Chametz: Emancipate Yourself from…Yourself

The month of Nisan and Passover were not only the redemption of our nation from Egypt, but began the (potential) redemption of our people in every generation. It is said that Moshiach and the full redemption of the Jewish people must occur in Nisan¹. We know, however, that the physical world is meant to be elevated, in order for us to access the spiritual. From this we learn: the search for chametz, being a key element to Pesach-prep, is intensive spiritual preparation – we must only remember this, just as we are remembering the Exodus from Egypt – and be intentional. How is chametz, which includes barley, rye, oats, wheat, or spelt (or the acronym, ‘BROWS’), correlated with redemption, and how can we utilize both our search for external and internal “crumbs” to, at last, merit geula this year?

Firsty, it is important to note the following: Every Jewish month is correlated with a number of unique qualities, as explained in Sefer Yetzirah, or The Book of Creation, including one of the four elements, one of the 12 Tribes, a body part, a Hebrew letter, and a “rectification”. Beautifully, the month of Nisan’s letter is “heh”. Known as one of the most “spiritual” letters in the aleph beit, or Hebrew alphabet, the sound “heh” is not made with any body part; rather, it is created through breath alone. The word ‘breath’, in Hebrew, is nashima, which is directly connected to the word, neshama, or ‘soul’. Where am I going with this? Hang tight!  Remember what was previously mentioned about our obligation to elevate the physical world to something…more? Well, in Nisan, and specifically through the search of chametz, we are not to boost up ourselves – but “break” ourselves. And from doing this, paradoxically, we are elevating ourselves to something…more. 

It is a known phenomenon that before the Jews receive physical redemption of any kind, they must first go through a spiritual one. So too, in a person’s personal life – the greatest battles are often overcome internally, and through tremendous mental, emotional, and spiritual work.  Some have said that in order to have a breakthrough, one must “break-down”. Now, by no means does this mean we become defeated by heavy, introspective processes. Like matzah, the hard and unleavened bread of Pesach, we too are breakable; and that is a good thing.

Let me explain. It is a known phenomenon that before the Jews receive physical redemption of any kind, they must first go through a spiritual one. So too, in a person’s personal life – the greatest battles are often overcome internally, and through tremendous mental, emotional, and spiritual work.  Some have said that in order to have a breakthrough, one must “break-down”. Now, by no means does this mean we become defeated by heavy, introspective processes. Like matzah, the hard and unleavened bread of Pesach, we too are breakable; and that is a good thing. In fact, G-d instructs us in Psalm 95, to not harden our hearts…“when [our] ancestors tested [Him]; they tried [Him], even though they had seen [His] work.”² Through the hardening of our hearts – just like the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart – we shut out G-d. 

Alternatively, chametz, being leavened bread which has had time to rise, is soft – just like G-d wants our hearts to be to Him! So shouldn’t we be eating more challah and chametz muffins if our goal is to soften our hearts?! What ever happened to the concept, “You are what you eat”? Check this out – it wasn’t for nothing that we shared about Nisan’s letter being “heh”, and its intrinsic connection to breath, or soul. Chametz and matzah share two letters – but differ in one. They share a “mem”, and a “tzaddik” – but chametz begins with a “chaf”, while matzah (the chosen bread of this auspicious month) ends with a “heh”. 

Remember what we learned? “Heh” is our neshima, breath – and our soul, neshama. Matzah might be physically hard, requiring two, firm hands to break, while challah is physically soft, able to be smashed by the weakest of hands. While chametz might be a soft food – the word itself is hard. Say aloud the sound “ch” – it is guttural, made in the throat, and takes a tremendous amount of physical effort. Now, with ease, say “heh” – with no sound – only with the breath. This is matzah: while it is hard on the outside, it makes us softer on the inside. Softening our hearts, and humbling our souls, matzah silences our incredibly loud egos. As we crunch away this unleavened bread on Passover, we remember our ancestor’s back-breaking enslavement; their lives were not soft, but unbearably hard – and when we eat, we remember. The crunching of the matzah silences the table – no words are spoken, no songs are sung – and we remember. All that is heard is the crunch – symbolic of the bone-breaking lashes and the blows our ancestors suffered. And hearing this “hard” sound – like the tough and bitter years our ancestors suffered in Egypt and exile beyond – our inflated and enduringly loud “ch-ametz selves” are finally silenced. And we remember.

Now, in a way, I hope that just a hint of Jewish guilt has been stirred within you, dear reader. But not for the reason you might think. Yes, Pesach is about remembering the suffering of our people – in Egypt, in concentration camps, and, recalled with a tightened throat, in Gaza. But, more paramountly, Pesach is about our freedom. When we emancipate ourselves from ourselves – from all in our lives that make us focus on “me, me, me” – and replace it with “us” (just as, shortly after the Exodus, our nation received the Torah as “one man, one heart”³) it will be impossible to harden ourselves. While our nation’s collective spirit has been tough like matzah, against our eternal oppressors, haters, and now, “trolls” – we must heed Psalm 95, and not harden our hearts! On the contrary, while each home searches for chametz this year, may we all merit to truly search for and “break-down” the chametz within. Whatever inflates our individual egos is what keeps us focused on self, and not on klal Yisrael, the nation of Israel. Our ego separates us from one another – the opposite of being “one man, one heart” – and certainly delays redemption, which requires (just like our redemption from Egypt) our nation’s unwavering unification. Emancipate yourself from yourself, and remember: although we all have our own unique chametz, or inflations of our individual selves…the Jewish people share one breath, nashima, and one soul, neshama. The holiday following Passover is Shavuot, commemorating our nation having received the Torah at Mount Sinai. “G-d commanded us to do all these things… so that it should be good for us…”⁴ Although each individual Jew has his or her unique way of serving G-d, ultimately, our nation was freed as one to serve G-d and adhere to His Torah as one. 

1. Rosh HaShana 11a ↩︎
2. Tehillim 95:8-10 ↩︎
3. Exodus 19:2 “Israel camped there by the mountain.” 
   Rashi ad loc: “They camped like a single person with a single heart.”  ↩︎
4. Deuteronomy 6:24 ↩︎