Friday, January 15, 2016

The Prohibition of Chametz- While Enjoying Our Challah

The Gemara in Brachot states that Rabbi Alexandri would end his daily prayers with the following supplication:
“Master of the Universe, You know full well that it is our desire to act according to Your will. But what prevents us? The “Se’or She’ba’isa, the yeast in the dough.
                
Rabbi Alexandri equates Chametz with our yetzer harah, our Evil Inclination. The Baalei Mussar took note of the physical characteristics of Chametz and related them to bad character traits. For example, dough will only begin to rise after a period of time has elapsed. This corresponds to the trait of sloth and laziness. Similarly, with the help of yeast, dough is able to rise; a phenomenon that the Mussar Movement related to the attribute of haughtiness.
In Parshat Bo we read about the prohibition of Chametz on Pesach. The punishment for eating (or even possessing) chaemtz on Pesach is sever- karet.          The question is: If chametz is so bad, why do we eat it all year? Throughout history (putting aside, Atkins-type diets), bread has been a staple of nourishment. When the Pasuk says (Deutoronomy 8:3)
“Not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from G-d’s mouth does man live”.

The Torah is effectively telling us that in terms of nutrition, human beings can and do subsist on just bread. How are we to make sense of eating our daily bread the other 51 weeks of the year if it is associated with such negative connotations?

The answer is that Chametz is not evil. During the course of our lives, most of the time bread, as a food and as a symbol, is appropriate and necessary. It is in regards to our commemoration and celebration of Pesach that chametz has no place. Let’s take another look at chametz and try to understand why this is so.
                
Bread is the result of adding yeast to dough. Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Berlin, the Netziv, writes,
“Leaven is a human invention used to modify through ingenuity the world that G-d created.” The Netziv utilizes this construct to understand why leaven (and honey) are forbidden to be brought on the altar in the Temple. He explains that an encounter with G-d at the altar is not the time to demonstrate our ability to innovate. Rather, bringing a Korban is a time to reflect on G-d as Creator and the Cause of all human ingenuity and achievement. Chametz represents man’s ability to use his intellect in conquest of the world around him. Although an important and necessary perspective for our lives, there is no room for Chametz on Pesach. Pesach commemorates the birth of the Jewish People. At that moment of Exodus we were passive, as Hashem tells Moshe at the Splitting of the Sea:
“Hashem yilachem Lachem V’Atem Tacharishun” – “You remain passive and God will fight for you”

Our celebration of Pesach focuses on what Hashem did for us. Matzah, the natural product of bread and water without any human ingenuity, is aptly suited to be the Passover symbol. Acknowledging the role of Hashem within the realm of human creativity is a theme that Pesach shares with Shabbat, when we are commanded to rest from work and recognize G-d as creator and cause of all. This helps us understand why the Torah, in describing the the Mitzvah of Sefirat Haomer, refers to Pesach as Shabbat:

“Usefartem lachem mimacharat Hashabbat.” We begin counting the Omer the day after ‘Shabbat”- (we begin counting the day after) Pesach, the time in which, like Shabbat, we remember our total dependence on G-d. There is nothing wrong with chametz, just not the message of Pesach.

As we enjoy our challah over Shabbat Parshat Bo, let us remember the importance of both chametz and matzah: human ingenuity and humility in our relationship with Hashem.

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