House of Love and Prayer
San Francisco, 5733.
BEDIKAS CHOMETZ

How can a human being who is finite reach the infinite light which flows with no reason, no slavery. The truth is we cannot reach for it. It is a gift from Heaven, a holy gift which doesnt depend on anything. This light is shining down, and we must make little vessels for this light.

What is the smallest, sweetest little vessel we can make in preparation for receiving this light? It is to clean the house a little bit. On Passover you must have a house, in order to clean all the bread from the house. Just like I cannot really fulfill Hanuka unless I have a house, I cannot prepare for Pesach unless I have a house. I must have a house and I must clean that house, which on a higher level means I must have a place in the world, and that place has to be clean. The great miracle is that the night before Pesach G-d gives each person a place in the world in order to fulfill Pesach. G-d always helps you to do what you have to do. He not only gives the lights, G-d helps you to get the vessels.

Gemara Pesachim begins Ohr lArba assur, the light of the 14th, the night before Pesach. A light is shining giving me a place in the world, and then I begin searching, cleaning my little place to the best of my ability G-d wants you to clean as far your hand can reach, and wherever you cannot reach, G-d will clean for you. You have to search for Chometz with a candle wherever you can, and then the next morning you have to announce, Any bread left in my posession is non-existent for me. That is mevatl belibo, annihilating the bread in your heart. The holy Karliner asked, How are you annihilating bread, which is a symbol of all the evil in the world? He says belibo - with a little bit of heart. The world translates this to mean, annihilate it in your heart, but the Karliner translates it as with a little bit of heart, a bissel hartz. G-d just asks us for a little place and a little bit of heart.

Why are we bodake chometz with a candle? Sunl ight can show you what is going on in a big room, but when it come to a little corner, only a candle will do. A candle has something very holy about it that it can shine into a little dark place. The Gemara says, man is called G-ds candle - Ner haShem nishamas adam. Torah is called ner byadkha, a candle in your hand. G-d is saying to us, if you watch over my candle, the Torah, Ill watch over your candle, your soul. If you abandon my candle, has vshalom, Im abandoning yours. You see, the holiness of Torah is that it can shine into the deepest corner of the soul.

Before Pesach, before I become free, I always think the whol e world is rotten to the core, but I am good. The night before Pesach a great light is shining which the Bais Yaakov says is the light by which I find my place. Reb Nachman says it is very simple. The great light which is shining is that I know I have all the evil in my own house. It is nobody elses fault. It is my own fault. Rav Kook says there is no freedom in the world because everyone likes to look for it in someone elses house. If the world would learn that first they have to look for evil in their own home OY!

REB LEVI YITZHOK STORY

One Eruv Pesach Reb Levi Yizhak of Berditchev told the Hasidim to go fetch him some German merchandise. Now At the time it was illegal to own German merchandise as some Russians had a monopoly on the market; and G-d forbid, you get caught, you would go to Siberia for it. The Hasidim were amazed at their Rebbes request, but the Rebbes command is the Rebbes command, so off they went. They came back with much German merchandise because they had found it everywhere.

Then Reb Levi Yitzhok told them to go out and bring back some bread. The Hasim were shocked, eruv Pesach bread? But he said, Dont ask me questions, I need it very badly. So they wnet, and nowhere in Berdichev, and in those days the people were all Yidden, was any bread to be found. So they came back to Reb Levi Yitzhok empty handed. So Reb Levi Yitzhak turned to the G-d and said, Ribbono Shel Olam! See how much we love You. Our Tsar has police on every corner and he cant even the people from getting German merchandise. On the other hand, You, Master of the World have no police, and yet no Jew will ever disobey You.

BEDIKAS HUMETZ STORY

In the middle of Seder, the Holy Yehoshuas Yakov, was interrupted by a poor widow who had come to see him with a tale of utter woe. Rebbe, we had nothing to eat the entire year. But we scrape and save in honor of Pesach. Today I bought ourselves a new pot and a chicken. I made enough soup to feed my eleven children for the entire Yom Tov. But sadly, sadly enough, my youngest son was playing in the street today and in the middle of our Seder dropped a tiny kernel of corn into the boiling pot of soup. Rabbi, what can I feed my children all Pesach? Now all the poskim, authorities on halakha, hold that not only is the soup forbidden, you have to destroy the pot also, since everyone knows that the tiniest crumb of chumetz can never be nullified. But, just that afternoon, the Rabbi was learning a ruling by the Hai Gaon, which said that in case of need, one part chumetz might be nullified in sixty. So the Rav said, Go, eat the soup and save a little for me, also. That night the Rav had a dream where Reb Hai Gaon told him, How did you know? I knew that my opinion would be rejected by the majority of the authorities that would follow me. But I only intended my ruling to apply to this one poor woman when I issued it six hundred years ago. I wrote it only for her.