We are in the final preparations for the holiday of Passover: The pantries cleaned, the refrigerator scoured, and the oven thoroughly inspected.
The Shulchan Arukh, a widely accepted code of Jewish law, advises that when checking for chametz (leavened products), one should also check their purses and their pockets. If by chance we store chametz in these areas, we can’t forget to look there.
There is a spiritually elevated connection in checking one’s pockets. Rabbi Simcha Bunem was said to carry two notes in his pockets. In one pocket, the note read: “I am only dust and ashes.” In the other pocket, the note read: “For my sake, the world was created”.
These are two different messages that balanced his soul: We should remember that we have a unique purpose and live out each day with the highest of goals, linking our potential to the creation of the world. And we are also compared to a grain of sand, a small speck of dust in this vast universe and within the generations of time.
On Passover, check your pockets for both chametz and a spiritual awakening. In this season of freedom, rid yourself of arrogance and haughtiness, and remember how essential you are as one of God’s blessings.
In doing so, may you find pockets filled with wisdom, clarity, humility, and grace.
Early Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
Rabbi Nicole Guzik is senior rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik or on Instagram @rabbiguzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.
