New Life 539 – Jewish Culture: Between Chametz (Leavened Food) And Matzah
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel
What important phases in our lives do Chametz and the Matzah symbolize? What is the meaning of the burning of the Chametz and why don’t we use a strong light when we search for it at home?
Matzah symbolizes our detachment from our egoistic desires so it is called the bread of affliction. Pesach (Passover [1]) symbolizes the state in which we break away from our ego [2] and operate as much as we can in love [3] and bestowal [4].
The term “ego” does not refer to personal pleasures but to the enjoyment of hating others, using others and taking advantage of them. We have to treat others nicely. First, we will not feel any taste in it, just like the Matzah, but later it will grow and expand.
Leavened bread, Matzah, and Chametz are like kids who enjoy irritating others, for example, and then learn to restrain themselves and become loving and giving.
This is the way the world is today: it is under the domination of Pharaoh, under the domination of the ego, and so people need tranquilizers, drugs, and alcohol. The phase of restraint results from the recognition of evil when we all realize that the ego is destroying us. Eating Chametz after Pesach symbolizes a new world, connections of love and bestowal and the revelation of the upper world.
The burning of the Chametz symbolizes the elimination of the ego inside me, when I don’t agree to suppress others and dominate them. We search for the Chametz by the light of a candle since we have no more than a slight illumination that signals that the ego is bad and awful. The selling of the Chametz symbolizes that I am getting rid of the ego in order to exit it, and then I bring it back in order to correct it.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 539 – Jewish Culture: Between Chametz (Leavened Food) And Matza,” 3/24/15
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