Pesach 5768

Pesach (Passover) is around the corner! The first seder night is Saturday, April 19, and, with its fast approach, Jews around the world are beginning to think about cleaning, cooking, and celebrating freedom. And, I...well, I am starting to think about hametz. What, you might ask, is hametz?

During Pesach, the Torah tells us that we may neither eat nor own leavened bread or hametz of any kind (Exodus 12:15-20). Hametz refers to food prepared from any of the following five species of grain: wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye that have been allowed to leaven. Ashkenazi Jews add rice, millet, corn, and legumes to the not-to-be-eaten list. So, it seems, Pesach starts out with a number of restrictions.

The bread lovers amongst us cry out: What are we allowed to eat, then? Matzah (that favorite of cardboard-y treats), the Torah proclaims! Interestingly, there's only one fundamental difference between hametz and matzah - time (it's the same flour, water, etc.)! The rabbis explain that "matzah" is considered "matzah" only because it is made in fewer than 18 minutes. Potentially, the only difference between hametz and matzah is a moment, a second, an instant.

I believe there is a deep spiritual lesson for us to learn (and learn again) in this distinction. Avoiding the consumption and ownership of hametz is not just about crazy-making ancient rules. As Los Angeles Rabbi Sharon Brous teaches, "Matzah doesn't waste any time - it is the sense of urgency that drives us to do uncomfortable, inconvenient things. ...Hametz, to the contrary, is what keeps us complacent." Rabbi Brous suggests that, at this time of year, we are meant to "act like matzah," to attend to life with immediacy. The ancient Rabbi Hillel asks a similar question in Pirkei Avot, "If not now, when?" As Rabbi Brous suggests, this is the time of year for tough conversations we have been putting off, for much needed breaks we have not been taking, and for attentiveness to social issues we have been delaying. If Rosh Hashanah is the time for reflection, Pesach is the time for action! All year long we "act like hametz," now is the time for us to "be matzah.

Our tradition helps us to jump-start or act-out this spiritual reorientation with physical activity ("we learn best by doing"). We are told, literally, to disown all of our hametz. If you have never tried this, this Pesach 5768 is the year to do so. First, you should do a thorough search for hametz called b'dikat hametz. This search, traditionally done in gusto with a candle, feather, and spoon, can be especially fun for children of all ages (you can even hide hametz in corners!). Bundle up your hametz in one place. Then, there are two ways to get rid of your hametz:

1. You can donate your hametz to the poor. In fact, there is a specific mitzvah associated with this, Ma'ot Hittin (literally money for wheat), which commands us to give to the needy before Pesach. In the next week or so, try to finish any open hametz in your house (a great excuse to invite friends over for a hametz dinner party!) and then simply donate any unopened hametz. It can be fun to re-purchase new treats after the chag. Feel free to give your hametz to your organization of choice or drop it off in the TBS Education or Main Lobby before Wednesday, April 16, and we will take it to Second Harvest.
2. You can "sell" your hametz. It was clear to the rabbis that it might not be feasible for everyone to simply get rid of all their hametz. So, there is another option to "sell" it. In order to do this, take all your hametz and put it in a closed cabinet or box and label it hametz (keep it shut throughout Pesach), you will then "sell" it for the remainder of the holiday. It is common practice today to appoint an agent to arrange the sale of your hametz on your behalf. If you would like to do this, simply come in to TBS before Wednesday, April 16, and sign a form listing Rabbi Jocee Hudson as "your agent." Your hametz will be "sold" and unavailable for your use from Saturday morning, April 19, until the end of the holiday. I will be "selling" your hametz to the Executive Director of Mercy House, Larry Haynes. If you like, you can fulfill the mitzvah of Ma'ot Hittin by making a Pesach donation to Mercy House.