What Time Does the Seder Start?: Volume 6, Issue 22, Pesach
- Mar 31
- 1 min read
April 2, 2026; 15 Nissan, 5786 Sponsored anonymously for the Refuah Shleimah of Yair Nissan Ben Sara
QUESTION: Every year I host a Seder and invite the same extended family. Without fail, half of them arrive 45 minutes to an hour late. This year I am thinking of telling everyone that our Seder begins at 8:00 PM when in truth I plan to start at 8:45. Am I permitted to do so?
ANSWER: This is an excellent question with both practical and Halachic dimensions. The short answer is that it is likely permitted, as explained below.
In his Hisorerus Teshuvah (Siman 36), Rav Shimon Sofer ZT"L examines a comparable situation—setting a clock ahead of the actual time without an individual's knowledge to prevent the individual from being late—and determines that such an action is permitted...