Rabbi Rachael Miller
Rabbi Rachael Miller shares her Passover thoughts with you.
Clearing Out Our Chametz and Deflating Our Ego
Our Talmudic sages parallel chametz to a person’s ego. Chametz can be seen as the thing that allows bread to rise, just as our egos are what allows us, as humans, to “inflate” ourselves.
We all need to have some ego which we use to pursue our dreams and be confident people; however, we should strive to use our egos for positive goals and not to become overly inflated. It is vital that we check-in with ourselves periodically to make sure our egos are under control.
In the days leading up to Passover we are called upon to clear the chametz from our homes, and in the same way, we should take the time to check in on the inflated pieces of our identity, our egos, and make sure those are cleared out as well.
As many in our community are facing times of tremendous transition as well as obstacles related to the most important aspects of our lives like health, job security, and family dynamics, we must be mindful of our ego throughout this journey. We must search deep within for patience and kindness for ourselves and our loved ones. We must deflate our ego to be like the matzah of Passover so that we don’t walk around with an inflated and puffed up attitude at this difficult time. Let us be humble to all that is occurring in the world and let us come together as a community so that our world may find redemption.
Chag Sameach.
Rabbi Rachael Miller is a rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Sandy Springs.
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