Spring Cleaning is a tradition that allows us to freshen up our homes and get a head start on the coming seasons of spring and summer. This tradition originates in an ancient Jewish custom of thoroughly cleaning the house in preparation for the springtime feast of Passover.
Many wives love this time of the year because it is the only time the entire family joins in for the required deep cleaning. Because some women feel overwhelmed by the task, it is recommended to start the cleaning early, right after Purim.
Several days before the Passover, there is an elaborate preparation of cleaning the house from top to bottom, removing all the leaven. – Passover, or ‘Pesach’ in Hebrew, literally means to “skip over”, referring to the angel of death who skipped or passed over the Hebrew households, marked by the lamb’s blood on their doorways. God instructed the Hebrew people to hit the road in haste once the Pharaoh agreed to let them go. So, they had to bake their bread quickly, not allowing it to rise, which resulted in unleavened bread or ‘matzah’ in Hebrew.
In bread making, yeast (leaven, ‘chametz’) is used to make the dough rise from a dense mass of flour to airy bread. Yeast causes the process of fermentation to happen in bread, which is crucial to the bread rising. That is why the rabbis tell us that ‘Chametz’ is any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come in contact with water and been allowed to ferment and “rise.”
“You shall not eat leavened bread; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 16:3)
Jewish sages teach that leaven symbolizes sin and evil inclination. In Judaism, yeast has come to symbolize arrogance because yeast bread raises itself up, above the level of ‘matzah’, or unleavened bread. But this happens only because it is filled with pockets of hot air. Just as yeast causes fermentation in bread and wine, a helpful process, it becomes sour when not controlled.
In preparation for Passover, our homes are cleaned and all of the chametz – unleavened bread – has been removed. A parent hides small pieces of bread throughout the house and children are required to “search and destroy.” The traditional tools include a feather, wooden spoon and candle. We conduct the search, using a candle or flashlight to illuminate areas. This ceremonial search for chametz is called ‘Bedikat Chametz’. When a piece is found, it is swept onto the wooden spoon using the feather, and then deposited into paper bag. The parents make sure all pieces hidden are found. – The following morning, usually sometime between 10 and 11 o’clock, the leaven is burned.
The light illuminates all the dark places where ‘chametz’ likes to hide. The police will tell you that most evil deeds are done under cover of darkness.
Happy Passover Spring Cleaning!
Standing with Israel 