Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron standing outside the Maarat HaMachpela getting ready for Passover. We are cleaning our homes, getting rid of any chametz. We are trying to get our houses in order, our life in order, so that we’re ready to receive the great new light that descends down ever year on Passover.
You know, sometimes we get focused on cleaning up everyone else’s mess and countries are focused on what’s doing by other countries. Everyone is interested in fixing somebody else.
But during the times of Passover, we get our own life in order. We take that candle. We go to every nook and cranny of our own hearts and our own faults and own little shortcomings and the crumbs in life that are holding us back from reaching our true potential.
In this week’s parsha the first service we did in the Holy Temple was called Avodat HaDeshen, the removal of the ashes. Every day there was sacrifices that were brought. They were burnt on the altar, and there was a pile of ashes that piled up at the heart of the altar.
And the priest would lift up those ashes and show that they’re special and eventually take them out of the camp to a pure place. This represents sometimes we let our yesterdays defeat our ability to start a new beginning. You have to take out the old to make room for the new. So too, when we’re doing our Passover cleaning, we have to sometimes remove all the old garments and all the pots and pans no longer filling our needs.
We have to make new space to bring in new vessels, new lights, new garments. And this is the Avoda of cleaning our homes for Passover.
We should be privileged this year to bring the infinite light the light of redemption, the light of no limits, the light that will raise up every Jewish home, every person and God willing, we’ll be privileged to the light of redemption, the light of the Third Temple.
Shabbat Shalom. Chag Kasher vSameach.
