Passover 2017 Countdown Clock For Pesach
The Above Image Displays A Countdown To When Pesach / Passover In 2017 Occurs!
Countdown To Passover 2017 / Pesach 2017
When is Passover in 2017 / Pesach in 2017 ?
Passover in 2017 or Pesach in 2017 will commence either just after sunset or just after nightfall on Monday, April 10th, 2017, depending on the authoritative rabbinical opinion one follows. Nightfall is defined in Jewish law as being "the end of sunset", and occurs anytime from 20 minutes to 1 hour after sunset, depending on one's geographic latitude and where one is located. For Jews who celebrate Passover for 7 days (most Reform Jews, most Reconstructionist Jews, some Conservative Jews, and Jews living in Israel), Passover in 2017 will end either at sunset or at nightfall on Monday, April 17th, 2017. For Jews who celebrate Passover for 8 days (some Reform Jews, some Reconstructionist Jews, most Conservative Jews, and Jews living outside Israel), Passover in 2017 will end either at sunset or nightfall on Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 (Jews who live outside Israel are known as Diaspora Jews, where the word "diaspora" is derived from Greek and means either "dispersion" or "scattering". In Hebrew, the equivalent words are "Tefutzah", meaning "scattered", or "Galut", meaning "exile". Diaspora, Tefutzah, and Galut all refer to the Jewish people being dispersed among all the other nations outside of Israel). The exact time for when Passover in 2017 will begin either just after sunset or just after nightfall or anywhere from 15 minutes to a half-hour before sunset on Monday, April 10th, 2017 depends on the geographic latitude and location of a person in the world. Similarly, the exact time for when Passover in 2017 ends also depends on the geographic latitude and location of a person in the world.
”Extending” The Time For Shabbat And/Or Yom Tov
18 Minutes Before Sunset: The Most Popular Starting Time
There is a custom based on the 16th century C.E. Jewish code of laws known as the Shulchan Aruch to “extend” the time for Shabbat (“Sabbath” in Hebrew) and for Yom Tov (literally meaning “Good Day” in Hebrew but refers to a “holiday”; specifically, a “Jewish holiday”) by “borrowing” time both from the day previous to and following Shabbat and prepending and appending that time respectively to Shabbat and Yom Tov (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 261:2). For those who follow this ruling, Passover in 2017 will begin anywhere from 15 minutes up to a half-hour before sunset or nightfall depending on the authoritative rabbinical opinion one follows. The most popular starting time custom for those who “extend” Shabbat and Yom Tov is at 18 minutes before sunset based on the rulings in the Talmud, in Mishnah Berurah 459:15 and the Shulchan Aruch, in Orach Chayim 459:2, and so this is when Passover in 2017 will begin for most Jewish people worldwide. So how did the 18 minutes before sunset custom become the most popular time to begin Shabbat and/or Yom Tov? Jewish law (known as “Halakhah” or “Halachah” in Hebrew) states specific types of measures of time in terms of the time it takes to walk a certain distance and so the custom of lighting candles at 18 minutes before sunset originated in the Talmud where it states a Halakhic time measure called a “Hiluch Mil”, meaning the time it takes to walk a “Mil” (“Mil” comes from the Latin word “Miliarium” which was equivalent to 1000 paces, 2000 cubits, or approximately 3000 feet). There is only a slight difference in length between the Halachic/Talmudic Mil and the Roman Miliarium. Therefore, based on the Talmud, the time to light candles before sunset was based on the time it took to walk one “Mil” which was determined by most rabbinic authorities to be 18 minutes, and so 18 minutes before sunset became the most popular starting time to light candles.
Other Starting Times For Shabbat And/Or Yom Tov
Despite 18 minutes before sunset being the most popular starting time for Shabbat and/or Yom Tov, there are other rabbinic opinions that state the time it takes to walk a Halachic “Mil” can be anywhere up to 24 minutes and in a small number of cases, even higher. For instance, in Jerusalem and in Petach Tikvah, Israel (which was founded by Jerusalemites who used the custom of their former home city), the custom is to light candles 40 minutes before sundown, and in many other locations in Israel, the custom is to light candles at 30 minutes or more before sunset, and still for other locations in Israel, it is at 20 minutes before sunset. There is also another custom among a minority of Chassidic Jews to light candles at 23 minutes before sunset, citing the Yiddish book "Kovetz Likkutei Dinim" (“Collection of Basic Jewish Laws”) by Polish-Canadian Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic Rabbi Menachem Zeev ("Wolf") Greenglass where it states on page 33, footnote 61 (in the English edition) that "those who are scrupulous light candles 23 minutes before sunset". Since the additions in the footnotes in this book were from the “Rebbe” (name for Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic leader) according to Rabbi Greenglass, some have taken the “23 minutes before sunset” custom as their own. Furthermore, all Jewish calendars in the United Kingdom list the time for Shabbat candle lighting as 15 minutes before sunset. So wherever you find yourself for Shabbat and/or Yom Tov, you should light according to the custom of that place. In addition to extending the time for Shabbat and/or Yom Tov, customs regarding the exact time for lighting candles before sunset were established so as to ensure that women who light candles would not get close to lighting at sunset, or afterwards, which would be breaking Shabbat and/or Yom Tov.
Passover 2017 - Pesach 2017 : Exact Starting Time
For those living where we are located - in Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Passover / Pesach in 2017 will commence at exactly 7:34 P.M. on Monday, April 10th, 2017 (Sunset) (Source: Chabad.org), and end at nightfall where nightfall is defined in Judaism according to the following two authoritative rabbinical opinions which are the most popular opinions among many other rabbinical opinions: either when 3 medium-sized stars appear first appear in the sky, or at 72 minutes after sunset. The first opinion occurs at exactly 8:18 P.M. (Nightfall = When 3 medium-sized stars first appear in the sky) and the second opinion occurs at 8:57 P.M. (Nightfall = 72 Minutes after sunset) on Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 (Source: Chabad.org). For those who have the custom to "extend" the time of the festival beyond nightfall due to its level of holiness, Passover / Pesach in 2017 will end at 8:32 P.M. on Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 based on the rabbinic ruling that nightfall occurs when 3 medium-sized stars first appear in the sky.
Regarding when Passover in 2017 begins, although sunset or sundown ("shkiah ha'chama" in Hebrew) at sea level occurs at exactly 7:34 P.M. for Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Source: Chabad.org), there is a custom among the majority of Jewish people to "extend" the "holiness" time of a Jewish festival or Jewish holiday by beginning a Jewish festival or Jewish holiday at least 18 minutes before sunset or sundown. This extended time can range from 15 minutes to a half-hour before sunset depending on one's custom but, as mentioned, the majority of Jewish people follow the custom to begin a festival or holiday at 18 minutes before sunset or sundown. Also, as just mentioned, the exact time for the beginning and ending of Passover varies with where one is located in the world; specifically, one's geographic latitude and where one is located.
For those who begin a Jewish holiday (colloquially, “Yom Tov” in Hebrew) at 18 minutes before sunset, Passover in 2017 for Montreal, Quebec, Canada will begin at exactly 7:16 P.M. on Monday, April 10th, 2017 (Source: Chabad.org).
Passover 2017 - Pesach 2017 Countdown Clock Explanation
The Passover / Pesach 2017 Countdown Clock displays how much time there is left until the date and exact time when Passover begins for Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In the Hebrew/Jewish calendar, Passover always begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, which is the first month in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, the Passover 2017 festival officially begins either just after sunset or just after nightfall or anywhere from 15 minutes to a half-hour before sunset depending on one’s custom on Monday, April 10th, 2017.
In 2016, Passover / Pesach officially began either just after sunset or just after nightfall on Friday, April 22nd, 2016. For Montréal, Québec, Canada, Passover in 2016 officially began at exactly 7:50:14 P.M on Friday, April 22nd, 2016 (Sunset).
As mentioned, while Passover / Pesach in 2017 officially begins either just after sunset or just after nightfall on Monday, April 10th, 2017 for all Jews worldwide, the official/exact start time on the date of Passover will vary depending on where one is located in the world; specifically, one's geographic latitude and one's location. Chabad has an excellent online calculator that tells you all the times for doing Passover-related rituals for many cities throughout the world as well as when Passover in 2017 begins for those cities. There is even an option to adjust one's time to DST (Daylight Savings Time), if needed. Click here to calculate the zmanim (meaning "the times" in Hebrew, alternate spelling: "zemanim") to conduct Passover rituals and find out when Passover begins in 2017 for your city! If your city or town is not among those listed, you can get more specific with latitudes and longitudes of your exact location to determine the times for doing Passover rituals in 2017 and when Passover begins in 2017 for where you are located. Click here to discover the exact times for Passover rituals in 2017 and when Passover starts in 2017 where you are! For all Chabad links on this page, a smaller browser window will open.
For candle-lighting times for Shabbat and the Jewish festivals/holidays, Chabad has a calculator for that as well. Just click here. At the aforementioned link, I have preset the date to the start date for Passover in 2017 which is either just after sunset or just after nightfall on Monday, April 10th, 2017. The same time and location options exist for the candle-lighting calculator as for the zemanim calculator.
Passover / Pesach: Future Dates
Passover in 2017: starts Monday, April 10th, 2017 at sunset and ends in the evening on Monday, April 17th, 2017 (seven days) or ends in the evening on Tuesday, April 18th, 2017 (eight days)
Passover in 2018: starts Friday, March 30th, 2018 at sunset and ends in the evening on Friday, April 6th, 2018 (seven days) or ends in the evening on Saturday, April 7th, 2018 (eight days)
Passover in 2019: starts Friday, April 19th, 2019 at sunset and ends in the evening on Friday, April 26th, 2017 (seven days) or ends in the evening on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 (eight days)
Passover in 2020: starts Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 at sunset and ends in the evening on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 (seven days) or ends in the evening on Thursday, April 16th, 2020 (eight days)
To see more future dates for Passover, you can check out our Passover Date page.
