Why so Much Obsession over the tinniest Crumb of Chametz?

 With Pessach around the corner, many of us find ourselves scrubbing our homes in places where even dust has a hard time getting into. This is not your typical spring cleaning, when dealing with ‘chametz’ even ‘mashehu,’ the tinniest piece of crumb is considered unacceptable to own. And it’s got to make you ask, why so much obsession over Matzah on Pessach?

Apparently, the Jews didn't have time to make sandwiches for the road, big deal. Now because of that, we end up inheriting a disproportionate compulsive obsession over the tinniest crumb of chametz to remember the flat bread we had to make with during our trip? I mean, after years of slavery, did we really not have 18 minutes to spare to let the bread leaven properly? And why did it matter that much what kind of bread we did manage to make?

You see, more than fleeing from the enemy, turns out we were fleeing from ourselves. Because often when something big is about to happen it's our very minds who can play a trick on us and if we wait enough, start filling our minds with second thoughts, fears and doubts. And as ludicrous as it sounds, we were at risk of forgoing our freedom and redemption for the fear of the unknown.

So the actual message is not only to remember a fact but rather a lesson, and to pass on to generations to come the value of taking action before we ourselves become our own warders. And that when talking about our goals, our future, our freedom, we cannot own a crumb of fear.

Like our predecessors in Egypt, we might fear the change, the unknown, the freedom, but this year at the sedder table, we will still shout “Leshana Habaa B’Yerushalaim!” – Next year in Jerusalem. And there shall not be a crumb to hold us back from the final and imminent redemption!