If you are like many who attend synagogue, while reading the fixed prayers printed in the siddur, you may reflect:
“Are these prayers really speaking to me?”
On Yom Kippur, it’s “sin, sin, sin.” D
uring Shabbat and other special days, it’s “praise, praise, praise.”
Are we all about sin? Does God really require so much praise?
If so, you are not alone.
Even our ancient rabbis, while respecting the sanctity of our “fixed prayers,” shared additional words with God.
The Talmud, in its volume entitled Prayers (Berachot) includes the personal prayers of some of our most respected rabbis.
For example, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would add:
“May it be Your will, Lord our God, and God of our forefathers, that You save us from the arrogant and from arrogance in general, from a bad man, from a bad mishap, from an evil instinct, from a bad companion, from a bad neighbor…”
(Please click to read other rabbis’ personal prayers)
But the one personal prayer that has always moved me, was the one recited by Rabbi Alexandri (3rd Century CE). It inspired so many to consider Passover in a new andmore spiritual light.
Rabbi Alexandri would say:
“Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You
that our will is to perform Your will, and what prevents us?
On the one hand, the yeast in the dough.”
Over the centuries many rabbis have pondered this unique prayer, eventually including it within an evolved understanding of what Passover is truly about.
For most of us, as we grew up, the meaning of Pesach was usually explained this way:
“We celebrate Passover because after the Israelites were freed they didn’t have enough time to let their bread rise, so they ate matzah. So we don’t eat bread for eight days.”
That’s a good start.
But then our rabbis considered, there must be more, and they doubled back to Rabbi Alexandri’s prayer about the yeast in the dough.
Rabbi Alexandri further reflected that within each human soul, there exist two battling instincts. He defined the first as Yetzer Ha’Tov—the good inclination.
It is a bias towards kindness, optimism, and a belief that the world is founded upon positivity.
And then there is Yetzer Ha’Rah—the bad inclination—the impulse that pulls us toward pessimism, as well as “self-inflation.”
Rabbi Alexandri believed it was the yeast in the dough—the bloat and the arrogance we accumulate from time to time—that holds us back from a life of meaning.
It is the impulse to become critical and impatient with others. It is the “know it all” and the resistance to consider the ideas of others.
It is the inclination to blame those not like us for our misfortunes.
This bloat tends to expand during the winter months when we are increasingly confined.
And while the real world is neither totally good nor bad, our rabbis recognized the importance, during Pesach, to restore our sense of balance.
The modern Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Yehudah Prero, offered an expanded take on what yeast in the dough truly means.
He wrote, chametz represents “all of our character flaws such as haughtiness, jealousy, and unbridled passion…”
This perhaps means—as we seek to reverse our Yetzer Ha’Rah—to talk less and listen more. It means concerning ourselves less with the habits and imperfections of others and paying more attention to that yeast that prevents us from being our true selves.
It means letting go of our impatience or hostility when we hear the rants of someone who expresses an opinion we disagree with—and who will never change.
I also like to think, at this time of the year, how amazing the idea of matzah is.
The Haggadah refers to matzah as “The Bread of Affliction.” But I prefer a more accurate translation: “Poor Person’s Bread.” The Haggadah continues, “All who are hungry come and eat.”
Is there any one of us at this time of the year, especially during
these troubled times, who is not spiritually famished?
As we rid ourselves of all the physical crumbs concealed within the corners of our houses, let us also be inspired to flatten our souls—like a piece of matzah.
Less bloat. Less attitude.
As we approach Pesach, on what is known as Shabbat HaGadol, “The Big Shabbat” let us endeavor to be more patient and more understanding of others.
Most importantly, let us purge our inner chametz, as we inspire our children to embrace a world full of potential.
Let us add new poems, prayers and readings to our Haggadah. Let us dare to make the Seder fun.
Most importantly, let us consider the personal prayer of Rabbi Alexandri recorded almost 17 centuries ago as we release the internal bloat we’ve accumulated.
Let us turn the corner of this past long and cold winter by embracing the concept of freedom and liberation around our Seder table.
For indeed, cleaning chametz does not just involve the corners of our homes.
It involves renewal from within.
Then, and only then, can we truly enjoy the meaning of Pesach,—the zissen, sweet taste of freedom.
Shabbat Shalom. Chag Sameach.
Rabbi Irwin Huberman