In just a few more days, on the night of Wednesday, April 5th, we will begin the celebration of Pesach. As mentioned below, there are eight biblical precepts associated with Pesach: the first two are “to tell the story of the Haggadah on the night of the Seder” and “to consume Matza”. All the other commandments are related to the prohibition of consuming or even possessing Chametz during Pesach. In the following lines, we will better understand the reason for the precepts associated with Chametz.
“More knowledge, less ego. Less knowledge, more ego.”
Albert Einstein
AIRS OF GRANDEUR
During Pesach, it is prohibited to eat or possess any food that is or contains Chametz. Why? Beyond the well-known historical reasons – our redemption was so rushed that there was no time for the bread dough to rise – our Rabbis saw in Chametz, the fermentation process that raises the dough, a very significant representation. They compared Chametz to arrogance. The dough that inflates itself, with the individual who allows their ego to expand and enlarge. Arrogance and Chametz are air: an illusory inflation of the self.
FREEDOM AND CONSUMPTION
But why do we specifically think about arrogance and humility during Pesach? Because not all people are exposed to the risk of becoming arrogant individuals. A Jewish slave in Egypt, for example, could not afford to be vain. The risk of excessive vanity is only relevant to a free, wealthy, self-possessed man. And on Pesach, when we commemorate our freedom, we have in mind that as sovereign individuals, we could easily fall into a different kind of self-slavery. Mental slavery. An addiction to the inflatable aspects of our ego: arrogance. Modern society, in its tireless efforts to make us slaves of consumption, more selfish, more narcissistic, and more hedonistic, pushes us to convince ourselves that we need everything we want and desire. This immense ambition, when satisfied, can easily lead to arrogance: feeling that I AM more than others because I HAVE more than others.
HUMILITY AND SELF-ESTEEM
Matza, a flat, unleavened bread with no frills, represents humility. To be humble does not mean to degrade or humiliate ourselves. It means to assume the true dimension of human life, become aware of our inevitable mortality, and recognize our dependence on God. Humility, on a psychological level, is also the essence of self-esteem. Love oneself and fundamentally accepting oneself is a prerequisite for being at peace with oneself. The arrogant individual is insecure. They need public flattery and the constant applause of others to survive emotionally. They seek the approval of the other, sometimes desperately, to compensate for what they lack or because they are incapable of facing their faults and errors. Only the humble, the person who does not need the applause of others to feel better, is genuinely free and independent. The humble person can admit their mistakes, change, and improve.
On the other hand, the arrogant person cannot admit mistakes and is, therefore, unable to change. And by being unable to correct themselves, they adapt to their own defects and enslave themselves. Arrogance is a tyrannical Pharaoh that condemns our personality to stagnation.
WHO IS IN THE CENTER?
Arrogance, this mental Chametz, is the main barrier between man and his neighbor. And also between man and God. The arrogant person does not conceive of “serving God”, but rather “using” God for their benefit. Our Rabbis explain that from the perspective of the arrogant person, “there is no place in this world for him and for God.” What does this mean? If reality were a circle, someone (or Someone) must be at the center of that circle. And at the center, there is no room for two. The arrogant person places himself in the center, displacing God to the periphery. In that relationship, they do not serve God but try to use Him.
The most critical goal in the life of a Jewish individual is to attain a level of humility that recognizes that God is at the center of reality. This mission is impossible for the arrogant individual, who is enslaved by his own pride.
Just as we eliminate every crumb of Chamets from our homes, we must erase every trace of vanity and arrogance from our hearts.
