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Events @ PSJC
Welcome to the PSJC Events Page! Here you can find a listing of all of the classes, religious services, social and special events that are coming up at PSJC.
Events @ PSJC
Welcome to the PSJC Events Page! Here you can find a listing of all of the classes, religious services, social and special events that are coming up at PSJC.
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Dear PSJC,
Even as we are finishing off our Hamentaschen after a powerful week of Purim celebrations, we know one thing for sure: Pesach (Passover) is just around the corner! Pesach is our great holiday of freedom and possibility, of moving through “the narrow places” of our lives.
But this year, with the chaos of our world swirling around us, it can feel difficult to imagine even beginning to pass forward through our “narrow places”. We find ourselves asking: How do we celebrate our freedom when so many feel threatened, when immigrants to our nation are afraid to leave their homes, when core democratic ideals are under threat. How do we say: “Let all who are hungry come and eat”, when so many are going hungry; when the supports for those in need are being attacked?
In this age of rising antisemitism and feelings of isolation, how do we take this holiday of Spring and Hope, and allow it to speak to us today, this year, in this moment?
This is our challenge, and it is one we will face together.
This year, the first Seder begins Wednesday night, April 1, 2026. May it carry with it the hope of Spring, the inspiration of liberation, and the conviction that can come by connecting to our past, engaging with the challenges of the present, and collectively imagining our future.
We are excited to announce that, once again, PSJC is hosting a second-night seder on Thursday night, April 2, 2026. To join us, click here.
As we approach Passover again this year, in the midst of these difficult days, may we find the courage to engage with these ancient stories in our Haggadah. And may they help us to face the very real challenges of this moment in our collective history.
It is our hope that these resources will help you have a meaningful, sweet Passover, no matter what challenges we may be facing as a nation, as a people, as a world. We will continue to add to these resources, so check back often.
Zissen Pesach ( A Sweet and Meaningful Passover)
—Rabbi Carie Carter, Rabbi Hayley Goldstein, & Cantor Judy Ribnick
Sale of Chametz
To sell your chametz, you may use our online form. It gives Rabbi Carie permission to sell your chametz to a non-Jewish person for the duration of Passover. Just put your leftover chametz in a sealed cabinet/separate location in your home and allow me to sell it for you. Please fill out our online Chametz Sale form by Tuesday, March 31, 2026*
*Note: The chametz that is sold will not be available to you from the time of sale (Wednesday morning, April 1, 2026) until 1 hour after the end of Passover.
Rabbinical Assembly
Passover Guide
What can I eat? How do I prepare? Here is a helpful guide to help navigate food and
preparations for Pesach 2026. If you have any questions/concerns, please contact Rabbi Carter.
Feed Your Body as Well as Your Soul
Revisit PSJC's first-ever progressive Passover cooking lesson! Learn from our community’s creative cooks how to make halek (Indian charoset), special matzo balls, Pesach rolls and more. Get inspiration for your own sedarim and the days that follow.
Passover Justice Resources
Pesach is an important moment in the Jewish year in which we are encouraged to speaking with family and friends about the very real needs of our world, the places where justice is lacking, where oppression abounds. Here are some great sites filled with readings and information to help you bring these conversations and action to your Seder Table.**
**Please check back as we will be updating this section frequently in the weeks prior to Pesach.
Ha Lachma Anya, Di Achalu?—
This bread of affliction, why do we eat it?
Because our ancestors were slaves in the Land of Egypt.
How can we tell the story of our Exodus from Egypt with an eye towards the issues of our world today?
Repair the World, HIAS and Truah have developed special material for Seder night to help us respond to the current refugee crisis in our world and the situation of immigrants in the United States through the eyes of our own story of escape from Egypt and wandering to freedom in the Promised Land.
Religious Action Center contains an array of materials on social justice related to Passover including a series of themed haggadot (such as Invisible: The Story of Modern Slavery; a Hunger Seder Haggadah; an Earth Seder Haggadah). This site also shares the stories behind some of the new/modern additions to our seder plate including: potatoes, Miriam’s Cup, an orange, fair trade chocolate, tomatoes, and more. Take special note of their “Modern Day Plagues of Injustice and Inequality” and “There are no strangers Seder Supplement” addressing issues of immigration in America.
AJWS also provides a good selection of materials that will help bring issues of justice to your seder conversation
Kol Dichfin Yeitei V’Yeichul; Kol Ditzrich Yeitei V’Yifsach
Let all who are hungry come in and eat; let all who are in need come and celebrate
The high cost of Passover supplies makes this a difficult time for many Jewish families. Donations to Rabbi Carter’s Discretionary Fund at this season are used for Ma’ot Chittin, to provide matzah and other Passover items for those in need. (Just note it is for Ma’ot Chittin and it will be applied properly).
Food insecurity is ever present in our Brooklyn community. Help PSJC support City Harvest’s Food Drive by bringing canned foods to PSJC before Passover. These items will be picked up on March 30th.
Hashata Hacha. L’shana Haba’ah B’arah d’Yisrael
This year we are here. Next year in the Land of Israel
This year, when the need is so great, consider supporting an organization that supports the vital work done for the well-being of Israel. Masorti Movement (Conservative Movement in Israel), Magen David Adom, Israel Trauma Coalition (focusing on mental health support). Consider also Givat Haviva, Standing Together, and other organizations that are dedicated to creating a “Shared” society among Arab/Palestinian and Jewish Israelis.
Our Shlicha, Lior, also asked us to consider donating to Hamahanot HaOlim, an Israeli youth movement supporting some of the most vulnerable:
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Children of asylum seekers in South Tel Aviv who do not have access to protected shelters.
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Bedouin communities in the south where many families lack adequate protection during missile attacks.
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Children and teens from evacuated families who have lost their sense of home and routine.
https://pefisrael.org/charity/tikkun-a-center-for-gathering-education-and-social-change/
Hashata Avdei. L’shana Haba’ah B’nai Chorin
This year we are slaves. Next year, may we all be free.
Learn more about modern-day slavery at Free the Slaves
See also: Made by Survivors to learn how you might help support the victims of human trafficking.
Truah offers: The Other Side of the Sea: A Haggadah for Fighting Modern Slavery
May these and other resources help you bring Pesach’s message forward in deep and relevant ways this year.
Pesach Dates
Pesach is such an involved, central holiday of the Jewish year, it can not be entered without preparation. This includes physically cleaning our homes and emotionally trying to rid ourselves of internal chametz (that which puffs us up). It is a time of trying to clearly identify our own “narrow places” and to find the courage (like the Israelites at the Sea of Reeds) to step through that narrow place and begin a new journey, one filled with unknowns but also with amazing possibility. So, even as you are filled with the efforts of cleaning and cooking for this Feast of Freedom, please don’t forget to find time for yourself, to prepare yourself and your soul for the journey ahead.
Here are some dates to keep in mind to help bring Pesach into your life and to share it with the PSJC Community.
Passover 5786 Dates and Times to Remember
Sell Chametz with Rabbi Carter now until Tuesday, March 31
Bedikat Chametz: Tuesday night, March 31
Siyyum Bechorim: Wednesday morning, April 1 (Shacharit at 8am; Siyyum and Biyur Hametz to follow)
Biyyur Chametz: Wednesday morning, April 1 10AM (Burning of Hametz can be done until 11:55am)
Stop Eating Chametz: Wednesday morning 10:51AM
Candlelighting Wednesday night: 7:03PM
PESACH SEDARIM
First Seder, Wednesday night, April 1st (candlelighting 7:03PM)
Second Seder, Thursday night, April 2nd (candlelighting 8:03PM)—from a pre-existing flame.
PESACH SERVICES DAY 1 and 2
Thursday, April 2 | 10:00AM (at PSJC and on Zoom)
Friday, April 3 | 10:00AM (at PSJC and on Zoom)
PSJC SECOND NIGHT SEDER
Thursday night, April 2
SHABBAT PESACH DAY 7
Wednesday, April 8 | 10:00AM. (At PSJC and on Zoom)
PESACH DAY 8 (including Yizkor)
Thursday, April 9 | 10:00AM (at PSJC and on Zoom)
Yizkor, approximately 11:30AM
PESACH ENDS on Thursday, April 9 | 8:11PM
Any Chametz sold through Rabbi Carter should not be used until Thursday, April 9th at 9:11PM (unless other arrangements are made)
Just after Pesach:
Communal Yom Hashoah V’Hagevurah Observance, Monday, April 13 | time/location TBD
Shabbat Shoah: Saturday, April 11th | 10AM
“Little Things”—A Reminder about Kitniyot
The question of whether or not to eat kitniyot (legumes) during Passover has challenged Ashkenazi Jews for generations. Here is a teshuvah addressing that question —reminding us not to let “the little things” take on too much importance…in our eating and in our lives.
An Addition to the Passover Plate
As you are considering additions to your seder plate along with the orange (for inclusion), olives (for peace in the Middle East), tomatoes (for workers' rights), ginger (anti-Asian hate) or sunflowers for the people of Ukraine, please consider what might be a good symbolic items for the struggles in Israel and in Palestine, the war in Iran, anti-Semitism here and around the world, the situation of immigrants in America today, and so many challenges we are facing today. As we come closer to Pesach, we will be adding links to various resources to help you find readings, rituals and images that might help add to your seder experience as each of us “sees ourselves as if we too are going forth from Egypt”.
Resources for Families with Young Children
Still looking for a Haggadah to meet the needs of your whole family? Check out the PJ Library Haggadah. You can download it or order hard copies. Plus you can check out all of the resources from PJ Library on how to host a seder, crafts, and more.
The PJ Library Podcast, Have I Got a Story for You, offers an audio version of the Passover Story, or you can check out their Steps of the Seder video.
Concerned about a "I only eat plain pasta" kid and Passover? Check out these recipes from PJ Library. If all else fails, milkshakes, with or without nut butter, make a great fall back. It's only a week!
Kveller has put together a great list of Passover crafts. If you're looking to try something new for Seder this year, check out K'ilu Kit for a truly interactive experience. Remember that Passover is about telling the story of the Exodus from one generation to another. Everything else is commentary!
Passover Songs
Passover is filled with wonderful songs—both old and new. Here is a collection of PSJC favorites.
Programs
Join us for all things Pesach!
Haggadot of Hope
March 21 | after kiddush | at PSJC
Stories of freedom from the Gaza border kibbutzim. Join us for an inspiring, interactive exhibition.
Pesach University
March 22nd from 2-5pm at PSJC
Join us for an afternoon of learning about Passover. There will be many workshops to choose from, from arts and crafts to the intricate laws of the holiday and much more!
Singing Songs of Shabbat with Judy Ribnick
Friday March 27, 6:30pm an all-too-timely musical Pesah Preview (first Seder 1 April!). at PSJC and on Zoom
Let the music of Shabbat fill your heart and warm your soul, with Cantor Judy Ribnick, who will lead melodious and inclusive Kabbalat Shabbat services at PSJC and on Zoom.