A Burning of the Chometz in Far Rockaway

By Katie McFadden

Before Passover began on the evening of Wednesday, April 1, members of the Jewish community gathered for a community-wide chometz burning in Far Rockaway and parts of Nassau County.

Burning of the chometz, or biur chametz, is a Jewish ritual performed on the morning before Passover (Erev Pesach) where remaining leavened food products are destroyed, usually by fire. This final act represents the total removal of chometz from one’s possession before the holiday, which symbolizes freedom and the purging of sin or arrogance. Chometz includes leavened bread or products containing wheat, rye, barley or oats that are left over in the home.

Passover is a major Jewish holiday that commemorates the Exodus of Israelites from slavery in Egypt, led by Moses. This year it began at sundown on Wednesday, April 1,  and it ends at sundown on Thursday, April 9.

Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol (RNSP), the Jewish Community Council of the Rockaway Peninsula and other organizations led community-wide burnings at the dead-end road at Beach 9th in Far Rockaway, at the LIRR parking lot in Lawrence and the Echo Park parking lot in West Hempstead last Wednesday morning.

The burning was safely conducted and overseen by the RNSP, NYPD and FDNY. DSNY also assisted with an additional garbage pickup on Wednesday morning to help with this process.

After the ceremony, RNSP posted to social media saying, “Much thanks to all of the organizations, government agencies, community leaders, and individuals who collaborated to bring safe and efficient community-wide Chometz burning sites and added sanitation services on the eve of Passover 2026. This successful collaboration is a great benefit to the entire community, and on behalf of them, the RNSP says thank you.”

Photos from the RNSP and NYPD.