Preparing for Passover With Joy

Passover preparations can sometimes be driven by anxiety over removing chametz and striving for extreme cleanliness. This pressure may create tension and burden within the home, to the point that the beautiful preparations for the holiday begin to feel heavy rather than uplifting.

We must remember that the primary educational mission is to help our children love the holy Torah and to experience the sweetness of its mitzvot. It has even been humorously said about those who go beyond the proper balance in cleaning and stress that one should remember: “Dust is not chametz, and the husband is not the Passover sacrifice.”

The Priority of Joy Over Stringency

A story is told about a chassid who came before his teacher, Rabbi Yitzchak of Neshchiz, with a heavy heart.

“My heart is filled with deep sadness,” he said. “I prepared flour ground from wheat that had been guarded from the time of harvest so that I could bake the most meticulous matzot for the Seder night. But the flour became wet and turned into chametz, and now I will have to settle for matzot made from flour guarded only from the time of kneading.”

The Rebbe replied, “Eating matzah guarded from the time of harvest is a beautiful enhancement of the mitzvah, but the mitzvah to rejoice on the festival is a Torah obligation. It is better to eat less meticulous matzah with joy than to eat the most meticulous matzah in sadness.”

This teaches a powerful principle in serving God: we must constantly examine the boundaries of halachah and understand what God truly wants from us. We should not become overly strict in secondary matters while neglecting what is genuinely essential according to Torah law, lest we become meticulous in minor details while overlooking greater obligations.

Why Is It Called “Shabbat HaGadol”?

The Tur, quoting Seder Olam, explains why the Shabbat before Passover is called Shabbat HaGadol, “the Great Shabbat.” On the tenth of Nisan, which fell on that Shabbat in the year of the Exodus, the Israelites took a lamb and tied it to their bedposts as preparation for the Passover offering. When the Egyptians asked why they were doing this, the Israelites replied that they would slaughter it as a Passover sacrifice according to God’s command. The Egyptians were enraged that their deity would be slaughtered, yet they were unable to protest. Because of this great miracle, the day came to be known as Shabbat HaGadol.

Tosafot add another detail. When the firstborn Egyptians heard that the Israelites were preparing a sacrifice that would bring about the death of Egypt’s firstborn, they went to Pharaoh and demanded that he release the Israelites. When he refused, the firstborn waged war against their own people, striking many of them down. This too is part of the great miracle associated with that Shabbat.