Preparing yourself spiritually before the Seder TB Sanhedrin 103

Because Passover begins Saturday night, the preholiday preparations do not follow the regular procedure. The fast of the firstborn is moved ahead to Thursday morning because fasting on Friday would interfere with our preparations for Shabbat. Since we can’t light a fire on Saturday morning to burn the chametz, we search for it on Thursday night and burn it on Friday morning.

Just as we have to prepare physically our homes by riding them of all traces of chametz, the Zohar reminds us that we must also prepare ourselves spiritually before the holiday enters.

“A person’s evil inclination is called ‘the leaven of the dough’ for as leaven, when it is put into dough, makes it ferment and become chametz, the evil inclination in a person is what entices him to sin. Our sages taught: Chametz symbolizes the evil inclination, which is a foreign god, while matzah symbolizes the good inclination…The Blessed One said: All those years a foreign nation (Egypt) enslaved you, and forces of evil controlled you. Now, though, you are free (for I have lifted your bondage)!

“When the Torah states, Remove leaven from your homes. You shall not eat anything that is leavened (and) leaven shall not be seen in your possession-it hints that Pesach and matzoh stand for freedom, from the forces of evil which chametz symbolizes. At Pesach time-the festival of freedom and redemption-while a Jew carefully rids himself of his chametz he should also be thinking about how he can rid himself of his evil can inclination. (Zohar, Shemot40, Riya Mehemna)

“(Kitov writes:) In fact, some have the custom of saying a special prayer which incorporates this idea at the time that they burn their chametz:

“Just as we have merited to rid ourselves of this chametz, may we also merit to rid our hearts of our evil inclination, and may we also see impurity and evil uprooted from the world. (Sefer Zikaron l’Tzion and Haggadah of Chatam Sofer)” (The Heritage Haggadah by Eliyahu Kitov, pages 5-6)

Daf TB Sanhedrin 103 enumerates four common bad traits in people that God cannot stand. If we want to feel God’s presence during our Seders and the rest of our lives, we would be wise to rid ourselves of the four following bad qualities in a person.

“And Rav Ḥisda says that Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba says that four groups do not receive the Divine Presence: This pertains to the group of cynics, the group of liars, the group of flatterers, and the group of slanderers. This pertains to the group of cynics, as it is written: “He withdrew His hand with cynics” (Hosea 7:5), indicating that God distanced Himself from them. This pertains to the group of liars, as it is written: “He that speaks falsehoods shall not be established before My eyes” (Psalms 101:7). This pertains to the group of flatterers, as it is written: “That a flatterer shall not come before Him” (Job 13:16). This pertains to the group of slanderers, as it is stated: “For You are not a God who desires wickedness; evil shall not dwell with You” (Psalms 5:5), which means: You are righteous, and there will be no form of evil in Your dwelling.” (Sefaria.org translation)