9. A Clean Sweep: The obligation to remove all chometz before Pesach

The obligation to rid ourselves of chometz – leaven – prior to Passover is a continuation of the mitzvos intended to focus our attention on the miracles of the Exodus. We fulfill this mitzvah by searching for chometz, destroying it (typically through burning), and nullifying it by declaring it ownerless and like dust to us. All this must be accomplished by a certain time on the day before Passover. The text literally says to remove chometz “on the first day,” but we know from both tradition and from context that this means to do so before Passover begins rather than on the first day of the holiday. (See the discussion in Pesachim 5a.)

Symbolically, chometz can represent many things, from idolatry to our evil inclinations. One of the most common metaphors is that chometz represents egotism. Bread has no more substance than matzah, it’s just over-inflated. Getting rid of chometz should also remind us to shed our over-inflated images of ourselves. (For chometz as a metaphor, see Talmud Brachos 17a, et al.)

This mitzvah applies to both men and women and it is in effect in all times and places. (Obviously, this mitzvah can only be fulfilled at a particular time. By “in effect at all times,” it means, for example, that it’s not limited to when the Temple is standing or when all the Tribes live in Israel. It’s a standard terminology used when discussing the applicability of mitzvos.)

The details of this mitzvah, including where one must search for chometz, by when it must be destroyed, etc., are discussed in the first four chapters of the Talmudic tractate of Pesachim. In the Shulchan Aruch, it can be found in Orach Chaim starting at siman 431 and in the Mishneh Torah in Hilchos Chometz u’Matzah chapter 2. It is #156 of the 248 positive mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #22 of the 77 positive mitzvos that can be fulfilled today in the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar.