חמץ ומצה

Chametz and Matzah

-  Marissa Starkman

          Chametz on Passover is regarded far stricter than any other food. Not only are we unable to eat it, we are as well not allowed to have it in our possession or hidden in any nook or cranny in our house. We ask ourselves, “What can be so terrible about a tiny drop of Chametz in our house? There are many foods we are unable to eat or derive benefit from, yet we are allowed to keep them in the house. Why is Chametz so different?”

The only difference between Chametz and Matzah is the amount of time it takes dough to rise.  The ingredients are identical, yet the difference between Chametz and Matzah may be just one second apart.  This second makes all the difference.

One second may not seem important but it can mean the difference between life and death. The Gemara tells of Nachum Ish Gam Zu , who was a little slow in unloading his donkey to provide food for a poor man, and, as a result, the man died. To a starving person, one second does mean a lot.

These days, time is spent on inventing gadgets and machines to help save time for us, such as airplanes that can take us around the world in a day or a car that can fly. Might the time we spend on these inventions not more wisely be spent on Torah studies?
Time these days is wasted, whether it be on cell phones, watching TV, surfing the web and many more “time killers”.  Pesach is a time when we should sit down and take into consideration every second of the day week month and our lives. WE cannot make up lost time for one second, so no wonder even the littlest dot of Chametz is not allowed.

We must sit down this Pesach and really think about how we are spending our minutes and our days, we should set our priorities straight for good, and live our life as G-d intended. Waste no time and energy on countless little acts such as computer games and Nintendo.  Rather, let us enjoy every second of life and study Torah for our own benefit. One second may not seem a lot, but it can mean the difference between life and death. Make sure your take every minute into consideration because the difference between Matzah and Chametz , is just one second apart.