Passover

==Morning of 14th of Nisan==
Note that if the 14th of Nisan is [[Shabbat]], many of the below will be celebrated on the 13th instead [[Eve of Passover on Shabbat|due to restrictions in place during Shabbat]].

===Fast of the Firstborn===
{{main|Fast of the Firstborn|siyum}}
On the day preceding the first Passover seder (or on Thursday morning preceding the seder, when the first seder falls on [[Motza'ei Shabbat]]), firstborn sons are commanded to celebrate the [[Fast of the Firstborn]] which commemorates the salvation of the Hebrew firstborns. According to Exodus 12:29, God struck down all Egyptian firstborns while the Israelites were not affected.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:29|HE}}</ref> However, it is customary for synagogues to conduct a ''[[siyum]]'' (ceremony marking the completion of a section of [[Torah learning]]) right after [[Shacharit|morning prayers]], and the [[Seudat mitzvah|celebratory meal]] that follows cancels the firstborn's obligation to fast.

===Burning and nullification of leaven===
On the morning of the 14th of [[Nisan]], any leavened products that remain in the householder's possession, along with the 10 morsels of bread from the previous night's search, are burned (''s'rayfat chametz''). The head of the household repeats the declaration of ''biyur chametz'', declaring any ''chametz'' that may not have been found to be null and void "as the dust of the earth":

:Any chametz or leaven that is in my possession which I have not seen and have not removed and do not know about should be annulled and become ownerless like the dust of the earth.

The original declaration, as recited in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], is:<ref name="ArtScroll Pesach Machzor" />

כל חמירא וחמיעא דאכא ברשותי דלא חמתה ודלא בערתה ודלא ידענא לה לבטל ולהוי הפקר כעפרא דארעא

Should more ''chametz'' actually be found in the house during the Passover holiday, it must be burnt as soon as possible.

Unlike ''chametz'', which can be eaten any day of the year except during Passover, kosher for Passover foods can be eaten year-round. They need not be burnt or otherwise discarded after the holiday ends.

The historic "Paschal lamb" [[Passover sacrifice]] (''Korban Pesach'') has not been brought following the Romans' destruction of the [[Second Temple|Second Jewish temple]] approximately two thousand years ago, and it is therefore still not part of the modern Jewish holiday.

In the times when the Jewish Temples stood, the lamb was slaughtered and cooked on the evening of Passover and was completely consumed before the morning as described in Exodus 12:3–11.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:3–11|HE}}</ref>

===Not eating matzah from sunrise until sunset (day before Passover)===
Even Kosher for Passover matzah cannot be eaten all day Erev Pesach.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Star-K]] 
   |url=https://www.star-k.org/articles/articles/seasonal/357/the-busiest-day-of-the-year-the-laws-of-erev-pesach
   |title=The Busiest Day of the Year: Laws of Erev Pesach|date=January 8, 2022
}}</ref> Some even practice this up to 30 days before.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Orthodox Union]] (OU)
|url=https://www.ou.org/torah/halacha/hashoneh-halachos/sat_12_07_13
|title=Cutting Hair and Nails on Erev Pesach – OU Torah
|quote=We may not eat matzah the entire day erev Pesach}}</ref> In some way this restriction is analogous{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} to how the blowing of the Shofar, done by [[Ashkenazic Jews]] the month preceding [[Rosh Hashana]], is not done on the day before that Holiday.