Parshas Vayikra
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn (Abi) Zimra (Hebrew: דוד בן שלמה אבן אבי זמרא) (1479–1573), also called Radbaz (רדב"ז) after the initials of his name, Rabbi David iBn Zimra, was an early Torah Scholar of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries who was a leading Posek (Halachic decisor), Rosh Yeshiva, Chief Rabbi, and author of more than 3,000 responsa (Halachic decisions) as well as several scholarly works.
In the Halachic Responsa of the Radbaz (3:546), someone addressed the Radbaz with the following interesting question:
“Why is the prohibition of chametz (leavened food) on Passover different than all other prohibitions in the Torah, in that the Torah was stringent regarding chametz that, in addition to the prohibition against eating chametz on Passover, one is also required to search one’s entire house for it (this refers to Bedikas Chametz, the mitzvah to search for the chametz on the evening before Passover), and then to burn it (this refers to Biur Chametz, the mitzvah to burn and destroy the chametz on the morning before Passover), and then to nullify whatever chametz has not been found (this refers to Bittul Chametz, the mitzvah to nullify and declare ownerless any residual chametz on the day before Passover). Plus, the Rabbis added that one must search for the chametz in every nook and cranny of one’s home in order to get rid of it. Furthermore, the Torah forbids a person from even having it in one’s possession on Passover (unless one sells his chametz to a non-Jew). Additionally, it is forbidden to derive any pleasure from chametz on Passover. As well, if even a tiny bit of chametz falls into a pot of food on Passover, the food and pot become unfit for use (unlike with most other prohibited foods where we apply the concept of bittul, nullification, so that in most cases the non-kosher food would be nullified in the kosher food or pot by a ratio of 1/60). Why is it that the prohibition of chametz has more stringencies than any other prohibition in the Torah?
“And if one would like to suggest that the stringencies are due to the fact that the prohibition of eating chametz on Passover carries with it the very severe penalty of kareis, “spiritual excision of the soul” (see Exodus 12:15), that won’t explain why the prohibitions against eating certain non-kosher animal fats and blood don’t have all the stringencies that chametz has – even though they too carry the penalty of kareis.”
The Radbaz attempts various approaches to answer this difficult question, after which he concludes that the reason why the prohibition of chametz has so many stringencies can only be because chametz.symbolizes the yetzer hara, the “evil inclination” that is within every person and that causes him to sin.
As the Talmud tells us in Berachos 17a, When Rabbi Alexandri finished saying the Amidah (the “Silent Prayer”), he would add a special prayer. He would say: “Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that our will is to perform Your will, and what prevents us? The “yeast in the dough” (the evil inclination); and the subjugation to the kingdoms ….
[Ed. note: There are many ways to understand how chametz or yeast symbolizes the evil inclination. Rabbi Chaim Friedlander ZT”L suggests in Sifsei Chaim (Moadim vol. 2) that just as yeast causes the dough to rise and makes it look like much more than it truly is, so too does the evil inclination cause someone to become a Ba’al Ga’avah, a “haughty” person, who rises up over others when he has done nothing to be haughty about and is really just full of hot air. And there are many other illustrations of this.-dz].
And since when it comes to chametz we are really dealing with the yetzer hara – the source of all temptation and sin – we must ferociously search out and eradicate chametz from every nook and cranny before Passover, and on Passover itself even a tiny bit cannot be nullified. The message for us to internalize is zero tolerance for the yetzer hara.
The concept of removing chametz from our homes for the seven days of Passover, is really a message for all of us to try and remain chametz-free for the duration of our lives.
[As an aside, the Radbaz,in his work Metzudas Dovid (Mitzvah #107), asks the obvious question: If chametz represents the yetzer hara, why then is it allowed the rest of the year? He presents two answers:
The first answer the Radbaz offers is that matzah is hard on the stomach! So while it would indeed be preferable spiritually to eat matzah and ban chametz all year round, we would just get physically sick. To spare us endless digestive woes, the Torah limits the war on chametz to one week a year.
The second answer of the Radvaz is that the reason that G-d gave us the yetzer hara is to test us to see if we can withstand it. So chametz is permitted all year round – as a test to see if we can overcome our yetzer hara. We can throw out the yetzer hara with the chametz, but only temporarily. The rest of the time, our job is more difficult. We need to keep the yetzer hara, struggle with it, and channel it in positive directions.]
Passover, known traditionally as Zman Cheiruseinu, the “Time of our Freedom”, is when we can achieve true freedom from the shackles of the yetzer hara. And the way that we remind us to free ourselves from our internal yetzer hara inclinations is through our external actions before Passover of searching in all the nooks and crannies, and burning it.
However, if we just do the externals, without being reminded about the real battle with the yetzer hara inside us - then we just might be missing the boat, G-d forbid.
Let us remember this year as we begin our search for the chametz what the purpose of this search is – and then we shall be successful in destroying our yetzer hara.and be truly free!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=658