Chag HaMatzot is the first of the three annual chagim (Pilgrimage Festivals) in the Hebrew Calendar. In Rabbinical Judaism, Chag HaMatzot is called Pesach and in English this chag is known as Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The very first Chag HaMatzot is recorded in detail in Shemot chapters 12 and 13. This chag actually began when B’nei Yisrael were still slaves in Mitzrayim.
They are to eat the flesh [of the lamb] on that night, roasted in fire, and matzot, with bitter-herbs they are to eat it. … And thus you are to eat it: your hips girded, your sandals on your feet, your sticks in your hand; you are to eat in trepidation – it is a Passover-Meal to the Eternal One. (Shemot 12:8,11)1
The chag is to be held for seven days beginning at sunset on the fourteenth day of the month of aviv (the first month). It is commanded that we eat matzah and not have any “chametz” (fermented products) within our homes.
This “chametz” is in fact three specific types of substances.3
1. Chametz (חָמֵץ) – anything that sours such as vinegar, wine, and leaven (Shemot 12:15)
2. Se’or (שְׂאֹר) – fermented mixture such as sourdough starter (Devarim 16:4)
3. Machmeset (מַחְמֶצֶת) – mixture of chametz or se’or with another item such as seasonings (Shemot 12:19-20)
In the first (month), on the fourteenth day after the New-Moon, at sunset, you are to eat matzot, until the twenty-first day on the month, at sunset. For seven days, no leaven is to be found in your houses, for whoever eats what ferments, that person shall be cut off from the community of Israel, whether sojourner or native of the land. (Shemot 12:18-19)1
Chag HaMatzot is a mitzvah that is to be an eternal command for the Yisraelites. We are also commanded to pass the knowledge of this chag and its surrounding history onto our children.
You are to keep this word as a law for you and for your children, into the ages! Now it will be, when you come to the land which the Eternal One will give you, as he has spoken, you are to keep this service! And it will be, when your children say to you: What does this service (mean) to you? then say: It is the slaughter-meal of Passover to the Eternal One, who passed over the houses of B’nei Yisrael in Mitzrayim, when he dealt-the-blow to Mitzrayim and our houses He rescued. The people did homage and bowed low. (Shemot 12:24-27)1
After the initial Chag HaMatzot that was celebrated in Mitzrayim, the mitzvah continued during B’nei Yisrael’s time in the Wilderness and after they entered Eretz Yisrael. The sacrifice was brought to the Miskhan and later to the Beit HaMikdash. The sacrifice was not to be slaughtered within the gates of the settlements of B’nei Yisrael.
Keep the New-Moon of Aviv. You are to observe Passover to the Eternal One your God, for in the New-Moon of Aviv the Eternal One your God took you out of Mitzrayim, at night. You are to slaughter the Passover-offering to the Eternal One your God, (from) flock and herd, in the place the the Eternal One chooses to have his name dwell. … You may not slaughter the Passover-offering within one of your gates that the Eternal One your God is giving you; rather, in the place that the Eternal One your God chooses His name to dwell you are to slaughter the Passover-offering, at setting-time, when the sun comes in, at the appointed-time of your going-out from Mitzrayim. (Devarim 16:1-2,5-6)1
The king commanded all the people: “Offer the Passover sacrifice to God your the Eternal One as written in this Book of the Covenant.” (Melakhim Beit 23:21)2
Unlike Rabbinical Judaism which calls this chag “Pesach,” Karaite Judaism refers to this chag as Yom HaMatzot (חַג הַמַּצּוֹת) – the same name used in the Tanakh (Vayikra 23:6).
Karaites, just like the Rabbinates, begin preparing for Chag HaMatzot by thoroughly cleaning one’s home. All chametz (chametz, se’or, and machmeset) must be removed from one’s home and burned on the day of the chag’s eve. All utensils, plates, and cooking vessels must be thoroughly cleaned in order to remove any chametz. In addition, it is traditional for Karaites to make their own matzah which is to be eaten each day of the chag.3
The centerpiece of the first day of Chag HaMatzot is the seder. B’nei Yisrael was commanded to teach their children about the exodus from Mitzrayim.
…and in order that you may recount in the ears of your child and of your child’s child how I have been capricious with Mitzrayim, and my signs, which I have placed upon them – that you may know that I am the Eternal One. (Shemot 10:2)1
The seder is generally led by the head of the household (ba’al ha-bayit). The Ba’al HaBayit sings the Haggadah using a traditional Karaite melody. The text of the Haggadah is taken from Tehillim (Psalms), Bereishit (Genesis), Yehezq’el (Ezekiel), Devarim (Deuteronomy), and Vayikra (Leviticus). After the reading of the Haggadah is complete the meal is eaten.3
Since we no longer have a Beit HaMikdash, we offer prayers in place of offerings and sacrifices as we see in Hoshea.
Take words with you and return to the Eternal One. Say to Him: “Forgive all sin and accept what is good. We will offer confession in place of bullocks.” (Hoshea 14:3)4
The Eternal One spoke to Moshe saying, Speak to B’nei Yisrael and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, and you harvest its harvest, you are to bring the premier sheaf of your harvest to the priest. He is to elevate the sheaf before the presence of the Eternal One, for acceptance for you; on the morrow of the Shabbat the priest is to elevate it. … An you are to number for yourselves, from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day that you bring the elevated sheaf, seven Shabbats-of-days, whole (weeks) are they to be; until the morrow of the seventh Shabbat you are to number – fifty days, then you are to bring-near a grain-gift of new-crops to the Eternal One. (Vayikra 23:9-11,15-16)1
B’nei Yisrael is commanded to count a seven-week period from the “morrow of the Shabbat” and offer an omer (grain) offering on the fiftieth day. Karaites, unlike the Rabbinates, begin counting the Omer on the first Sunday that occurs during Chag HaMatzot. Since we no longer have a Beit HaMikdash, the Counting of the Omer between Chag HaMatzot and Shavuot is the only part of the mitzvah that we can currently fulfill.3
During the fifty days of counting, according to Karaite tradition, every person in the family counts the day of the Omer during the morning tefillah (prayer). It is also a tradition to beg יהוה for mercy that He bring forth the harvest.3
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1Everett Fox. The Five Books of Moses. New York: Schocken Books, 1997.
2Aryeh Kaplan. The Living Nach: Early Prophets. Brooklyn: Moznaim Publishing Corporation, 1994.
3al-Qirqisani Center. An Introduction to Karaite Judaism: History, Theology, Practice, and Custom. Troy, NY: al-Qirqisani Center for the Promotion of Karaite Studies, 2003.
4Aryeh Kaplan. The Living Nach: Later Prophets. Brooklyn: Moznaim Publishing Corporation, 1995.
Related:
Up for the Count: “a new initiative by the Karaite Jews of America to help Karaites of all varieties – historical, new, and simply the Karaite-intrigued – count the omer according to the biblical numbering”
Counting the Omer: “Each day, the number of the week and the number of the day in the week are declared.”