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Just One Speck בדיקת וביעור חמץ T he process whereby a piece of dough turns into chometz requires only onemicroscopic yeast cell. When this one little yeast cell flying around in the air lands on a piece of dough, it begins to duplicate itself very quickly. One cell turns to two, two into four, four into eight, etc. It takes only a short time for one cell to turn into billions of cells. These cells start a chemical process whereby they break down the dough and release carbon dioxide, which in turn causes the dough to rise and turn into chometz. It allstarts with only one microscopic cell. The warmer it is, the quicker it will happen. Scientists have discovered the great danger of viruses and bacteria. All it takes is for one dangerous virus to enter a cell. Once it gets inside, it takes full control of the cell's mechanism and begins to duplicate itself. In a short time there are billions of them. These new viruses each begin to attack the other cells and destroy them as well. Bacteria, too, grow at a very rapid rate. They can double every twenty minutes. Just take a calculator and see what happens when you keepdoubling a number thirty times. An aveirah – a sin - operates in the very same manner. One small sin quicklyleads to many more. The Yidden in Mitzrayim had to be very careful not to becomecontaminated by Egyptian morals and their perverted ways. Even the slightest contact with Egyptian culture had to be avoided. Those who were not very careful soon became totally assimilated and unfortunately died during the plague of Choshech- Darkness.The Torah clearly warns us of the dangers of even eating or drinking kosher food with them. What starts out as a casual friendly meal may ultimately end up with a romantic relationship which often ends in marriage. The Torah constantly warns us of the dangers of following in their ways and warns us to keep a distance . Once we begin imitating their foreign culture we will soon become just like them. The most difficult part of our slavery in Mitzrayim was to remain completelysegregated and isolated from Egyptian culture and morals. Yidden kept their Hebrewnames and didn't change their style of clothes or even their language so as to remain easily identifiable and remain completely apart. Just look at what happened to the many Jewish families that have lived on American soil far less than 210 years. Once they lost their distinctiveness and began to imitate their ways, they became unidentifiable. Intermarriage has unfortunetly taken a terrible toll with millions of Jews no longer knowing what Torah and mitzvos are all about.Hashem in His great mercy took us out of Mitzrayim on the condition that wefollow His mitzvos. Chometz alludes to the irreversible change caused by even theslightest impurity. Allow the yetzer horah to enter through the eye of a needle andsoon he will become a permanent resident and take over the entire operation of the house. Our chachomim compared him to "The yeast within the dough." Just let animmoral picture enter the human brain and it replicates itself very quickly causing life-long damage. The Gemorah in Mesechta Sukkah tells us that when Mashiach will arrive and theyetzer harah will be killed, the r'shaim will perceive the yetzer harah as a tiny speck.They obviously don't realize the great danger of the yetzer harah and therefore failedto keep their distance. The tzadikim, however, will perceive the yetzer harah as alarge mountain. They clearly understand that this tiny speck will eventually turn into a large mountain and therefore kept their distance. As the "Tree of knowledge" – The Eitz Ha'daas - grows larger and expands, we arefaced with ever-increasing dangers. Along with all the great benefits it has brought in its wake, it has also enabled the worst of the world's mores to make their way into our homes through metal rods and disks perched on our rooftops and through wires snaking their way out of the ground. Many have tragically allowed this perversion to enter their living rooms and contaminate their homes. Some have even connected their phones to sites that the Torah clearly forbids. As in Mitzrayim, if we want to make sure that the Angels of Destruction don'tenter our home, we must make sure that the entrance has a kosher mezuzah. The Rambamexplains that the mezuzahserves as a constant reminder of Hashem's presence in ourlives and homes. "Every time a person enters or leaves his house and encounters the unity of the Divine Holy Name, Blessed Be He, he will recall his love for Hashem , and will be arousedfrom his slumber and errant involvement in the vanities of everyday life and recognize that nothing lasts for eternity except for the knowledge of the World's Creator. This will immediately bring the person back to reality and get him to walk in the path of the upright." ( Rambam –Hilchos Mezuzah, perek 6:13).ביחוד יפגע ויצא שיכנס זמן וכל תמיד הכל חובת שהיא מפני במזוזה להזהר אדם חייב שאין וידע הזמן בהבלי ושגיותיו משנתו ויעור אהבתו ויזכור ב"ה הקדוש של שמו השם לדעתו חוזר הוא ומיד העולם צור ידיעת אלא עולמים ולעולמי לעולם העומד דבר ובזרועו בראשו תפילין לו שיש מי כל הראשונים חכמים אמרו מישרים בדרכי והולך הם והן רבים מזכירין לו יש שהרי יחטא שלא הוא מוחזק בפתחו ומזוזה בבגדו וציצית ויחלצם. ליראיו סביב יי' מלאך חונה שנאמר מלחטוא אותו שמצילין המלאכים Themessage of the mezuzah is that one's house and possessions are only fleeting, andthe only real permanence is the awareness of Hakodosh Baruch Hu, the world'sCreator. In the merit of fulfilling this mitzvah, we are also assured of receiving Hashem'sc o n s t a n t protection. The Zohar hakodoshtells us that a mezuzah on one'sdoorpost is similar to the blood that the Yidden put ontheir doorposts when they were in Mitzrayim.Hashem's Nameof Shin DaledYud written on theoutside also hints at Shomer DalsosYisroel – Heprotects the doors of the Jew. What greater protection can there be than having HashemHimself guarding and protecting us from all evil! Yet, what protection can a mezuzah provide when the yetzer horah isallowed entry through the roof or through the wires coming up from the ground. Our redemption from Mitzrayim was not just a physical one but a spiritual oneas well. Its ultimate purpose was Torah and mitzvos. When we search for the chometz,we do so using a candle which represents the neshamah, as the posuk says "Ki nerHashem nishmas odom ." Our holy seforim tell us that we must at the same timealso carefully search our own home and ourselves and make sure to remove all the non-holy contaminants from our possession. When we allow chometz which alludesto the yetzer harah to enter our homes even momentarily, he will soon become apermanent resident and even invite his friends into ones home to join in the "fun." |
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