition) A straight-forward how-to guide with explanations and insights for the table.
Some other important reminders about Pesach and the lead-up to the holy days:
1. All first-borns (except Levi’im and Kohanim) are obliged to engage in a fast, called Ta’anit B’chorot, others say Ta'anit B'chorim, in recognition of the 10th plague, from pre-dawn until the seder on the 14th of Nisan - this year on Wednesday, April 1. To avoid the fast, the custom has become for the firstborn to engage in Torah study and then have a festive "meal" (a siyyum) at the completion of their study. Temple B'nai Hayim and Adat Ari El will hold in-person (Deiber Chapel) and on-line morning minyan, Torah study and siyyum on April 1, at 7:30 am. Zoom details will be in the synagogue e-mail notices.
2. Adat Ari El is is holding an in-person Community First Seder this year, Wednesday, April 1, at 6:00 pm. RSVP at:
Temple B'nai Hayim is holding an in-person Community Second Seder this year, Thursday, April 2, at 6:30 pm. This seder will be at Adat Ari El - Russell Hall. RSVP at: https://tinyurl.com/TBHSecondSeder
For more information on the TBH Community Second Seder, contact the synagogue at (818) 788-4664 or office@bethmeier.org
For more information on the AAE Community First Seder, contact the synagogue at (818) 766-9426
3. DON’T FORGET TO REMOVE AND SELL CHAMETZ!! – AUTHORIZE RABBI VAN LEEUWEN TO SELL ON YOUR BEHALF NO LATER THAN 3:00 pm, March 25, 2026.
I guess it's time to start thinking about Pesach!
Wishing you a Chag Pesach Sameach, Kasher U’Mashma’uti – A Passover that is Happy, Kosher and Meaningful!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom, DD (HC)
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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