On the night before Passover, Jewish families conduct a house-wide search for anything containing leaven. This search is called the bedikat chametz (בדיקת חמץ). It is traditionally conducted by candlelight, with a number of leavened items previously hidden, so that there is something to “find.” The process begins with a prayer and ends with the following pledge:
All hameitz [leaven] in my possession which I have not seen or removed, or of which I am unaware, is hereby nullified and ownerless as the dust of the earth.
This practice is in response to the following instruction which God gave the children of Israel concerning the celebration of the Passover:
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
Exodus 12:18-20
Near the beginning of the Passover Seder service, a child asks four questions, one of which is:
On all nights we eat chametz or matzah, and on this night only matzah?
“What Are the Four Questions (Ma Nishtana)?” on chabad.org
There are two traditional answers:
- Because ancient Israelites in slavery had limited food options (“the bread of affliction”)
- Because they had no time to let their dough rise on the night that they were set free
(“What Are the Answers to the Four Questions?” on chabad.org; see also Deuteronomy 16:1-4.)
These answers are both about remembering historical events. During Jesus’s ministry, He connected the practice of eliminating leaven with our personal spirituality. “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees,” He warned His disciples, ironically finding leaven in the souls of people who conscientiously avoided leaven during Passover (Matthew 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1).
The apostle Paul picked up the same theme, urging the Corinthian saints to “purge out … the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump.” He instructed them to see the Savior as their Passover and to celebrate His deliverance “not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). He urged them not to be “puffed up,” but to develop the Christlike attribute of charity, which would make them humble (1 Corinthians 5:2; 8:1; 13:4; see also Moroni 7:44-45).
The Book of Mormon doesn’t speak of leaven, but Alma urged church members in Zarahemla to conduct a careful search of their souls which mirrors the bedikat chametz. “Are ye stripped of pride?” he asked. “If ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. … Is there one among you who is not stripped of envy? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared; and I would that he should prepare quickly, for the hour is close at hand” (Alma 5:28-29).
Today, I will strive to eliminate the leaven of pride from my soul. I will remember that thoughts and feelings which “puff me up” make me less holy, less prepared to stand in God’s presence and receive His grace.
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