Passover Cleaning: A Survival Guide

The month before Passover brings anxiety to all Jewish homes. For the mothers, the dread comes from the back-breaking work of cleaning and cooking. Teenagers find themselves being commanded to do jobs they’d much rather put off, and the fathers have to deal with complaints from both wife and child.

In the Torah it is written in Shemot (Exodus) 12:15-20, “On the first day [of Passover] remove the chometz (yeast) from your house.”

But how does one define chometz? It is not just those pesky little bread crumbs. Chometz results when one of the five species of grain; barley, rye, oats, wheat, or spelt remains in contact with water for eighteen minuets or more. Any place where chometz might have been brought must be thoroughly cleaned and checked. These places may include toys, phones, purses, garages, and the little spaces in between one’s chair where food may have fallen.

Weeks before Passover mothers go insane trying to fit in all the cleaning that needs to be finished; however, the cleaning process is not supposed to be stressful. There is a commandment, simchat yom tov, which calls for rejoicing during the festivals. If one becomes too stressed out about the cleaning, he or she may be violating this commandment.

What is causing this burdensome attitude towards cleaning for Passover? Some have trouble differentiating between what one is obligated to do and what one wants to do. Stories have been told of mothers who will wash every nook and cranny in their house with a tooth brush, just to make sure that no chometz can be found.

The ones who dread Passover cleaning even more than the mothers are the children and teenagers who may actually be forced to clean their room or help to kosher the entire kitchen. Excuses of all kinds have been used.

“I once told my mom that I had a yearbook meeting at school so I couldn’t help her. Instead, I went to Baskin Robins with my friends,” an anonymous student from Clayton High school confessed.

Some mothers may use Passover as an excuse to start their “spring cleaning.” However, cleaning for Passover should involve a more spiritual mind set. The point of Passover cleaning is to get rid of all the chometz that exists in your house, not just the cobwebs. The evening before our first Passover Seder we search for ten pieces of bread and then burn them the next morning. This is called Bedicat Chometz, or the search for chometz. The search for the chometz and the burning symbolizes the obliteration of our yetzer hara, or evil inclination.

To make Passover cleaning a little more enjoyable, use some of these ideas. Blast music and dance while you’re cleaning or throw a pre-chometz party.

“I threw a chometz party last year and had all my friends bring in an item of chometz from their house. You wouldn’t believe what showed up. We had everything from noodles to Rice-Krispy treats,” said Ladue High School junior Daniella Yasinav.

If you are still stressed out about Passover, remember that you are not the only one feeling the pressure. Don’t take it too personally if your mother snaps at you, Jewish teens everywhere are having the same experience.

-Rani Howard