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Pesach – the Last Six Days

Alvin Stern

We all know about the start of the holiday of Pesach – with a month of preparation in terms of cleaning the house and getting rid of chometz, and the preparation and rituals of the Sedarim the first two nights. And many of us have lots of leftovers that will last beyond the first two days!

Let us look at some of the aspects of the remainder of the holiday in this column. We consider the first two days and last two days of the holiday to be major religious holidays, sharing the same status as Rosh HaShana, the first and last two days of Sukkot and the two days of Shavuot (though in Israel, all of the two day periods are only celebrated for one day, except Rosh HaShana, which is celebrated for two days throughout the world). On these days we have full holiday services with Torah readings (5 aliyot), haftarah readings, and Hallel (except for Rosh HaShana), and we refrain from working, though unlike on Shabbat, we are permitted to cook.

The intermediate days of Pesach and Sukkot are known as Chol HaMoed – literally weekday of the Holiday – days in which we observe the holiday uniqueness but go to work. There are additions to the regular weekday services, including a short Torah reading, but clearly these days seem more mundane than holy. On Sukkot, we use the lulav and etrog and “dwell” in the Sukkah throughout these intermediate days.

On Pesach, we continue to eat Matzah and refrain from eating of the foods which are considered chometz during the last six days. Throughout the last six days of Pesach there is a tradition of drinking one cup of wine each day – to symbolize the extra happiness we feel in celebrating our freedom. Yet, while we recite the “full Hallel” – Psalms of Praise during the course of the Seder and at morning services on the first two days, during the last six days we only recite the “half-Hallel” leaving out two sections. This is symbolic of our empathy for the Egyptians who were drowned as our ancestors crossed the Sea and sang the Song of the Sea (Shirat HaYam). Since this historically took place several days after the Exodus, and thus during the latter part of the holiday, we diminish our joy a bit. Similarly, we spill drops of wine from the second Cup of Wine at the Sedarim as we recite the plagues, which G-d brought upon the Egyptian people.

During shacharit services during Chol HaMoed – there are various customs as to wearing Tefillin. On a normal weekday, tefillin are worn. On a major holiday or Shabbat, they are not worn. On Chol HaMoed, some communities had the custom of not wearing tefillin, while others chose to do so – yet without reciting the normal blessings, to indicate the questionable status. At TBS, some of us wear tefillin, while others do not. Yet, even if we chose to put on the tefillin, we do remove them prior to reciting Hallel – which is the part of the service that “feels” more like a holiday than a normal weekday.

There are even some food customs that reflect the difference between the first days of the holiday and the last days. Among these, many will not eat meats that are roasted at the Seder – since the temple sacrifices were roasted, and since we no longer have the Temple, we don’t want to have anyone think we are re-enacting the sacrifice. However, at meals during the last six days, this restriction would not apply. Many observant Jews avoid getting matzah moist – to avoid the possibility that the matzah would “rise”- during the first seven days. However, on the eighth day, which is only observed outside of the land of Israel, these individuals will enjoy those foods that they refrained from eating.

Of course, beginning on the Second night of Pesach, we begin counting the Omer – the fifty-day period until the holiday of Shavuot. This is a period of mourning for students and scholars who were killed during the Roman period. Many do not cut their hair or shave their beards during this period, so during the last days of the holiday, they begin showing their Omer beards.