GoSephardic . com

Montreal Shabbaton

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:16:20 +0000

GoSephardic is coming together again for a reunion in Montreal! This “Superstar Weekend” will include a Shabbaton and all kinds of activities. Catch up with friends, meet new people, and of course, get to see your favorite rabbis:

R’ Dov
R’ Friedman
R’ Levy

As a bonus for those interested, we will be attending Devorah Szachtel’s wedding in NY March 18th. Join us for the celebration!!

The plan

Thursday, March 18: Wedding. Bus leaving for Montreal straight from the wedding.
Friday, March 19: Shabbat together.
Saturday, March 20: Shabbat by families in Montreal. Classes and 3rd meal. Motsay Shabbat activity.
Sunday, March 21: Return home

The spots are very limited, so sign up soon!
Cost for NYers: $250
LA Kids: Just get there! (Ok, contact us for more info)

For more information or to book a spot, please get in touch with:

Tiffany Shaer: anny584@aol.com
Noonsheen Nili: noonsheene.nili@gmail.com
Rabbi Dov: rabbiharrouch@jewishexperience.ca

Download the flyer here.

Pessah Checklist

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:52:03 +0000

Giving Tzedaka

It is a custom to give tzedaka to the poor people of the city so that all the Jews of that community may eat and celebrate the holy days of Pessah
Ask your local Rabbi to allocate the funds specifically for this purpose

Fast of the First-Born

First born males (age 13+) of each family must fast on Wednesday
Fast begins at sunrise
One can avoid fasting if they attend a seudat mitzvah. Ask your local Rabbi when this is taking place (usually in the morning after Shacharit)

The Seder Plate

We have the custom of organizing the seder plate like this:

                       3 Matzot

         Beytsa                          Zroah
      (Boiled Egg)                    (Shankbone)


                         Maror
                       (Lettuce)

         Karpas                         Haroset
        (Celery)                       (Haroset)

                       Chazeret
                       (Lettuce)

The 4 Cups of Wine

Men & Women must drink the 4 cups of wine (at the appropriate times during the seder)
There are 3 options for this sometimes difficult task:
- Chug the entire cup
- Chug a re’evit (3.3 oz)
- Drink a huge gulp, worth a cheek-full
Those who cannot chug wine, may chug grape juice
One must lean on their left side while drinking

Karpas

Celery dipped in salt water (or vinegar water)
Eat only one piece
Maximum size of the one piece is half of an adult’s finger (kazayit)

Matza

At the appropriate times during the seder, Men & Women must eat at least:
- 1/2 Machine-made Matza
- 1/4 Hand-made Matza
These quantities must be eaten within 4-7 minutes
One must lean on their left side while eating the matza

Maror

Use lettuce (endives could also be used)
The quantity should be piece that is the size of a matchbox (kazayit)

Korech

This is the sandwich with matza
Use half a matza, broken in two for the two ‘loaves’ of the sandwich
But lettuce in the middle with haroset
One must lean on their left side while eating the sandwich

Afikoman

One must eat another half matza at the end of the meal
One must lean on their left side while eating it
Maximum time to eat it is by about 12:30am (hatzot)

Passover Cleaning

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:38:00 +0000

This document is intended as a guide. One should consult a competent Rabbi for any questions or clarifications. All of these halachot are in accordance with Rav Ovadia Yoseph shelita, the leading authority on Sephardic Halacha.

Overview:

1) Introduction
2) How to Kasher your kitchen
3) Kashering In-Depth

1) INTRODUCTION

The Torah states that no Chamets is to be seen by a Jew during Pesach, and no Chamets is to remain in a Jew’s possession during the festival.

Parshat Shemot 12:1 it says: “…for seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses,” and in Shemot 13:7: “ Chamets shall not be seen with you….” These sources refer to the topic of cleaning ones utensils before Pesach. If one does not properly clean his utensils and uses them on Pesach, the food is rendered uneatable, and he possibly has committed a transgression. We are looking to rid ourselves of two things: Chamets is food made of fermented grain. Se’or is non-edible sourdough, which has the power to ferment other dough. The process of cleansing is called Hachshara or L’Hachshir.

There are numerous ways to Kasher utensils [they are listed below by their level of effectiveness. If a utensil necessitated only pouring hot water and one proceeded to do “more” and immerse it in boiling hot water the utensil is Kasher.] The source of koshering Dishes comes from the following pasuk Bemidbar 31:23 Any utensil that is used through fire , pass it through the fire , and that which does not go through fire , pass it through water.” It is from here that our sages learn the topic Ke’boloh Kach Polto, “The way that Chamets/non kosher enters into the pot is the way that it goes out”.

I. Libun– Burning with fire until sparks come out of the utensil
II . Hagalah -Immersing in bubbling water that is on the fire
III. Earuy – Pouring boiling water on the utensil
V. Wiping clean
VI. Soaking in water

2) HOW TO KASHER YOUR KITCHEN

Oven

(Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :1)

If the oven has the self cleaning feature, that is sufficient to clean the oven
If not one should clean it thoroughly and abstain from usage for a 24 hour period after which they turn it on the highest setting for 1-2 hours.In this instance , if one placed Chamets directly on the trays one needs to replace them , or place perform “Self Clean” on them

Microwave

Clean it thoroughly
Place a cup inside with water and with bleach/soap
Turn the microwave on for enough time that it will become filled with steam, (usually 20 minutes) and wipe it clean
If the glass tray inside is made of glass Minhag bnei Sepharad is that it needs only to be wiped clean

Stove top

(Torat HaMoadim pg 236)

Make sure to clean thoroughly under the tray where edible Chamets lurks unnoticed
The element and burners should be immersed in boiling water (One may pour boiling water on them, as mentiond ,however ,Hagalah is more thorough and recommended)
Pour boiling water on the surface of the stove to cleanse

Dishwasher

(Torat HaMoadim pg 246)

Clean thoroughly from Chamets
Abstain from usage for a period of 24 hours
Turn on dishwasher with hot water (without the dishes inside)

Points to Ponder

Utensils made of Clay and Porcelain may not be kashered (Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :7)
According to the mihag of the Sepharadim, glass, pyrex, duralex does not need to be kashered, but rather wiped clean (Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :10)
The hot water earn may be rinsed clean, unless Chamets was placed on it then it needs Hagalah (Torat HaMoadim pg 245)

3) KASHERING IN-DEPTH

Libun – Burning directly with fire

If items are used with Chamets and come into direct contact with fire without any intermediary, such as water or oil, the only way to remove the Chamets is through fire
Skewers, that Chamets is placed on them, bread trays, dough or the like are placed directly on them and placed in the oven
A tray that is used merely for storage is in a different category
This method of Kashering is generally not used on Pesach, and one is encouraged to use alternate utensils (Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :1)

Hagalah - Immerse in boiling hot water

INSTRUCTIONS: First, make sure the items are completely clean. Then, fill up a big pot with water, (make sure to use a pot that is Kosher for Pesach). The water should reach a boil. Completely immerse the utensil to be kashered in the water. Since the item slightly affects the water temperature somewhat, the utensil needs to remain submerged long enough so that the water reaches a boil again. Thirty seconds is the optimum time for the submerged item to remain in the boiling water. However, if one leaves the utensil it in the boiling water any longer, there is a problem of re-absorbing some of the Chamets. Thirty seconds is ideal. It is our Minhag (custom) to immerse the cleansed utensils in cold water immediately after kashering them.

Utensils that are kashered in this fashion are:

metal bowls (used to make spaghetti etc.)
pots and pans that are used to cook sauces and water
frying pan
serving utensils that are placed into the pot to take out food

It is recommended that any moveable objects that are in need of Kashering, such as silverware, blenders, burners etc. should be immersed as well. (Even though one can use a more lenient approach, many times this is easier and is able to assure a more effective koshering process.) (Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :2)

Earuy

(Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :5)

Pouring boiling water from a kettle onto the utensil. One should make sure that the bubbling water reaches every point of the item.
The utensils include:

Serving bowls
[that do not come into direct contact with fire rather, the food is placed into them from the pot], counter tops, plastic baby bottle kitchen sink, and silverware,
Shabbat Plata
The stovetop burners

Wiping clean

(Chazon Ovadia Pesach Laws of Hagala :6)

The following items necessitate only wiping/rinsing to assure that they are rid of Chamets:

Refrigerator and the trays inside
garbage can
utensils made of glass or pyrex
kiddush cups
chairs
toothbrushes (although it is better to acquire a new one)
hot water urn (provided that no Chamets was placed on it)
salt shaker
dentures

Questions? Just contact us (like is at the top of the page)

Checking for Hametz on Before Pessah

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:02:29 +0000

Bedikat Chametz
Searching for the Chametz (8 steps)

On the night of the 14th of Nissan, (Sunday, March 28th, 2010), as of we search for the hametz.
You will need:

10 pieces of bread no bigger than your nose
aluminum foil
a candle or flashlight
a knife

1. Wrap the bread in foil properly
2. Have someone hide them in each room of the house
3. Light the candle
4. Say the beracha: Barouch Ata Ado-nay, Elo-henu melech ha-olam, asher kidehshanu bemitzvotav, veh tsivanu al biyur chametz
(everyone else says “Amen”)
5. Go searching for all 10 pieces of bread (without speaking – if one did speak after they commenced the search they need not make another beracha)
6. Bring the candle and knife with you
7. When finished, disowned all the chametz you don’t want by reciting:
Kal Chamira d’Ica birshuti, d’la chazita oud’la viarteh v’leheveh hefker keh arfra d’ar ah
(All the chamets that I own, whether I saw it or not, is now considered ownerness like the dirt of the earth)
8. Put the 10 pieces of bread in a bag for the next day

Remeber to sell you chametz by Wednesday morning. Check with your local Rabbi to obtain the contract.

Biyur Chametz
Burning the Hametz (4 steps)

On the morning of Monday, 29th of March, 2010, until about 10am maximum (ask your local Rabbi):

1. Place the 10 pieces of bread without the foil in a bin
2. Burn them all, along with any other hametz that you have in your possesion
3. Recite Kal Chamira
Kal Chamira d’Ica birshuti, d’la chazita oud’la viarteh, d’vearteh oh d’la vearteh, livteel v’leheveh hefker keh arfra d’ar ah
(All the chamets that I own, whether I saw it or not, which I did or did not remove, is now considered ownerness like the dirt of the earth)
4. Carefully throw out all the ashes in the garbage

If one forgot to search for the hametz on Sunday night, they can still go through the 8 steps for ‘Searching for the Hametz” on Monday and the go through the “Burning of the Hametz” until about 10am (ask local Rabbi for exact time).

MP3s by Rabbi Levy

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:39:14 +0000

Significance Series: A Behind the Scenes Look at Jewish Life

(Right-click the file and save the MP3 to your computer)

Pathways of Spirituality – While the world is running in every direction to find…well, pathways to spirituality! In this class, we’ll discover how!
Download MP3

What Are We Here For? – Ok, it’s the biggest question in the world. We give it some thought once in a while, but really, it keeps nagging at us every so often. So come on, let’s give it some time and try to get some perspective on this idea together.
Download MP3

Shema: Beyond the Darkness – Did you ever wonder why we cover our eyes during the Shema ? Did you know that the Shema can be recited in any language and what does the Shema have to do with the four corners of the earth ? All this and more in this exciting class!
Download MP3

Mezuzah : A moment in Eternity – What do Israel, the Temple and the Romans have to do with this most overlooked mitsvah? In this class we are introduced to big concepts hiding behind small laws that all reveal a timeless treasure. Do you feel like you need an opportunity for focus and direction , does the fast pace of life run before you? Then you will love this SMALL class with a BIG message!
Download MP3

Synagogue: High Energy Judaism -The Synagogue , Family Purity, Reading of the Torah and Proposing all have one link – High Energy. This episode weaves together all these seemingly random laws into a masterpiece that will help keep your Jewish awareness at its peek. An opportunity to get your heart into things all you have to do is … lend an ear.
Download MP3

Self Definition – How do you define who you are ? What part does you appearance play in the greater scheme of your personality ? What is the Jewish view on modesty ? This class shares with us the tools of obtaining a healthy self image through the way we dress.
Download MP3

Wine – Elevating the Mundane - What is the most spiritual and mundane substance ? Are they the same ? Get the Jewish View on becoming rich and successful.The highest level of service of the Almighty is right at your doorstep – so open the door to this class and let it in!
Download MP3

7 Ways to Get the Most Out of Life – Did you ever wonder why the Almighty created the world in seven days and not one? He is ALMIGHTY and capable of everything. This was done for our benefit, an attempt to teach us the 7 tools towards a productive life. In this humorous and informative class we discover the keys for Time management, aiming high, self esteem, prayer and more.
Download MP3