Page 287 - DVARIM

Since one’s house is clean of all chametz before Erev Pesach, there is a
custom to hide ten pieces of chametz throughout the house. Is this some
sort of game? If the house is clean, why do we search for chametz? And
what is the significance of ten pieces of bread?
Ba’alei Mussar teach that the ten pieces of bread symbolize arrogance, the
source of all sin. In Avot, we are taught, “Be exceedingly humble.” Just
as one removes the chametz from the rooms of his home, so should he
remove pride from the chambers of his heart.
When we recite the blessing over searching for chametz, we are referring
to the pieces of chametz hidden in our homes, as well as the arrogance
festering in our hearts. Our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt in order
to receive the Torah. They merited receiving it only after acquiring the
forty-nine levels of sanctity, each of which corresponded to a level of their
previous defilement. In commemoration, we count the days of the Omer,

“Hashem, your G-d, shall you fear, Him shall beginning with the removal of the chametz from one’s heart, thereby
you serve, to Him shall you cleave” allowing us to receive the Torah.
(Devarim 10:20) Why did Hashem Himself descend in order to strike the firstborn
Egyptians? Couldn’t He have struck from Above, as He struck them
during the rest of the plagues? When Hashem came down in His full
glory, He passed over the Jewish homes, infusing them with the

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