What is permitted
The Talmud forbids only five grains as hametz: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats. Sephardim never adopted the Ashkenazi custom against rice, corn, beans, lentils and seeds.
Holidays15–22 Nisan · Eight days outside Israel
Kitniyot, rice checked three times, Bibhilu at the seder, the afikoman carried on the shoulder, and the Mimouna at the end.
NextBegins at sundown Wednesday, April 21 · ends at nightfall Thursday, April 29, 2027
"In every generation a person must see himself as if he had come out of Egypt." On Pesah we do not only remember the Exodus: we relive it, at a table, with our children.
The Sephardic seder is full of theater: the seder plate passed over every head while singing "Bibhilu yatzanu miMitzrayim," the afikoman wrapped and carried on the shoulder, the Haggadah translated aloud into Ladino, Judeo-Arabic or Spanish, and in some communities green onions for the "whips" of Dayenu.
And Sephardic tradition kept the older law: rice and legumes, kitniyot, are permitted on Pesah.
Before Pesah
Remove hametz from the home, and sell what remains through your rabbi before the deadline.
On the night before Pesah, search the home by candlelight with the blessing "al bi'ur hametz," then say the Aramaic bitul, nullifying any hametz not found.
On the morning of 14 Nisan, burn the hametz before the deadline and say the second, final bitul.
Kasher or put away utensils used for hametz, following your rabbi's guidance.
Sephardic families who eat rice check it grain by grain, traditionally three times, for any wheat or barley.
Rice and legumes
The Talmud forbids only five grains as hametz: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats. Sephardim never adopted the Ashkenazi custom against rice, corn, beans, lentils and seeds.
Processed foods can contain hametz or be made on shared equipment. Check the approved list before shopping.
The approved food listSome Moroccan families refrain from rice, or from certain legumes, by family custom. Follow your family's tradition.
Kadesh, Urhatz
The fifteen steps of the seder, with the customs that make a Sephardic seder its own.
Following the Arizal, the plate is arranged as two triangles: the three matzot below; the zeroa, egg and maror; then haroset, karpas and hazeret. Many use a basket or a large tray.
Kiddush over the first of four cups, reclining to the left. Then washing the hands without a blessing.
Celery or parsley dipped in vinegar or salt water. The middle matzah is broken; the larger piece becomes the afikoman.
In many Sephardic homes the afikoman is wrapped in a cloth and carried on the shoulder. "Where are you coming from?" "From Egypt." "Where are you going?" "To Jerusalem!"
Moroccan and other North African families pass the seder plate over the heads of everyone at the table, singing "Bibhilu yatzanu miMitzrayim," in haste we left Egypt. Then Ha Lahma Anya.
The Haggadah, with the Four Questions, the Ten Plagues and Dayenu. Persian and Afghan Jews strike each other lightly with green onions during Dayenu.
Washing with a blessing, the blessings over matzah, the maror dipped in haroset, and the sandwich of Hillel.
Shulhan Orekh, the afikoman before midnight, Birkat HaMazon, Hallel and the songs, ending "next year in Jerusalem."
In the synagogue
The first Pesah in Egypt. Maftir: Numbers 28:16–25. The prayer for dew is said in Musaf.
Haftarah: Joshua 5:2–6:1, 6:27
The festivals of the year. The counting of the Omer begins that night.
Haftarah: 2 Kings 23:1–9, 21–25
The splitting of the sea and the Song of the Sea.
Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22, the Song of David
The pilgrimage festivals (from 14:22 on Shabbat).
Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32–12:6
Side by side
Permitted (rice checked carefully)
Not eaten
Arranged after the Arizal; often passed over the heads (Bibhilu)
Arranged after the Arizal or the Rema
Carried on the shoulder, reenacting the Exodus
Often "stolen" by the children
"Morid hatal" from Pesah until Shemini Atzeret
Nothing is added outside Israel
Rice, fava beans, lamb, artichokes, haroset of dates
Gefilte fish, matzah balls, brisket
The Pesah kitchen
Dates, walnuts and warm spices rolled into small balls.
Get the recipe →Lamb with fava beans, artichokes and peas: the spring on the plate.
A layered pie of matzah filled with meat or spinach and cheese.
Kitniyot dishes that only a Sephardic Pesah table offers.
From Pesah to Shavuot
From the second night we count forty-nine days to Shavuot, with a blessing each night.
Counting the OmerAs Pesah ends, Moroccan families open their homes for a night of sweets, mufleta and blessings.
The MimounaSephardic U media
Keep learning
Questions
Yes. Sephardim eat kitniyot, including rice, carefully checked for any grains of wheat or barley. Some families refrain by custom.
A North African seder custom of passing the seder plate over each person's head while singing "Bibhilu yatzanu miMitzrayim," in haste we left Egypt.
To reenact the Exodus, as the Israelites carried their dough on their shoulders (Exodus 12:34).
Following the Arizal, in two triangles over the three matzot, corresponding to the sefirot.
The Moroccan celebration on the night Pesah ends, with open homes, sweets and blessings for prosperity.