Clean Without Tears: The Surprising Spiritual Power of Pre-Passover Cleaning

Hi, love. Am I interrupting you mid-Pesach cleaning? You’re running, out of breath, scrubbing... Stop for one tiny moment. I want you to understand what you’re actually doing. The cleaning you do in your home for Pesach is on par with the work of the Kohen Gadol! Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev said that ridding the house of chametz is like the Kohen Gadol’s service on Yom Kippur. And when you do it with joy, you can even merit a touch of ruach hakodesh.

This isn’t just cleaning; it’s something very spiritual and elevated. So—clean without tears! Clean with joy and even a little fun, and please, without anger. Anger cancels all the blessing of these days and pushes away amazing things. The kids aren’t chametz, and your husband isn’t the Korban Pesach... You can clean together, in partnership and with joy. Get the kids and your husband involved.

Rabbi Biderman tells about a certain tzaddik who walked into the beit midrash a few days before Pesach and saw avrechim learning with great focus. The tzaddik stepped up to the platform and announced: "Dear community! Sorry to interrupt your learning, but I have a long list of poor widows who urgently need help before the Pesach holiday—lifting windows, carrying things, moving stuff".

All the avrechim, as one person with one heart, volunteered to run out and help. The tzaddik told them to line up, and he’d give each one an address for where to go. They all left the beit midrash with the joy of a mitzvah, ready to help others and do chesed. Each one held a slip of paper.

When they opened the notes, they discovered that the tzaddik had given each man his own home address...

You’re probably thinking this is the story to tell the husbands.

True—them, too. But sometimes the poor guy would rather run than help, because you’re not exactly "at your best" these days. It’s Erev Pesach, but it can feel like the Nine Days... pressure, nerves, anger, complaints, demands.

This year—you change. You change direction and do it differently, because you understand what this cleaning really is. It’s not just spring cleaning. From every act of cleaning for Pesach, says Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, angels are created. From every scrub, scrape, and scour—angels are formed, just like the angels born from the blast of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. And those angels advocate for you and your family in Heaven. Every effort you make as you work toward Pesach kills and nullifies the harmful forces in the world.

(צילום: shutterstock)

These days are so big. The days of Nisan are blessed and primed for miracles—Nisan is an ongoing miracle. The Shelah HaKadosh says that every day of Nisan is holy like Rosh Chodesh. The first twelve days of Nisan power the twelve months of the year, and every hour in these days is like a full day. Every tefillah, every bracha, every chapter of Tehillim—they count in Heaven twelvefold. If we knew what we were holding in our hands, we wouldn’t waste even a moment!

Don’t get confused—the yetzer hara wants to trip you up. Precisely because these days are so important, get up in the morning with joy. Promise yourself that today you’ll be calm and happy. There’s a pre-Pesachyetzer hara people call "chaser li"—"I’m missing something." If you’re missing something, ask Hashem, and move on. Don’t get stuck in "I’m missing, I’m missing." When Hashem sees you cast it onto Him and keep going with confidence, He’ll give it to you. You’ll see—He will.

Life takes a lot of patience. As it says: "From shortness of spirit and hard work." When there’s impatience, the work gets harder. In this season, clean and say thank you, stay centered, and... work with a plan. Make a clear to-do list for today—don’t stare at a huge, jumbled mountain; just today’s tasks! Personally, I keep a daily plan of what I’m going to do, and it’s amazing how much it helps! Most important—it’s incredibly calming.

(צילום: shutterstock)

One more tip: use the time and this sacred work to ask—throughout the day. As you clean the window, ask Hashem: Let me not look into other people’s windows, heaven forbid. Help me always delight in my portion. As you wipe the table, ask Hashem: Let our table always be full and joyful. All year long, b’ezrat Hashem, may we all sit around this table and may no one, heaven forbid, be missing. When you clean the oven (and if you’ve made it to the oven, you’re in great shape...), ask Hashem to help you cook healthy, nourishing food, to gladden the family, and to always have the strength for them. Ask for Shabbat and the holidays, and for the celebrations that will come, b’ezrat Hashem. When you empty the pockets, ask to be protected from theft—that you’ll never touch what isn’t yours. Remember! When you clean—it’s the time to find everything you borrowed and didn’t return; it’s time to bring it back, to restore lost items! When you clean the door, ask to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim with a warm smile, and that only blessings enter your home. When you clean the mirror, ask: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?"—that you’ll always see yourself as beautiful and worthy. It’s so important that you feel worthy in your own eyes. Find your own beautiful, good points. How the yetzer hara knows how to trip us up—the super-efficient neighbor already finished Pesach, and me... her kids look perfectly put together, and I’m still dragging... No! Don’t! You—you are the most perfect.

In short: ask.

About this month it says: "Hachodesh hazeh lachem." The power is really entrusted to you—in your hands—for salvation and compassion for the whole year. Welcome to the month of spring. "Aviv" hints to "av l-yud-bet"—the head, the "father," of all twelve months.

So truly—from the heart.

Happy spring holiday to everyone, and so, so much joy.