Why does passover have 2 seders

Such concerns are no longer applicable today, but the practice nevertheless persists. On Passover, Jews in Israel hold a seder only on the first night of Passover, while outside Israel the traditional practice is to observe the first two days as sacred occasions — hence, two seders. The Reform movement eliminated this practice for its congregations in the United States, which today observe only one day of Passover and other festivals and therefore often only have one seder.

But among Orthodox and most Conservative Jews, the practice of two seders is the standard. There is some question about how many seders should be held by Israeli tourists observing the holiday abroad, or by non-Israeli Jews who are visiting the Jewish state for the holiday. Common practice is for tourists to observe the practice of the place where they permanently reside, so an Israeli in New York for Passover would observe only one seder while an American in Jerusalem would observe two.

The question of holding one or two seders has to do with timing from when the Torah was written. When the Torah was written, the beginning of the new month was determined by observing the moon. This was done in Jerusalem. Word of the new moon did not always arrive in other cities outside of Israel in time to observe the holiday.

For communities outside of Israel, the practice developed of observing an extra day of Yom Tov on major holidays to be sure those communities were in sync with Jerusalem. Shabbat in Observation of Kristallnacht. Dec 4, am. Nov 14, pm. Nov 19, pm. Friday Night Shabbat Dinner.

Dec 5, pm. Celebrate Chanukah With the Maccabeats. International Conference: Israel in Focus. Tot Shabbat: Giving Thanks. Dec 1, pm. Hanukkah Celebration: Leonid Ptashka Concert. Erev Shabbat Service. Nov 28, pm. Hanukkah Storytime and Munchkins at the Mill.

Nov 15, pm. Nov 21, am. Salon Series With Dr. Suzanne Koven. The Voice of Jacob, the Hands of Esau. Top Pick. Today, pm. Up Next: Tomorrow. There are some unanticipated perks to having certain family members freed up on the second night, says AACI's Bauman.

When else can you take pictures of the seder? Dov Smith, who immigrated to Israel five months ago, is returning to his hometown of Montreal, Canada, to be with his family on Passover. But as someone who is no longer required to observe the two-seder ritual, he finds himself in a bit of a bind. Smith's emigration to Israel proceeded so swiftly that he did not have time to bid farewell to everyone in his old neighborhood. As such, he predicts his reappearance as an Israeli could lead to a series of unanticipated consequences.

As a newly minted Israeli, Smith says he is looking forward to the new holiday configuration he has earned. Mordechai I. Twersky Apr.