שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים תֹּאכַ֣ל מַצֹּ֑ת וּבַיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י חַ֖ג לַיהֹוָֽה׃ מַצּוֹת֙ יֵֽאָכֵ֔ל אֵ֖ת שִׁבְעַ֣ת הַיָּמִ֑ים וְלֹֽא־יֵרָאֶ֨ה לְךָ֜ חָמֵ֗ץ וְלֹֽא־יֵרָאֶ֥ה לְךָ֛ שְׂאֹ֖ר בְּכׇל־גְּבֻלֶֽךָ׃ וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ וְהָיָה֩ לְךָ֨ לְא֜וֹת עַל־יָדְךָ֗ וּלְזִכָּרוֹן֙ בֵּ֣ין עֵינֶ֔יךָ לְמַ֗עַן תִּהְיֶ֛ה תּוֹרַ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּפִ֑יךָ כִּ֚י בְּיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֔ה הוֹצִֽאֲךָ֥ יְהֹוָ֖ה מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֛ אֶת־הַחֻקָּ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לְמוֹעֲדָ֑הּ מִיָּמִ֖ים יָמִֽימָה׃ {פ}
“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of יהוה. Throughout the seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten; no leavened bread shall be found with you, and no leaven shall be found in all your territory. And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what יהוה did for me when I went free from Egypt.’ “And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead —in order that the Teaching of יהוה may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand יהוה freed you from Egypt. You shall keep this institution at its set time from year to year.
What might be possible symbolic interpretations of not eating leavened/risen food?
- Bread rises like an ego, whereas eating matzah is practicing deflating one's ego
- Bread takes up more space, whereas eating matzah is practicing minimalism
- Bread is soft so easy to chew, whereas the crunch of matzah reminds us of the harder parts of life
אוֹר לְאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר, בּוֹדְקִין אֶת הֶחָמֵץ לְאוֹר הַנֵּר
On the evening of the fourteenth of the month of Nisan, one searches for leavened bread in his home by candlelight.
Why a candle, feather, & wooden spoon?
- We do it by candlelight, rather than in the daylight, so that our full focus is on each individual spot of our home, rather than seeing it all at once.
- We sweep the chametz crumbs with the same feather that we have been using to glaze our Shabbos challah with egg each week. The feather then goes into the fire too, so we annually begin using a new feather every year on the first Shabbat after Pesach.
- We sweep the crumbs with the feather into a wooden spoon to collect them so that we can then burn the wooden spoon, as well.
אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: הַבּוֹדֵק צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּבָרֵךְ. מַאי מְבָרֵךְ? רַב פַּפֵּי אָמַר מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרָבָא: ״ לְבַעֵר חָמֵץ״. רַב פָּפָּא אָמַר מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרָבָא: ״(אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ) עַל בִּיעוּר חָמֵץ״.
Rav Yehuda said: One who searches must recite a blessing. What blessing does one recite? Rav Pappi said in the name of Rava, recite: to remove leavened bread. Rav Pappa said in the name of Rava: (Blessed is the Divine, who has made us holy through mitzvot and has commanded us in) the removal of leavened bread.
Therefore, before beginning the search for chametz, we bless:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ על ביעור חמץ
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kid 'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu al biur chametz
"Blessed is the Divine, energy of the Universe, instilling in us the holiness of mitzvot by commanding us to remove all chametz"
רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אֵין בִּעוּר חָמֵץ אֶלָּא שְׂרֵפָה.
Rabbi Yehuda says: The removal of leavened bread is only through burning in fire.
Why burn it?
- Just like we'll experience at the Sacred Fire at Passover in the Desert, the smoke transcends gravity, elevating our prayers higher than we ourselves can physically go, towards the Divine.
- Fire tending can be a deeply spiritual practice, dropping into a meditative state and following one's intuition.
As the moon of Adar currently wanes towards the new moon of Nisan, we will begin Pesach on the next full moon, exactly three weeks from tonight.
Thus, how might you choose to spend these next three weeks spiritually preparing for Pesach?
What resonates with you as your personal metaphorical chametz that you seek to search for & burn?
How might you customize these rituals to honor this "Journey to Liberation"?