Erev Pesach on Shabbat

The vagaries of the Jewish lunar calendar are such that erev Pesach coincides with Shabbat infrequently and with an irregular pattern. This year 5785 (2025) is one such occasion; one which will not be repeated for twenty years, until 2045. The occurrence of erev Pesach on Shabbat gives rise to numerous complications with regard to the eating of hametz and its disposal, the proper mode of fulfilling the mitzva of the Shabbat repasts, and preparations for the Saturday night Seder.

In TRADITION’s Fall 1973 issue, in advance of the alignment of Pesach following Shabbat in 1974 for the first time in two decades, Rabbi J. David Bleich offered guidance to our readers in his “Survey of Recent Halakhic Periodical Literature” column. That article was subsequently reprinted in his Contemporary Halakhic Problems, vol. 1 (1977), and reissued as a pamphlet by the Student Organization of Yeshiva (at Yeshiva University), which has been republished and updated with each occurrence of the unusual calendric phenomenon since 1981.

We are grateful to R. Bleich for allowing us to make this year’s edition available to TRADITION’s readers.