A Don’t-Go-Crazy Passover Prep Guidebook 

(Updated 03-19-26)

 

Welcome to your Passover Handy-Dandy Prep Guidebook! I hope that the information in this packet will help you navigate the holiday; making sense (and lowering the stakes…) of some challenges, and enhancing and uplifting other traditions. Please remember, as always, that this is supposed to be a religious and spiritual celebration; enjoyment and satisfaction are just as important as cleanliness and precision. Try to find a balance where you are doing what you can, but aren’t driving yourself (or family/friends) insane. Make Pesach enjoyable and meaningful – that is your #1 priority!

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Background

First, some general information: ‘Passover’ and ‘Pesach’ are two names for the same holiday. Pesach is the Biblical name, and Passover the English translation. Most of our practices surrounding Pesach originate in the Torah, though often with a HEAVY rabbinic gloss. One of the most important rules we have about Pesach is that the Torah prohibits the ownership of chametz (leavened products) during Pesach. Prohibited foods include: leavened (regular ol’) bread, cakes, crackers, cereal, coffees containing cereal derivatives, wheat, barley, oats, rye, and all liquids containing grain alcohol. 

 

Throwing all this stuff is often cost-prohibitive and certainly wasteful. Therefore, the ancient rabbis created for us a legal loophole whereby we arrange for the sale of all chametz to a non-Jewish person outside our family for the week of Pesach. That way, you don’t own it during the holiday! The temporary “sale,” mechirat chametz, is accomplished by appointing an agent, usually the rabbi, to handle the sale. This is considered a valid and legal transfer of ownership. At the end of the holiday, the agent arranges for the reversion of ownership of the now-permitted chametz. Rabbi Gerber can serve as your designated agent to sell your chametz; please be in touch if you would like more information about this.

 

Guide to Cleaning and Preparing for the holiday (don’t freak out…):

Since the Torah prohibits the eating of chametz during Pesach, and since many common foods contain some trace amount of chametz, guidance is highly recommended when shopping and preparing for Pesach. Please note: During the holiday itself, the smallest amount of chametz makes the whole product “chametz,” and its use on Pesach is prohibited. However, during the rest of the year, chametz loses its identity in a mixture of one part chametz and sixty parts (or more) of non-chametz.  This affords us the opportunity to differentiate between foods purchased before Pesach, and those purchased during the holiday.

 

What follows is a general guideline.  However, please consult Rabbi Gerber should any doubt, concern, or panic attack arise. Good luck… and take a deep breath. You got this!!

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PERMITTED FOODS: 

A. The following foods require no Kosher le-Pesach label if purchased before or during Pesach:  Fresh fruits and vegetables (for legumes, see below), eggs, fresh fish, and fresh meat.

B. The following foods require no Kosher le-Pesach label if purchased prior to Pesach:  unopened packages or containers of natural coffee without cereal additives (However, be aware that coffees produced by General Foods are not Kosher for Passover unless marked KP); sugar; pure tea (not herbal tea); salt (not iodized); pepper; natural spices; frozen fruit juices with no additives; frozen (uncooked) vegetables (see below for legumes); milk; butter; cottage cheese; cream cheese; ripened cheeses such as cheddar (hard), muenster (semi-soft) and Camembert (soft); frozen (uncooked) fruit (with no additives); baking soda.

C. The following foods require a Kosher le-Pesach label if purchased before or during Pesach:  All baked products (matzah, cakes, matzah flour, farfel, matzah meal, and any products containing matzah); canned or bottled fruit juices (These juices are often clarified with kitniyot which are not listed among the ingredients.  However, if one knows there are no such agents, the juice may be purchased prior to Pesach without a Kosher le-Pesach label); canned tuna (since tuna, even when packed in water, has often been processed in vegetable broth and/or hydrolyzed protein--however, if it is known that the tuna is packed exclusively in water, without any additional ingredients or additives, it may be purchased without a Kosher le-Pesach label); wine; vinegar; liquor; oils; dried fruits; candy; chocolate flavored milk; ice cream; yogurt; soda.

D. The following processed foods (canned, bottled, or frozen), require a Kosher le-Pesach label if purchased during Pesach:  milk, butter, juices, milk products, spices, coffee, tea, and fish, as well as all foods listed in Category C.

 

The Dreaded Custom of Kitniyot…

What’s the deal with kitniyot? Many people ask me about this, so here goes: Back in the day, Ashkenazic (Eastern European) authorities ruled that certain non-wheat foods, called kitniyot, were prohibited. These included: rice, corn, millet, and legumes (peanuts, beans, and most forms of peas).  However, in recent years, the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has issued rulings permitting kitniyot. Some Ashkenazic authorities permit, while others forbid, the use of legumes in a form other than their natural state, for example, corn sweeteners, corn oil, soy oil, and tofu.  Sephardic authorities permit the use of all of the above. Stores selling “Kosher for Passover” foods may indicate on certain foods, “Contains kitniyot.” Many Jews today, whether of Sephardic or Ashkenazic descent, have chosen to forego this entire issue, and eat all forms of non-processed kitniyot on Pesach. Rabbi Gerber DOES permit (and encourages) the eating of kitniyot. (Though your mother may roll her eyes…) Please make sure, however, that any product you purchase was not made in a facility that processes wheat, and be mindful of other ingredients. If you have any questions about how to deal with the issue of kitniyot, please speak with Rabbi Gerber.

 

DETERGENTS: If permitted during the year, powdered & liquid detergents do not require a Pesach label.

MEDICINE:  Since chametz binders are used in many pills, the following guidelines may be followed:  If the medicine is required for life sustaining therapy, it may be used on Pesach.  If not for life sustaining therapy; some permit, some prohibit. Consult Rabbi Gerber. In all cases, capsules are preferable to pills.

KASHERING UTENSILS & APPLIANCES:  The process of kashering utensils depends on how the utensils are used.  According to halachah, leaven can be purged from a utensil by the same process in which it was absorbed in the utensil (k’voleo kach poleto).  Therefore, utensils used in cooking are kashered by boiling, those used in broiling are kashered by fire and heat, and those used only for cold food are kashered by rinsing.  

   A.  EARTHENWARE (china, pottery, etc.) may not be kashered.  However, fine translucent chinaware which has not been used for over a year may be used if scoured and cleaned in hot water.

   B.  METAL (wholly made of metal) UTENSILS USED IN FIRE (spit, broiler) must first be thoroughly scrubbed and cleansed and then made as hot as possible.  Those used for cooking or eating (silverware, pots) must be thoroughly scrubbed, cleaned, and completely immersed in boiling water.  Pots should not be used for at least 24 hours between cleaning and immersing in boiling water.  Metal baking utensils cannot be kashered.

1. OVENS AND RANGES:  Every part that comes in contact with food must be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned.  Then, oven and range should be heated as hot as possible for a half hour.  If there is a broil setting, use it.  Self-cleaning ovens should be scrubbed and cleaned and then put through the self-cleaning cycle.  Continuous cleaning ovens must be kashered in the same manner as regular ovens.

2. SMOOTHTOP ELECTRIC RANGES: They cannot be covered with foil, nor heated at a high temperature, nor cleaned with an abrasive cleaner. Consult with the manufacturer on how to clean the smoothtop.  At the very least, scrub off ALL food residue and traces of residue (as best you can), and then clean thoroughly.

3. MICROWAVE OVENS: Should be cleaned, and then a cup of water should be placed inside.  Then the oven should be turned on until the water disappears.  A microwave oven that has a browning element cannot be kashered for Pesach.

4. GLASSWARE: Do a thorough scrubbing before Pesach, or run through dishwasher.

   1. Glass Cookware:  After a thorough cleansing, there should be water boiled in them which will overflow the rim. 

   2. Glass Bakeware, like metal bakeware, may not be kashered.

5. DISHWASHER:  After non-use for 24 hours, run a full (empty) cycle with detergent.

6. ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES:  If the parts that come into contact with chametz are removable, they can be kashered in the appropriate way (if metal, follow the rules for metal utensils).  If the parts are not removable, the appliance cannot be kashered.  (All exposed parts should be thoroughly cleaned.)

7. TABLES, CLOSETS, AND COUNTERS:  If used with chametz, they should be thoroughly cleaned and covered, and then they may be used.

8. KITCHEN SINK:  A metal sink can be kashered by thoroughly cleaning and then pouring boiling water over it.  A porcelain sink should be cleaned and a sink rack used.

9. CHAMETZ AND NON-PASSOVER UTENSILS:  Non-Passover dishes, pots and chametz whose ownership has been transferred, should be separated, locked up or covered, and marked in order to prevent accidental use.