Judaism Discovered - Get a Free Blog

JUDAISM DISCOVERED 931 MICHAEL HOFFMAN
"Gentiles in North America often don't understand why observant Jews
sometimes dread the coming of the next big holiday... Not for nothing did
Chazal tell us to start studying the laws of each holiday 30 days
before... Pesach, though, is a very trying time. Just to fulfill the basic
requirements of the holiday can take weeks and thousands of dollars in
cleaning supplies and help. Given the modern tendency towards
accumulation of pretty much anything that is on sale and the ever-increasing
size of the homes some of us live in, the cleaning job grows year to year.
Every year we hear the stories of people who stop taking their Prozac so their
obsessive-compulsive traits can get them through the preparatory cleaning.
Who hasn't heard the question asked: Are we supposed to clean between the
tiles or just fireblast them? Add to this the recent additions from the
c/iamros-of-the-week club, such as limitations on paper plates, styrofoam
cups (!) and the ever increasing number of foods that get labelled as kitniyos
(don't even get me started on that one) and it's a wonder that, just before
Pesach, the local psychiatry wards aren't filled with neurotic Jews all
running up and down the hallways with their brooms and mops chasing that
one last dustball the cleaning staff missed. Whoever can bleach the floor tiles
until there are holes in it, harei zeh rneshubachl Three years ago I decided
that I'd had enough of this. The purpose of cleaning for Pesach is to remove
all chometz (unleavened bread) from our homes, or at least the sections we
don't sell through the rav. I was once told by Rav Benjy Hecht that the
guiding philosophy of the Chazon Ish was that Torah observance is supposed
to be dystonic with human nature. In other words, the phrase "it's hard to be
a Jew" 1127 is supposed to be an essential part of observance. You're not a real
Orthodox Jew if you're happy and well-adjusted, but rather you should feel
the struggle all your life with your inner urges to not obey God's laws. Having
heard this, I came to finally understand why Pesach has turned into such a
miserable experience for so many people. Now all the crazy chumros made
sense. We were supposed to be miserable as we prepared for Pesach. It was a
sign of our true Jewish dedication!" 1128
1127 "S'iz shver tsu zayn a yid"
1128 "Making Pesach Even Harder," http://garnelironheart.blogspot.com/2008/04/makingpesach-even-harder.html
April 10, 2008. The hunt for chometz (unleavened bread) is daunting.