PASSOVER STORY

Cleaning the house in preparation for Passover is a formidable task, and as such may bear resemblance to cleansing ourselves of our defects so that we may become more pure spiritually. Both require a great deal of effort on our part, but neither can succeed without Divine assistance.

There is a story of a very devout individual who began his Passover housecleaning many weeks before the holiday, during which time he did not permit any chametz to enter the house. He meticulously cleaned and examined every nook and cranny in the house, removing each book in his substantial library to be shaken out lest a crumb of chametz had fallen in if anyone had read a book while eating. There was simply no possibility that anything was overlooked.

On Passover night, the man sat down to the Seder with his family, content that he had achieved perfection in regard to making his home absolutely chametz-free. He continued these most stringent precautions throughout the entire festival. On one of the intermediate days of Passover, when the man went to fetch water from the well, he was shocked to discover, floating in the well, a loaf of bread! He realized that he had used water during Passover that had been contaminated by chametz, and was overcome with grief that he had inadvertently violated the laws of Passover.

The man consulted a big rabbi and related his tale of woe. He was particularly concerned that he had committed so grievous a sin, although he had exerted himself to the utmost to be sure that there was no chametz in his environs. Why had G-d permitted this to happen to him?

The rabbi told him that the answer to his question was simple. G-d had not protected him because he had not prayed for His help. "The laws of Passover are so strict and demanding," the rabbi said, "that it is impossible for unaided human efforts to achieve perfection in compliance. While we must do whatever is within our means, we must remember to ask G-d to complete whatever it is that is beyond our capabilities.

"You were extremely diligent in your efforts," the rabbi said, "but you neglected to pray for Divine assistance. What happened should prove to you that a human being can only try to do his utmost, but must never forget to pray for Divine assistance."

Whether in ridding our homes of chametz or divesting ourselves of our character defects, we must indeed make a maximum effort, but always remember that without the help of G-d, even our utmost efforts cannot succeed.

Source: From Bondage to Freedom, by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.

Prepared by team of Beth Avraham Yosef of Toronto

Other Topics about Pesach:

From Slavery to Freedom (Russian) Universal Key to Freedom (Russian) Lessons of Freedom (English) Lessons of Freedom (Russian) The Original Story (Russian)	When YOU were going out of Egypt (Russian) Laws of Pesach Bekitzur (English) Philosophy: Four sons (English) Once on Passover - story (English) 7th Day of Passover (Russian)
Funny Haggadah shel Pesach (Russian)

Last update: March 15, 2001
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