Chametz – Taming the Horse
Notes from Rabbi Aryeh Nivin’s phone class, taken by Yehudis Litvak
In the weeks before Pesach, we are busy removing all traces of chametz from our homes. We go to the extremes, hunting for small amounts of crumbs in barely accessible spaces. This is one of the very few areas in halacha where such extremism is sanctioned.
What is so evil about chametz that we need to get rid of it? Moreover, if chametz is so bad, why are we allowed to eat it the rest of the year?
Chametz symbolizes our yetzer hara, the evil inclination. We are warned about the danger presented by the yetzer hara. Our sages tell us that if Hashem would not protect us, the yetzer hara would destroy us (Gemara Kiddushin). However, there are other sources that seem to view the yetzer hara in a positive light. For example, in the description of the creation of the world, it says “yom hashishi” – the sixth day, whereas other days are not referred to with a definite article “ha.” The extra letter hei – the definite article – hints to us that the yetzer hara was created on the sixth day (Medrash Rabba). That seems to be a compliment to the yetzer hara.
Perhaps the evil inclination is not so evil. It says in the Gemara Brachos, “You shall serve Hashem your G-d with all your heart.” The word “levavcha” – with all your heart – is spelled with two letters vet, even though the correct spelling is with one vet. The Gemara explains that we need to serve Hashem “b’shnei yetzarecha” – with two inclinations. The evil inclination must be used in the service of G-d. This concept in expounded at great length in many mussar books. The Vilna Gaon explains that if a person was born blood-thirsty, he should become a shochet or a mohel. One should channel one’s inborn predisposition into serving Hashem.
When the yetzer hara is properly put in its place it is no longer a yetzer hara but just plain yetzer – an inclination. It serves us and gives us energy. There is a well-known analogy of a horse and a rider. The rider symbolizes the soul, and the horse symbolizes the body. When the horse and the rider unify they create powerful energy. They are able to gallop at 100 miles/hour and accomplish great things. But when the horse is wild it can throw off the rider and kill him. It is a dangerous situation. The horse needs to be tamed.
Taming a horse is a slow and time-consuming process. In the early days of American history, people used to tame wild horses in the great prairies. They would bring a horse into a mile long corral, close it, and let the horse get hungry. Then they would begin feeding the horse, slowly gaining its trust. Eventually, they would be able to sit on the horse, then saddle it, then trot and even gallop.
That is the avoda – the service – of getting rid of chametz. We scour our houses like maniacs chasing after every little trace of chametz. We go to the extremes to remove the ra – evil – out of the yetzer hara, to tame the horse and turn it into plain yetzer. We cannot tolerate even the tiniest evil. Then we will be able to sit on that horse on Pesach day, and during the period of the omer we can learn to gallop.
By performing this avoda at Pesach time we gain the ability to eat chametz the rest of year without any adverse effects.
A job of such magnitude cannot be accomplished on our own.
But this time of the year is a time of Divine chessed
– kindness. Just as Hashem redeemed us from
A practical way of performing this avoda is to pick a small aspect of our yetzer hara that we can overcome. It has to be easy and doable. No matter how small our efforts are, it says in Chazal that if we open an opening of a pinhole, Hashem will open an opening wide enough for wagons and carriages to go through. We need to pick a bite-sized piece of the yetzer hara in which we can succeed.
While we are doing our Pesach cleaning we need to be conscious of our avoda and keep in mind the part of the yetzer hara that we are trying to eradicate. We need to remember that what we are doing is not drudgery or slave labor but an opportunity to perfect our personality. If we perform the work properly it will serve as inoculation against the yetzer hara the whole year.
When we throw the remaining chametz into the fire we should think of the part of our yetzer hara that we are burning together with it. We watch it being burned alive and come away free of its confines. The space that we free up inside ourselves is now ready to be filled by the revelation of the shechina at the seder night.
Rabbi Aryeh
Nivin leads personal development workshops over the
phone, helping people tune into their strengths and experience more vitality
and happiness in their lives. New men’s group and women’s group are starting in
May. For more information, please contact AryehNivinPA@gmail.com.