Moadim l’simcha! I hope you’re enjoying this week of matzah and beautiful cherry blossoms flowering all over San Francisco.
As we emerge from winter and begin to enjoy warmer weather and daffodils, we find ourselves in the middle of the holiday that reminds us of the miracle of our exodus from slavery. It is the foundation myth of our people, the story that most forms our identity as the Jewish people. Freedom is core to our understanding of our own responsibilities in the world. We are reminded to appreciate the great blessing of our freedom — and to work to bring it to others.
Just a week ago, we were preparing for the seders: cleaning the house, looking for crumbs of leavened food (chametz), preparing matzah ball soup and stocking up on our favorite holiday foods. Every year, the preparation for the holiday is a big undertaking, physically and spiritually. I was particularly fascinated with the age-old search for chametz this year. My interest drew me to reread some passages with fun imagery in the Talmud.
As I studied from Pesachim, I read many inquiries that involved animals in a discussion about the search for chametz. For example, we are not obligated to look for bread crusts in holes where there might be scorpions. If a mouse walks into a house with a loaf of bread in its mouth, what must the owner do? And my favorite, “If there is a loaf in the mouth of a snake, is one required to hire a charmer to remove it?” These colorful inquiries give us lots to contemplate, as we form images of these examples in our minds.
Ultimately, many of the examples that the rabbis give in the Talmud conclude with “Let them stand unresolved.” This means there is only so much one must do to fulfill an obligation. We can’t think up every possible scenario. Our obligation is to clean our homes and remove as much chametz as is reasonably possible. And we must learn from the task as we go about it.
Finding every last crumb is not the concern of the rabbis (though they do expect a serious search). Rather, the preparing of our own selves for a retelling of the story of our freedom is what is necessary. The spirit of the law instructs us to appreciate and honor the great gift of freedom that God gave to our people.
Traditionally, the corners of our homes are investigated with a candle and feather for any crumbs that might have escaped our real cleaning of the cabinets and drawers. This intentional act allows us to be sure that we are ready to observe Pesach.
We are half a year away from the Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays, and our tradition asks us to spiritually cleanse our lives again. It’s as if the rabbis of old are telling us that many months have gone by and we may have allowed crumbs — physical or spiritual — to accumulate in corners where we don’t often look, such as the corners of our souls.
The Ten Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur allow a grace period for us to be absolutely sure we’ve done the work necessary to enter into Yom Kippur. One might think that Rosh Hashanah is truly the beginning of a new year: Out with the old, in with the new! But our rabbis teach that we don’t necessarily finish our work by the time Rosh Hashanah begins. Similarly, all of the preparation for Pesach is done way in advance — often beginning right after Purim. But the last hours before the holiday give us an opportunity to look one last time. To be sure we’re ready. Dusting the corners with a feather and then burning any crumbs of chametz that we find allows for one final chance to say, “Yes! I’m ready for Pesach!”
Why do we need this second chance? Once the holiday begins with the seders, the telling of our story and the weeklong matzah lasagna party, we are busy. The pre-Pesach prep allows us to reflect on why we are observing this holiday. We ask ourselves: Are we free? What enslaves us? Who is not free? How can we help?
Our deepest-held Jewish values are central to Pesach. We remember how we became a people who could make our own choices. The matzah reminds us of what life would still be like, if not for the miracle that took us from slavery to freedom. We eat the matzah throughout the week to keep thinking of the story.
In my family growing up, one of our favorite Passover traditions was making matzah s’mores. We made them joyfully over our electric stove all week long. They reminded us of our freedom… and they were delicious!
My first year of college in New York, I went home with a friend for Pesach — to Woodmere, one of the Five Towns on Long Island. Her family was very observant and before I walked in the door, her father helped me check the pockets of my backpack and the hem of my pants to make sure there was no chametz that I had overlooked. I had never done that before. That final act before I crossed the threshold into their Pesach-ready house has stayed with me all of these years. I knew I was ready for the retelling of our story when I entered the house.