Pesach is a VERY busy time for women. There is much organizing, cooking, and cleaning! It also can be a time of confusion with so many different halachot. It is very important to sit down as a couple (with your spouse) or as a community and determine what your family's chalakah will be concerning Pesach and keep a journal about your discussion and activities.
Four years ago my husband and I did that very thing. We found that if we did not then we would forget what was agreed upon.
One of the big issues we discussed is "what exactly is leaven?" Scripture uses two different words for "leaven": chametz and seor.
Seor is a substance which, through fermentation, makes dough rise. Yeast, baking powder, and baking soda are all leavening agents. However there are "kosher for passover" baking powder and soda available.
Chametz is any product made with "seor" in it. White, fluffy Wonderbread, donuts, and bagels are "chametz" because they have leaven in them.
Scripture tells us that leaven [seor] should be removed from our homes on the first day (Exodus 12:15) and that it should not be in our homes for seven days (Exodus 12:19). Nothing leavened [chametz] should be seen among you or within your borders (Exodus 13:7). We should not eat anything leavened [chametz] (Exodus 12:20). See The Feast of Unleavened Bread for more details.
Update [02/06/2011]: Since this paper was originally written, some things have changed at the Bitting house regarding preparation for Passover. We now prepare according to Ashkenazic chalakah. We rekasher the kitchen... oven, sinks, countertops, anything that can be made "kosher for Passover". What cannot be kashered is cleaned and stored in sealed containers. We use only "kosher for passover" food items and we have a separate set of dishware and pans, etc, specifically for Passover.
As for the rest of the house, we do a thorough search/cleaning specifically for crumbs, crackers, pretzels etc, which have infiltrated the various spaces of our habitat. :>) Dust is not necessarily the target.
However, this article is still a good place to start for newcomers. We also would like to recommend this website with helpful tips, recipes, resources, and other insightful information: Kosher4Passover.com
In order to prepare our home for Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Chag HaMatzot] we have put together the following checklist for our cleaning cycle:
Things to Remember
- Planning
- Just BEFORE Purim:
- Go through the pantry and label all things which are pasadik (contain seor/leaven)
- Put green stickers on pasadik items (green means they must go) and red stickers on things that are not.
Color label dots can be found in the office/school supply area of Walmart or at Office Max/Office Depot. - Make a section in the pantry for non-pasadik items.
- Make a list of non-pasadik items to help build your menu for the week of Unleavened Bread.
- IMMEDIATELY AFTER Purim plan the seder:
- Who (how many people)?
- Where?
- Which haggadah?
- Menu
- Pesach day (Nisan 14- the seder)
- First day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15- a day of rest)
- Seventh day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 22- a day of rest)
- The week of Unleavened Bread
- Make a list/menu for the days leading up to Pesach so you can use up all of the pasadik/leavened items.
- Just BEFORE Purim:
- Making Menus
Here are some sample menu items that do not contain leaven/seor:- Breakfast
- Fruit drinks
- Matzah cinnamon toast
- Matzah frittata
- Apple muffin mix (kosher for Passover)
- Veggie & fruit cupcakes (see this recipe for an example of kosher for Passover cupcakes)
- Lunch
- Matzah pizza
- Grilled chicken salad
- Passover style farfel and cheese
- Baked potato
- Dinner
- Shepherd's pie
green beans
apple crisp - Roast beef
potato kugel
zucchini/ zucchini kugel - Breaded chicken (breaded with matzo meal)
french fries
mixed vegetables - Matzo meal & cottage cheese latkes
- Stew
Prince Albert cake - Three veggie kugel
- Matzah ball soup
- Spinach cheese lasagna
- Leftovers
- Shepherd's pie
- Breakfast
- Cleaning
- When
- Start cleaning the day after Purim (unless, of course, it's Shabbat!)
- Reduce homeschool and other activities to allow for time to clean
- Where
- Tackle one room at a time (see list below)
- Closets can be time consuming. Treat them as a separate "room".
- What
Reminder! Once you have cleaned a room/area be sure to tell the rest of your family that food is off limits in that area.
- When
- Teaching
- Plan Scripture memorization during cleaning time.
- Have Pesach/The 48 Ways journals ready. Use this season as a time of personal growth and introspection!
- Purchasing
Get these as soon as possible after Purim- Lining paper for pantry and drawers
- Green and red labels for food items
- New toothbrushes
- New scrubbie for kitchen sink (the old one likely has chametz on it!)
- Matzah meal
- Matzah cake meal
- Chicken broth
- Matzah (about 1-2 boxes per person for the week). Consider buying in bulk with other families.
- Mayonnaise
- Many larger grocery chains will have stores with special "kosher for Passover" products.
- Searching
- Pesach event
- Meal- only enough for one night. Limit leftovers to the absolute minimum.
- Decorate with the "plagues" of the exodus (plastic toy frogs, insects, mice, etc).
Cleaning List
Bedrooms
Sort through books
Sorth through drawers
Sort through closets
Wash bedding, bed skirts, and curtains
Vacuum mattress, turn over, and vacuum again
Dust
Clean ceiling fans
Clean light switches, doors, and door knobs
Vacuum room
Wash windows (remove screens and clean gutter areas also)
Bathrooms
Clean out linen closets
Go through cabinets
Clean shower/bathtub
Clean toilet (recaulk base)
Clean counter and mirror
Clean and oil cabinets
Vacuum and mop floors
Living areas
Vacuum upholstered furniture, vacuum underneath cushions, wash cushion covers (if possible)
Move furniture and vacuum underneath
Dust
Vacuum
Clean ceiling fans
Wash windows (remove screens and clean gutter areas also)
Clean fireplace
Wash curtains
Dining room
Go through drawers in cabinets and furniture
Clean glass on curio/china cabinets
Clean mirrors
Dust
Sweep/mop/vacuum floors
Wash windows (remove screens and clean gutter areas also)
Pantry
Label all pasadik items
Use up all leaven items in pantry, freezer, and refrigerator
Sweep/mop/vacuum floors
Kitchen (save for last)
Clean inside and tops of cabinets and drawers
Oil cabinets
Remove toaster/toaster oven... anything that would have toasted bread
Wash cookie jars (keep empty)
Wash counters
Clean the stove
Wash windows (remove screens and clean gutter areas also)
Wash curtains
Sweep/mop/vacuum floors
If you have any other thoughts or recommendations to share, please contact us! :)