2018 Pesach Guide

d. Checking for Insects- One must be very
careful to check the lettuce for insect
infestation, as there may be small insects
in the lettuce that are camouflaged in the
folds of the leaves. While eating marror
is required Rabbinically, consuming an
insect is an issur d’oraysa (forbidden Biblically).
One who is unable to check the
lettuce for insect infestation should use
one of the other types of marror.
e. Freshness of Marror- One should use
leaves that are fresh and moist and not
dried out, for dried out leaves usually
have lost their taste. Stalks that are dried
out may still be used, since they retain
their flavor due to their thickness. The
marror may be uncovered for a while
before the seder in order to lessen its bitterness.
f. Dipping in Charoses- When dipping
the marror into the charoses, one should
be careful not to completely cover the
marror with a lot of charoses thereby
eliminating the marror’s bitter taste.
Rather, one should just dip the marror
in the charoses and then shake off the
excess prior to eating the marror.
XIII. Korecha.
Obligation- A sandwich of a k’zayis of
marror and a k’zayis of matzah should
be made. The sandwich should then be
eaten with reclining in the timespan of
k’dei achilas pras (3-4 minutes).
XIV. Shulchan Orecha.
Egg- There is a common minhag to eat
an egg in saltwater at the beginning of
the seudah (meal).
a. Pace- One should be careful to properly
pace the seudah in order to ensure that
the afikomen and the last kosos are finished
on-time.
a. Divrei Torah- The divrei Torah relating
to Yetzias Mitzrayim should continue
during the seudah.
a. Roasted Meat- Roasted meat items
should not be eaten during the seder.
Therefore, if a meat roast is being served,
the one preparing it should make sure
that there is a significant amount of
liquid on the bottom of the pan during
cooking.
XV. Tzafun (Afikomen)
a. Obligation- One should eat two
k’zaysim of matzah for the afikomen
within the timespan of kdei achilas pras.
One k’zayis corresponds to the Korban
Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), and the other
k’zayis corresponds to the matzah eaten
with the Korban Pesach.
b. Eating or Drinking After the Afikomen-
After one eats the two k’zaysim of
matzah for the afikomen, one may no
longer eat or drink anything that night
other than the two remaining kosos. One
who eats after the afikomen, must redesignate
and re-eat the afikomen. After
the seder, water, tea and (if necessary)
coffee are allowed.
c. Reclining- The afikomen should be
eaten while reclining. One who did not
recline and did not yet bentsch (say grace
after meals), should eat the afikomen
again, if it is not too difficult to do so.
d. Hiding the Afikomen- There is a common
minhag to hide the afikomen for
the children to find. Customarily, the
children ask for presents before the
afikomen is returned. If the afikomen
gets lost, other matzah may be substituted
in its place.
e. Before Chatzos- The afikomen should
be eaten before chatzos (halachic midnight),
since it corresponds to the Korban
Pesach, which could only be eaten
until chatzos. The Rema adds that one
should even try to finish the hallel that
is said after the meal prior to chatzos.
A person should also try to drink the
fourth kos before chatzos. The following
halachos apply to someone who was
unable to finish the afikomen before
chatzos:
i. B’dieved (after the fact) the afikomen
may be eaten after midnight. This
is because some poskim are of the
opinion that the Korban Pesach itself
was allowed to be eaten past chatzos.
ii. Some poskim recommend that one
who realizes during the meal that he
will not have sufficient time to finish
the meal and eat the afikomen prior
to chatzos should do as follows (the
rationale of the following is beyond
the scope of this essay):
1. Take two k’zaysim of matzah
shortly before chatzos, and say/
think the following stipulatation-
“If the halacha is that the afikomen
may not be eaten after midnight,
then these two k’zaysim should be
considered my afikomen. But, if
halacha permits the afikomen to
be eaten past midnight, then this
matzah should be considered ordinary
matzah.”
2. The first two k’zaysim should
then be eaten and all other eating
should be ceased until chatzos. After
chatzos the meal may continue
as usual.
3. Upon completing the meal, one
should take two more k’zaysim
and reverse the prior stipulation
by saying as follows- “If the previous
k’zaysim were my afikomen,
then this matzah is not, and if
the previous k’zaysim were not
my afikomen then these two new
k’zaysim should be considered my
afikomen.
4. Please note: This option should
only be relied upon b’dieved.
XVI. Bareicha.
Leading Bentsching- Even though during
the rest of the year it is common for
the host to honor a guest with leading
bentsching, on the night of the seder the
host should lead himself unless there is a
prominent guest.
XVII. Hallel
a. Hold Cup- One should preferably hold
the kos for the entire Hallel, since there
is a principle to recite song over wine.
b. Responsive Parts of Hallel- If there are
three people sitting together at the seder,
regardless of age or gender, the parts of
Hallel which are recited responsively in
shul (ANA and WDWH) should be recited responsively
at the seder as well.
XVIII. Post Sedera.
Shir Hashirim- Some people have a
minhag to say Shir Hashirim after the
seder.
b. Kol Harbeh- If one has the strength and
energy to do so, it is praiseworthy to
continue learning about and discussing
Yetzias Mitzrayim even after the seder
is over.
c. Krias Shema- On the nights of the
sedarim, one is not required to say the
entire Krias Shema Al Hamitta (bedtime
Shema) before going to sleep. This is
because it is a Leil Shimurim (a night of
protection) that Hashem extends an extra
measure of protection over Bnei Yisroel.
One only needs to say the bracha of
Hamapil and the first paragraph Shema.
AGUDATH ISRAEL OF ILLINOIS
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