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Rabbi Shmuel Silber on Pesach 5776

By Rabbi Shmuel Silber

Posted on 04/15/16

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

In just a week from now we will be celebrating the holiday of freedom, Pesach.  We will recline, drink wine, eat Matzah and enjoy a festive meal with family and friends. We will endeavor to fulfill the Talmudic obligation, “Chaya Adam Lir’os Es Atzmo K’Ilu Hu Yatzah Mi’Mitzrayim, A person is obligated to see himself as if he has left Egypt.”  We do not simply celebrate a historical event; we relive the emancipation and bask in our new-found freedom.  There are many feelings in the weeks leading up to Pesach – but, freedom is not usually one of them.  We have to clean, kasher and cook.  We have to search, scrub and scour.  We vacuum our homes, clean our cars and empty our pockets.  The days leading up to Pesach see a flurry of cleaning activity.  To be honest, at times it can feel difficult and overwhelming.  And even if a person is able to remain on task and get everything done – for most it is not perceived as a holy experience which yields spiritual elevation.


The Sefer, Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh (Section 6 Chapter 18) points out that even cleaning can and should be a holy endeavor.  Everything we do in this world must serve a higher purpose and should allow us to reach higher spiritual levels.  So what can learn from our Pesach cleaning?  How can we grow from this mechanistic process? 


1. Strengthening Family - Preparing the home for Pesach is a familial endeavor.  No one person can do all of the necessary tasks themselves.  The family must divvy up responsibilities and each family member must rely on the other to accomplish their particular task.  Most of us don’t have enough quality time with our spouse and children. Pesach offers us a beautiful opportunity.  For a husband, wife and children to collaborate with one another for some greater good and holy goal is something that creates familial unity and cohesion.  The idea of tackling a project together and accomplishing it together engenders love, trust and good-will.  Little things create love within a family.  When children see that parents believe in them enough to trust them with cleaning their room for the holy Yom Tov of Pesach – it helps to build the child’s confidence.  When a husband takes the time to thank his wife for all she does throughout the year (husbands often experience an epiphany this time of year when they see how much effort it takes to run the home and family) and a wife expresses her appreciation for her husband’s efforts – marital love can blossom in the midst of brooms and vacuums.  If parents convey to their children that although cleaning may not be the most enjoyable of activities, this is what Hashem asks of us and we stand ready to answer his call – we can transmit to our children the importance of serving Hashem and dedicating ourselves to His will.  


2. Order is Important - Pesach is a time of “seder, order.”  The Pesach dishes and food are stored in certain areas, while the “chametz” items are kept separate and distinct.  There is an order to the home and a rhythm for the Yom Tov.  Seder, order is important in life.  We often try to multi-task in the hope that we can become more productive.  The result is usually mediocrity on all ends.  We must strive to create lives in which order is a fixture.  There is a time to check email and there is a time to daven.  There is a time to speak on the phone and there is a time to be with my family.  There is a time for my office and a time for my leisure.  As Shlomo HaMelech writes, “there is a time for all things ...” We must maintain a clear hierarchy of life priorities and make sure they are clearly expressed in the decisions I make and the life I lead.  The Pesach preparations teach us that there must be seder-filled rhythm to my life.


3. Cleanliness of the Home, Body and Soul - Cleanliness is important.  While we know this to be true on a physical and hygienic level – it is no less important on a spiritual level.  We search for chametz and do whatever is within our power to rid our homes of forbidden leavened products.  The Rabbis explain that chametz represents the Yetzer Hara, evil inclination.  Just as we clean our homes we must clean our souls.  Each of us has behaviors or character traits which need to be corrected.  Often we erroneously assume that we can get by without tackling our issues.  We assume that as long as we are engaged in good and productive activity – the negative traits or behaviors will be eclipsed by the good.  It is simply not true.  We must work hard to address our shortcomings and faults.  We must roll up our sleeves and rectify that which requires internal and external modifications.  You can clean your house for Pesach and purchase food with reliable certifications – but if there is a bagel sitting on your Seder table – you are in trouble!  We must find the courage to tackle our personal issues and challenges no matter how difficult this may be.  It is not enough to perform mitzvos (good deeds) and allow the chametz of negativity to remain on the table of life.  We must clean our physical and spiritual homes.


Let us hope that as we prepare our homes and hearts for the upcoming Yom Tov of Redemption that we will merit to create stronger families, find our proper life-rhythm and discover the courage to tackle our challenges.