REAL SEARCHING
February 5, 2023
We are all familiar with the Mitzvah of Bedekas Chometz. Every Jewish household in the world, on the night preceding the 14th day of Nissan, searches their properties to insure that all Chometz was removed and nothing was overlooked during the cleaning preparations. It is customary for a member of the household to hide ten pieces of bread in different areas of the house, to insure that the blessing is not recited in vain and that a thorough final search is conducted. Problem is, when night time arrives, most people are exhausted from all the preparations. They might only search procedurally, relying on the cleaning they did days before.
Over the years life has taught me, that it is really important to do a thorough search despite the exhaustion.
Three incidents stand out in my mind, that keep reminding me, to always go the extra mile, while performing this Mitzvah.
Was once inspecting my car, although it had already been cleaned. By chance I happened to find a peice of bread by the hood of the car. Couldn’t believe my eyes. How it got there, is anyone’s guess. Could have been dropped by a bird in flight or hidden by a squirrel. Who knows? What I do know is, that had the extra effort not been made to check the car again, the Chometz would not have found it.
The sink section outside the bathroom is not a place where Chometz is brought. To crouch down and search under the sink, when it was already swept and mopped made little sense. Certainly there wouldn’t be any Chometz there I thought. But then I remembered what our Holy Sages taught, to search everywhere, even in the cracks and crevices. So with difficulty
I bent down and looked under the sink. How surprised I was to find some macaroni, that somehow found its way there.
Another time, I was inspecting the dining room which had already been cleaned and set. By mistake I banged into the buffet table and caused one of the framed pictures standing on it, to tip over. Couldn’t believe my eyes, when a small whiskey bottle suddenly appeared out of nowhere. How did it get there? Then I remembered, it was put there as a temporarily prop, to support the framed picture that tipped over now.
How wise our Holy Sages were, to instruct us to do a final search, even after everything was cleaned.
Checking for Chometz can easily become a ritual practice, that we are over and done with quickly. The stories illustrate however, the benefit derived from exerting oneself to perform Hashem’s Mitzvah. In return Hashem gives us a measure of extra assistance.
To take this Mitzvah to a higher level, we might also want to consider inspecting ourselves during this process. Did we leave any Spiritual Chometz behind like, anger, hatred, greed, lust, jealousy. These character defects are also Chometz, which we are required to remove from our consciousness. Taking a casual inventory won’t suffice. It requires a thorough checkup, to insure that none of this bacteria resides within us.
Our Sages teach that even a tiny bit of Chometz is forbidden. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to make the extra effort to inspect ALL our possessions, inwardly and outwardly
Many of our Holy Sages felt that removing character defects from our being, should be the chief focus and main purpose of our visit to this planet. Maintaining a clean slate in our relationship with Hashem and also with our fellow man. Can never take for granted, that all is in order, unless we are constantly doing a truthful thorough search. Not easy, but somewhat attainable with consistent and persistent sincerity. Bedekas Chometz all year round, especially in the months of Nissan and Elul.
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