The ‘Call’ of the Passover season…
As Passover approaches, our homes begin to bustle with activity—shelves emptied of chametz, special dishes brought down from attics, and recipes passed through generations prepared once again. Yet within this physical transformation lies a deeper invitation. The same diligence we apply to sweeping away crumbs and leaven can be applicable to our spiritual journey as followers of Messiah Yeshua.
This season calls us to examine not only the corners of our pantries, but also the corners of our hearts, searching for those hardened places that resist God’s redemptive work.
Passover reminds us that the story of the Exodus from Egypt echoes in our own lives—from bondage to freedom, from darkness to light. As we prepare our tables for the seder meal, we are also preparing our souls to receive anew the profound message of deliverance that connects the Children of Israel’s journey to our walk with the Messiah today!
Preparing Our Homes
From this verse in Exodus, we are given three distinct commandments in regards to observing Passover…
THE THREE THINGS ARE:
- eat matzot
- remove se’or from household
- do not eat chametz
What is Matzot?
Matzot is the plural of matzah and it is the thin crispy unleavened bread; the stuff I can buy in the store labeled for Passover. So, during that seven day period of the Feast of Unleavened Bread we eat matzot. Most people try to make sure they eat at least a little matzah every day of Passover.
What is Chametz?
In Torah, chametz is a fermented food using one, or more, of the five common grains used in Biblical times for bread making: barley, rye, oats, wheat, and spelt (BROWS), If these grains are mixed with water, they will begin to ferment. They will do so even if you do not add yeast to them, because they naturally pick up wild yeasts from the air.
Grain + Water + Time = Chametz
What is Se’or?
When baking sometimes we add a portion of already “captured” yeast? This could be a sourdough starter, or some of yesterday’s leavened dough, or in our modern context, that package of yeast you use to make bread. That package of yeast was probably grown on a grain and concentrated and dried to make a convenient and consistent provision of these micro-organisms. So, yes, se’or is yeast… but then there is yeast that is not se’or. Se’or is yeast grown on those grains to leaven your bread.
So, now that we have broken down the three things to do, let’s go over some of the other important aspects of commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the Passover season, starting off with the…
The Ten Plagues in Egypt
Observed sundown, April 3rd, 2025 – sundown, April 13th, 2025
Preceding the Children of Israel’s escape from their bondage in Egypt, we see God inflict ten different plagues over the land of Egypt in order to persuade Pharaoh to release God’s people from slavery.
Every year, we commemorate the Ten Plagues on the ten days leading up to the First Day of Pesach, honoring the mighty hand of God that brought about these divine plagues.
Plague 1: “The Egyptians will know that I am ADONAI, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt, and bring out Bnei-Yisrael from among them.” (Exodus 7:5 TLV)
Plague 2: “So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.” (Exodus 8:2 TLV)
Plague 3: “So they did. When Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, there were gnats on men and animals. All the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 8:13 TLV)
Plague 4: ”Or else, if you do not let My people go, I will send the swarm of flies on you and on your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of the swarm of flies including the ground that they stand on.” (Exodus 8:17-18 TLV)
Plague 5: “Then the next day, ADONAI did the deed. All the cattle of Egypt died, yet of the cattle of Bnei-Yisrael, not one died.” (Exodus 9:6 TLV)
Plague 6: “So they took soot from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. When Moses threw it heavenward, it became boils erupting with sores on both men and animals.” (Exodus 9:10 TLV)
Plague 7: “Behold, tomorrow at about this time, I will cause it to rain a very severe hailstorm, the likes of which has not occurred in Egypt since the day it was founded until now.” (Exodus 9:18 TLV)
Plague 8: “The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and rested on the entire territory of Egypt. So dense–there was nothing like it before them, nor will there ever be again.” (Exodus 10:14 TLV)
Plague 9: “Then ADONAI said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be a darkness over the land of Egypt–a darkness that may be felt.’” (Exodus 10:21 TLV)
Plague 10: “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and strike down every firstborn, both men and animals and I will execute judgements against all the gods of Egypt. I am ADONAI.” (Exodus 12:12 TLV)
Throughout these verses in Exodus, we see God use His faithful follower, Moses, to demonstrate His unfailing love for His people and that He is the one true God to those in Egypt who did not yet believe. As His followers today, we must be ready for Him to use us in the divine way that He has planned, to show others His love and bring them to His salvation.
Sefirat HaOmer…Counting the Omer
Observed sundown, April 13th, 2025 – sundown, May 31st, 2025
Counting the Omer, or Sefirat HaOmer, is the holiday we celebrate starting the evening of the second night of Passover. Each evening we count the day, counting up for seven weeks (or forty-nine days) until we reach the night before the festival of Shavuot. It is traditional to recite the following blessing each evening before counting (ideally at nightfall, but it can be the following morning):
“Blessed are You, LORD our G-d, King of the Universe, who sanctifies us through His commandments and commands us to count the Omer.”
After the blessing, then the day is counted. So the conclusion to the blessing on day one would be:
“Today is one day of the Omer.”
We count the Omer the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot in excitement as we prepare to remember the giving of the Torah and the later outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem that happened on Shavuot. This is yet another tradition that connects the Exodus from Egypt and the graciousness of our God!
Preparing our hearts…
So it’s time to clean the house and our hearts…commemorate the miracles of the Ten Plagues, and begin Counting the Omer. This is a time rich in significance for us in Messiah as we concentrate on the spiritual significance of the search for and removal of “leaven” from our homes–examining our hearts and lives for sin, and removing that sin.
And, coming directly on the heels of Passover where Yeshua is revealed as our Passover Lamb who died for our redemption and for our rescue from slavery to sin, this clearing out of sin from our lives is perhaps even more meaningful.
As we examine our homes, pantries, menus and plates for se’or and chametz, we should also examine our lives, our hearts, what we think, say, and do in our day-to-day lives, for any trace of sin. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is a time appointed by HaShem for us to deal with our spiritual chametz as we search out the physical chametz.
Chag Sameach!
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