Rabbis Launch Campaign, Share Tips on the Right Time to Start the Seder

The Passover Seder may be the most family-oriented Jewish event of the year; after all, the Bible clearly states about that night, “You shall tell your son . . .” Matzah, wine, bitter herbs, sweet charoset, and stomach- and soul-filling Passover cooking and teachings shared around a family Seder are the stuff of the Jewish national conscience.

Yet, according to Jewish law, the Seder has to happen after nightfall (when the stars come out), which is later than sundown, when the holiday of Passover officially starts. This can present a challenge for some living in the farthest parts of the Northern Hemisphere—a challenge some Chabad rabbis say they are trying to meet head-on.

“Here in Montreal, we have a very traditional Jewish community, and I would say that the majority of Jews get together for a Seder of some sort,” says Rabbi Berel Mockin, who directs Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization of Montreal. “But nightfall here is at 8:27 in the evening, and many families hold their Seders earlier—before Passover starts, and when eating matzah and drinking wine become a mitzvah.”

To enable more Jewish people to begin their Seders at the proper time, Mockin has banded together with area Chabad rabbis and launched a multipronged media campaign to spread awareness and tips.

The eight-day Passover holiday begins this year at sundown on Monday, April 14. The Seder feasts are held the first two nights of the holiday (and on just the first night in Israel), during which families gather over tables heaped with ceremonial foods and bottles of wine to recite familiar texts that date back to biblical times.

Mockin explains that the Torah states (in Exodus 12:8), “On this night, they shall eat the meat [of the paschal lamb].” Although there has been no sacrifice for nearly 2,000 years, since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, rabbinic tradition extends this principle to teach that the essential Passover Seder rituals—starting with the drinking of the first of four cups of wine—must be performed after night has fallen on the 15th of the Jewish month of Nissan, the night that the Israelites left Egypt more than 3,300 years ago (and repeated again in the diaspora on the 16th of Nissan, again after nightfall).

Chabad rabbis made fliers this year titled "How to Do Matzah: The Basics,” which offer tips about the holiday. They also launched an informative web site and Facebook campaign.

Drawing on the Zohar’s comparison of matzah to medicine, the rabbi says that doing the Passover mitzvahs before the proper time is like imbibing medicine when it’s not needed and neglecting to take it when it is needed. The base of the campaign is a colorful flier placed in more than 27,000 boxes of handmade shmurah matzah distributed by Chabad emissaries in and around Montreal. The pages—headlined “How to Do Matzah: The Basics”—contains the blessings to be said, the minimal amount of matzah to be eaten, and the times when it is to be eaten on the first two nights of Passover.

Since Montreal is home to large English- and French-speaking Jewish communities, all material is being promoted in both languages.

Rabbi Shmuel Cohen of Chabad of Kirkland, a suburb of Montreal, says he shares some personal tips with congregants:

• Children should nap beforehand, so that they are ready for a long night.
• While singing songs like “Who Knows One?” is traditional, it is not a mitzvah, so the rabbi suggests moving them to before the Seder begins to help children stay engaged, awake and fresh for the rest of the evening.
• Lastly, he recommends performing the preparations—from portioning matzah to setting the table—long in advance, so that the Seder can start at the earliest possible moment. (Note: On the second night of Passover, no preparations may be performed until night falls. Preparations may, however, be performed on the day before the holiday for both of the Seders.)

On the virtual side, Rabbi Leibel Fine of the nearby suburb of Dollard des Ormeaux launched an informative website (www.gotmatzah.ca) and a Facebook campaign (www.facebook.com/gotmatzah) reflecting the information in the flier.

Philip Greenberg in Dollard holds up some of the fliers, as he also helps pack matzah. Some 2,550 boxes of matzah will be doled out in this one suburb alone.

Beyond Montreal, Cohen says the campaign has been spreading to other northern cities across the Atlantic, including Manchester, England, where the earliest possible time to start the Seder is 8:51 p.m.

Farther north, in Helsinki, Fruma Ita Wolff—co-director of Lubavitch of Finland with her husband, Rabbi Benyamin Wolff—says her community is used to the fact that nightfall is very late at their latitude. “At the peak of the summer, when it doesn’t really become dark at night, Shabbat starts as late as 10:30 p.m. on Friday night, and ends only when the sun starts rising again early Sunday morning,” she explains.

The Wolffs will be calling their public Seder for 9 p.m., and will first feature a discussion, so that the actual Seder begins at the first possible moment: 9:30 p.m.

For those not attending their public Seder on the first night or joining them at home on the second night (they encourage locals to host Seders in their own homes, supplying them with round shmurah matzah), Wolff says she and her husband educate community members regarding the proper times through email, pre-Passover classes and holiday information packets.

Helsinki, Finland is another place where the sun sets late in the day. The seder there won't start this year until 9:30 p.m.

Though Passover begins next week, Cohen remains positive about the campaign.

“At the end of the day, people genuinely want to do what’s right,” he insists, “and a big part of our job as rabbis is to make sure that they have the information they need to make that decision.”