Why Is This Day Different From All Other Days?

On all other days I go grocery shopping and add food to my kitchen. Why on this day do I discard all my grains?

This morning I cleaned my kitchen for Passover, removing everything that is forbidden during the holiday: flour, rice, beans, oats, corn, and legumes. Technically, I don’t have to do this until the day before Passover – Sunday this year – but Alex and I are going to Cleveland tonight and won’t return home until mid-holiday. The more religious are militant about this task, vacuuming dusting their houses from top to bottom in search of stray particles of grain. For the observant, spring cleaning is not merely a commandment from Martha Stewart; it’s a directive from God.

I am fairly lax about Passover. I don’t worry about crumbs or think too deeply about the hypocrisy of removing my flour and rice, but keeping my canned crab and frozen shrimp. Instead, I think of matzah ball soup, geflite fish, charoset, matzah brei, and all the other Passover delicacies I am about to enjoy. My mouth starts to water when I envision my mother’s bagelas, or Passover rolls. I think of sweet Manishevitz fruit wine that I wouldn’t touch any other day of the year, but on Seder night rivals the finest Bordeaux.

The reason Passover food is so delightful is that you only get it once a year. However, as much as I love Pesadic food, I am glad that the holiday is still a few days away, and will definitely enjoy my bread and pasta at Shabbat dinner tonight.