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And G‑d spoke to Moses, saying: ... A woman who conceives and gives birth (Leviticus 12:1-2)
Rabbi Simlai said: Just as man's creation took place after that of cattle, beasts and birds, so, too the laws concerning his [ritual impurity and purity] come after those concerning [the impurity and purity of] cattle, beasts and birds. Thus it is written (Leviticus 11:46-47), "This is the law of the beasts and of the fowl and of every living creature... to differentiate between the impure and the pure"; and immediately thereafter, "A woman who conceives..."
Why was man created last among the creations? So that if he is not meritorious, we say to him: "A gnat preceded you, a snail preceded you."
(Midrash Rabbah; Rashi)
https://w2.chabad.org/media/pdf/84046.pdf
This Shabbat is Shabbat Mevarchim ("the Shabbat that blesses" the new month): a special prayer is recited blessing the Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the Month") of the upcoming month of Iyar, which falls on Friday and Shabbat of the following week.
Prior to the blessing, we announce the precise time of the molad, the "birth" of the new moon. See molad times.
It came to pass on the eighth day (Leviticus 9:1)
That day took ten crowns: It was the first day of creation (i.e., a Sunday), the first for the offerings of the nesi'im (tribal heads), the first for the priesthood, the first for [public] sacrifice, the first for the fall of fire from heaven, the first for the eating of sacred food, the first for the dwelling of the Divine Presence in Israel, the first for the priestly blessing of Israel, the first day on which it was forbidden to sacrifice to G‑d anywhere but in the Sanctuary, and the first of months.
(Talmud, Shabbat 87b)
https://w2.chabad.org/media/pdf/14405.pdf
In preparation for the festival of Passover, in which even the possession of any form of leavened food ("chametz") is strictly forbidden, a final search is conducted after nightfall to remove every last crumb of chametz from our homes and property.
Click here for a step-by-step "Getting-Rid-of-Chametz" wizard. Click here for instructions on how to conduct the search, and here for the time for searching chametz in your location.
The Torah (Exodus 12:15, as per Talmud, Pesachim 5a) sets midday of Nissan 14--today--as the deadline for the destruction and/or removal of all leavened foods ("chametz") from our possession in preparation for the festival of Passover, which begins this evening at nightfall. In practice, Torah law mandates that we desist from eating chametz two hours before midday, and that no leaven remain in our possession an hour before midday. These are not clock hours but "proportional hours", defined by Jewish law as a 12th part of the time between sunrise and sunset.
Click here for the chametz eating deadline for your location.
From this point until the end of the festival of Passover, it is forbidden to eat leaven, or anything containing even the slightest trace of leaven.
Chametz is disposed of by: a) selling it to a non-Jew; b) burning the chametz found in our search on the previous evening (see entry for Nissan 13); c) "nullifying" the chametz that has not been found by declaring it ownerless.
The deadline for selling, burning and nullifying chametz is one "proportional hour" before midday.Click here for the precise time for your location. From this point until the end of the festival of Passover, it is forbidden to eat leaven, derive benefit from it in any way, own it or have it in one's possession.
See the Getting-Rid-of-Chametz Wizard for more detailed instructions.
Links: More about Leaven
When Shabbat occurs immediately following a festival -- as it does this year -- an "eruv tavshilin" (i.e., food for at least one "meal" that is set aside in advance for Shabbat) must be prepared prior to the festival, so that it should be permitted to prepare food for Shabbat during the festival.
For more on Eruv Tavshilin and how it is made click here