Yom TovHalachos of Erev Pesach That Falls Out on Shabbos
When Erev Pesach falls on Shabbos, there are a number of differences from other years.
When one sells his chametz, which will take effect on Friday, he need not write that he is excepting the bread which he intends to eat on Shabbos, as it is assumed that the non-Jew is willing to allow Jews to eat a small amount of his chametz. However, one who wants to be stringent, may write in the bill of sale of chametz that he is exempting one specific box or bag which contains his bread for Shabbos, and specify its location of the document [1]ע' הליכות שלמה (ח, ח) דלכתחלה יכול לכלול גם את החמץ שבדעתו לאכול בשבת. ונראה דהסברא בזה, משום שיש אומדנא שאינו מקפיד אם יאכל קצת מן החמץ. .
Taanis bechorim is observed on Thursday [2]שו"ע (תע, ב), כדעה א' שם, וכ"כ רמ"א, דלא כדעה ב' שם שאין מתענין כלל. . One may attend a siyum or other seuda mitzva and exempt himself from fasting, as in other years.
Bedika is performed on Thursday night, and the usual kol chamira is recited afterward.
Biur chametz is performed on Friday. It should be performed before the sixth hour of the day [3]שו"ע (תמד, ב), ע"פ מ"ב (סק"ט). . If it was not performed before this time, it may be performed anytime on Friday. Kol chamira is not recited on Friday.
One may work on Friday until mincha ketana, as on any other Friday [4]ביה"ל (תסח, א), דאינו אסור אלא בזמן שחיטת הפסח, ע"פ הירושלמי, וכ"כ רוב פוסקים. אבל לפי טעם רש"י, כדי שלא יהא טרוד במלאכה וישכח לבער חמצו, יש ליזהר שלא לעשות מלאכה מחצות. . One may shave, take a haircut, or do laundry at any time on Friday.
Besides for the bread, the Shabbos meals should be completely Pesachdik and eaten on Pesachdik utensils. Eating bread presents an obvious difficulty, particularly if one has small children who may carry crumbs with them.
If one has a porch or yard from which his dining room is visible, he should, after reciting kiddush in his house , recite hamotzee in the yard or porch and eat all bread there [5]יש להקל כיון שהיה דעתו ללכת לשם, בצירוף שיכול לראותו מביתו, ע' רמ"א (רעג, א) ומ"ב (שם). . It is recommended to eat pita, or small rolls, which can be broken by hand instead of cutting them, as these make less crumbs than challah. After carefully brushing off all crumbs from one’s clothing, one may continue his meal in his dining room.
Alternatively, one may eat bread in his dining room. One should spread a disposable tablecloth out before eating the bread, and eat while trying not to leave over crumbs. After eating bread, any pieces of challah large enough to eat should be flushed down the toilet, the tablecloth with the remaining crumbs should be discarded, and one should brush off crumbs from one’s clothing before eating the meal.
If no such place is available, or he has young children and is concerned they may carry bread with them, one may eat kosher l’pesach egg-matza at his meals [6]ע' אג"מ (או"ח א, קנה). . They may be eaten at the table together with Pesachdik utensils, even though the custom is not to eat these matzos on Pesach [7]רמ"א (תסב, ד) . Because it is questionable in what case one can recite hamotzee on egg-matzah, one should eat at least one whole matza, and enough other food that would constitute a full meal, and then he can recite birkas hamazon [8]ע"פ מ"ב (קסח, כד) .
Matza may be used as lechem mishna on this Shabbos [9]הליכות שלמה (ח, יא) . Matza is not muktzah, as one is permitted to feed it to children under age five. However, if one knows he will not feed matza to his children (e.g., due to the expense), it becomes muktzah at sunrise on Shabbos [10]הליכות שלמה (ח, יב) .
Shacharis is davened earlier than usual on Shabbos. One should eat his seuda without delay in order to have time to wait before eating another bread meal [11]ע' מ"ב (תמד, ד) . If one finishes eating his meal when there is at least 30 minutes left to eat chametz , he should bentch, wait 20-30 minutes [12]ע' שיעורי הלכה (פלדר) דלדעת החזון איש יש להמתין 30 דק', וי"א צריך 15 דק'. , go for a walk, (distract oneself, as otherwise a bracha may not be recited for netilas yadayim at the next meal) and then wash again and eat bread, finishing to eat it before the fifth hour of the day. If one is still eating at that time, he should continue his meal, and stop eating bread before the last time to eat chametz . In this case, one may rely on the food eaten in the afternoon to fulfill seuda shlishis [13]מ"ב (תמד, ח) . One may continue to eat other food after this time.
After eating bread for the last time, before the last time to eat chametz , one should brush his teeth with a dry ( chametzdik) toothbrush to remove any chametz in his mouth.
One must destroy his chametz before the sixth hour of the day. Before this time , one should sweep up all remaining chametz, and flush it down the toilet. If one has too much chametz and this is not practical, he may place any remaining chametz with the sold chametz . If one did not sell chametz, he may place it in his garbage and remove it from his property. Then, during the fifth hour of the day, one should recite the second kol chamira declaration [14]שו"ע (תמד, ו) .
If one did not sweep up the chametz crumbs before the sixth hour of the day, they are muktzah [15]מ"ב (תמד, כא). ונראה, דלענין מוקצה דרבנן יש להקל בזמן הביעור כדעת הגר"א. and may not be swept up with a broom [16]מ"ב (תמו, יא). אבל אם מכוון רק לנקות ביתו, ואינו מתכוון לסלק החמץ, אפשר דיש להתיר, דהוי לצורך דבר המותר. . One may kick them outside with his foot.
In the afternoon, one should eat fish, chicken, or meat to fulfill his obligation of seuda shlishis. Even one who ate two bread meals in the morning should do so [17]רמ"א (תמד, א), ומ"ב (סק"ח). ולדעת רמ"א לכתחלה יכול לסמוך על בשר וכו' שיאכל בצהרים לסעודה ג', וע' ערה"ש (סק"ו) דכל זה לרווחא דמילתא, דלא נצטוו כלל לעשות ג' סעודות בשבת זה. ולאלו שנוהגים לאכול מצה שרויה בפסח, יותר טוב לקיימו במצה שנתבשלה כגון matza balls (ע' שו"ע רצא, ה), אבל בכה"ג צריך לאוכלם קודם שעה עשירית (מ"ב תעא, כ). . One may also eat fruits or vegetables if none of the above items are available [18]שו"ע (רצא, ה) .
No preparations for the seder may be performed on Shabbos. One may not set the seder table until after nightfall [19]ועל ידי עכו"ם יש להקל בדבר שאינו מלאכה (פרי מגדים, אש"א ר"ס תקג). . All seder items should be prepared on Friday, including roasting the zeroa and egg, grinding and mixing the charoses, mixing saltwater, and checking lettuce. Those who eat horseradish should grind it on Friday.
One may bring his machzor to shul on Shabbos, if there is enough time before tzeis hakochavim to look at some of the tefilos.
One who is eating his seder at another’s house may not bring items needed for the seder on Shabbos; see {Preparing for the Seder}.