Pesach cleaning
Rabbi Gorin sent the following to our listserv:
[I was contacted by] a staff writer for the Washington Post. She asked me the following question:
Pesach cleaning: I just wanted to check in to see if you have a sense of what percentage of your congregation does it? Most? half? None?
My response:Great question. No way of knowing. I would say more than none, probably less than half, definitely not most.
Her follow up:
Just what I was looking for! Why less than half? Too much work?
So, I (Janaki, not the Rabbi) thought it would be fun to collect a little “data” - so go ahead and vote on it below (or in the sidebar to the right - they both work).
Loading ...Then add a comment to this post about your reason for cleaning, or not cleaning. You can post your comments anonymously (yes, the comment for requires a name, but just put in “Anonymous” or make something up)!
To add a comment, click on the link below that either says “No Comments” (if there are no comments submitted yet), or will say “n Comments” where “n” is some integer!
Note, in response to “anonymous” who commented below, I have added a third option for those who do some cleaning, but don’t consider their cleaning to be as thorough as someone else might do - although I would have said that “some cleaning” = “Yes”, I realize that that’s a judgement call (and reflects my personal lack of dedication to an immaculate home).
Tags: Mitzvot, observance, Passover, poll
April 10th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I always remark that for a holiday that commemorates leaving without preparation, it takes at least a month to get ready for Passover. Why clean? So you can have fresh spices every year. So you can get rid of all the stale stuff in your cabinet. So you remember that you are free and have the choice. Because your mother and mother in-law are coming! Mostly so you can share some time with those you love working together, gossiping, complaining and laughing.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I think it might be interesting to add another response option to the “Pesach cleaning” poll to capture those of us who clean…but not to the extent that we’d be comfortable responding “yes” to the poll question. In our household, we do some Pesach cleaning–remove Hametz from our kitchen, clean the kitchen and dining room of crumbs–but we don’t usually devote the time or energy for a full house cleaning. There doesn’t seem to be a response to capture this “in between” level of effort!
April 11th, 2008 at 8:27 am
anonymous - what a good idea!
i’ve added a “Yes and No” option - hope that helps. if anyone voted “yes” or “no” and wants to change their vote, send me a private email, and i can move your vote!
April 11th, 2008 at 8:30 am
I wonder about “less than half.” My understanding is that Pesach is actually the most celebrated of all Jewish holidays - generally even celebratedto some extent by the unaffiliated and secular.
While having a seder is no guarantee of chametz removal, it leads me to think that among the affiliated there might be a higher level of religious observance of that mitzvah as well.
Also, it might be worth telling the reporter ( who may not know) that Pesach cleaning is NOT the same as scrubbing. While many Jews certainly do a thorough spring cleaning at the same time, dirt is not equal to chametz, and removal of chametz really ought not to be equated with cleaning, per se.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I’m merely a *former* TI member, but I suspect that the question, “Do you clean for Pesach” is insufficient. I suspect that there are degrees of Pesach cleaning among the members. What is Rabbi Gorin asking when he’s asking “Do you do a Pesach cleaning? Is he asking if members do a FULL turnover of their kitchens and clean between the grout of their tiles and check behind all the bookshelves for any sign of chometz and remove every item in their kitchens that isn’t KLP? Then he’s probably right that it’s probably less than half. However, even before you put up the poll, I would have guessed that MOST of the congregation would have identified itself as cleaning for Pesach, because most people do at least *something* to prepare for the holiday, spiritually and physically. You might want to consider, if you’re really interested in getting into the meat of the matter, doing a more in-depth analysis on something like survey-monkey with progressively more in-depth questions about the lengths to which people go to clean for Pesach (recognizing, of course, that this still wouldn’t be a scientifically accurate poll, and wouldn’t account for those members who aren’t online).
Incidentally, I suspect you’d also find that there are a higher number of people who identify that they keep some level of kosher for Pesach than who keep kosher year ’round, though again, this is a self-definition. I kept strict-KLP LONG before I kept kosher and I wasn’t the only one I knew like that.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I too am concerned that the Rabbi’s estimate of less than half is way too low. My dear late father in law, Paul Ludwin ( z”l) summarized it well. His comment was that ” in the old country. you could eat in anyone’s home after Pesach as, no matter how big a schluch (messy housekeeper), it was always clean for Pesach.” . That comment transcended degree of religious observance. It was simply “Spring Cleaning”.
If the Rabbi meant “How many clean ritually, i.e. take the stove apart, boil water in the microwave, take a blow torch to the oven walls until they glow, etc. he is probably high at <50%. If however, he means “use preparation for Pesach as a reason to clean out everything from the pantry and refrigerator (what amazing discoveries that can bring), self clean the oven, run the dishwasher through empty, re-line the shelves in the cabinets, vacuum the entire house (even move some furniture), etc I’ll bet on 85% or better.
Steve Raucher
April 11th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
We may not use a blow torch or take our stove apart, but in our house we do our best to thoroughly clean, with special attention of course to the kitchen, dining room, and other areas where we like to nibble. Refrigerator shelves are removed for washing, the microwave is cleaned and then “steamed” with a cup of water, oven, freezer, cabinets, etc. are all cleaned and lined, and the counter tops are covered. No one would ever describe our family as neat freaks, but there’s something about finding stray bread crumbs on Pesach that gets us scrubbing.
Oh, and of course - we take the cars to the car wash and do a full vacuuming, and I clean out my purse. Whew - I better get going!
April 11th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
In response to Hope’s musing about why we clean, my personal take on it is that we do all the wild, crazy cleaning things that we do before Pesach in order to completely fulfill the commandment “In each generation each of us should feel as if we personally had come out of Mitzrayim .” Mitzrayim has so many meanings these days - Egypt, slavery, narrow spaces, entrapment,… really dirty cluttered houses. Just pick the one that fits! I know that after we clean and prep for Pesach, I truly appreciate the words of freedom at the seder - and the work i do is not even one iota of what our ancestors (metaphorically) went through. Though I do feel just as tired!
Alana is also correct - the spring cleaning aspect is not equal to the search for and removal of chametz. It’s really a totally different thing. Turning Pesach chametz retrieval into spring cleaning is just one of the ways that we Jews actualize our living in two civilazations and how we remain full participants in each.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:21 am
We’re supposed to clean the house and burn the chametz. Things would be much easier if we clean the chametz and burn the…
April 17th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
The rituals of Pesach, such as ridding the house of chumutz, changing eating and cooking utensils, etc. are cultural presents from our ancestors and a link in maintaining and passing on Jewish identity.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Of course many of us think of Hope’s observation — that to commemorate, experience for ourselves the Israelites leaving Egypt in a great hurray, with no time for preparation, we work for weeks ahead of time(and spend a fortune). Indeed, I am writing this in a state of utter exhaustion, with still more to do (Thursday night).
Perhaps it’s to prepare ourselves, not for the hurried departure, but for the years of wandering in the desert, for receiving Torah, for reaching the land of Israel.
Hag kasher v’sameah to all.
April 21st, 2008 at 12:26 am
I wash out all the kitchen cabinets, store the chometz in the basement, clean the toasteroven, microwave and fridge. I won’t win any observance awards but I make an effort so it is obvious to those around me that it still matters to me. I find myself the standard bearer for Judaism in my household and I have to tread carefully or I will lose them totally. I work full time and I must admit Passover prep gets harder and harder as I and my parents age. I will hang in there every year, but it is not easy.