Passover Preparation

Before Passover, we search for hametz (leaven), the agent that makes dough swell and rise. In meditation, hametz can be understood in several ways. In the body, it resembles inflammation: places that feel swollen, tender, or sore. In the heart, it mirrors fermentation: emotions quietly bubbling and expanding beneath the surface—old frustrations, excitements, or unsettled feelings. In the mind and spirit, hametz becomes inflation—the ego puffed up with certainty, pride, or self-importance.

This meditation invites a gentle inner search, like the candlelit inspection before Passover. Where is the body swollen or sore? Where are feelings fermenting? Where has the self become inflated? The practice is not harsh purging but attentive noticing. With breath and awareness, we let swelling ease, ferment settle, and the puffed-up self soften, returning to a simpler, humbler presence ready for renewal.

Transcript

Letting go of what was, Moving into what is. Slowing down. Feeling whatever you feel. Sensing the body, The self, The mind, The emotions. Sensing the tears and the laughter. Sometimes very close to the surface. Sometimes for reasons we don't even know. Just taking a few breaths, Just to slow down and stretch out. Breathing in deeply to extend through your body and out slowly to slow time down. One of the best tricks I find when I am anxious is to actually do things slowly. Speak slowly, Walk slowly, Breathe slowly, Move as if through molasses. Meditation can be fun, So you can take this with a serious face or a happy face, Whatever you need right now. A tired face, Eyes open. Eyes closed is usually a little easier. Perhaps a little easier to focus with eyes closed. Standing seated, Lying down in a state of low energy, Just sinking in. Getting slow, Getting quiet. What's your emotional state? Are you sad, Happy, Excited, Regretful? They're all useful. They're all possible different times and whatever you're feeling now is exactly where you're meant to be. Then we invite yourself just to move out of regret, Move out of anxiety for the future and just move into this moment, This breath, This awareness, This time. Nothing else needs to be present. You can't chase it away, But you can let it go. And when you get distracted, Just come back. You can use a natural cue to return to the moment. Could be my voice, Could be sounds around you of birds, Electronic hums, Your own breath. Using your breath is the most common, Just breathing in deeply, Out slowly. Sometimes another cue could be your heart rate, Your digestion, Sensations in your body, Skin, Just staying with what's real, What's here right now. When you're worried about climbing a mountain, All of your worry doesn't make the mountain any bigger or any smaller. So just be in the mountain, Be in the hike, Be in the movement, Step by step. Breathe deeply and listen with generous awareness. Feel your body. We're going to talk about the Hebrew word hameitz, Which comes to represent leavened or fermented or risen foods, And we're going to represent that in our body with inflammation, The fermentation, The ferment of emotions, And the rising, The inflation of self. We'll go over each in turn and meditate on. Where's your body swollen? Too much salt, Too much water. Exercise, Bad night's sleep, Where do you feel it? Puffy eyes, Swollen joints, Swollen fingertips, Wrists, Where do you notice it? Strained muscles from a good workout and inflamed. Good, But not necessary for very long. I'm going to try to cool down the body, Let it settle. Scanning around the body. What's heavy, What's full? Tight and hot. I'm going to go bottom to top, Top to bottom, Left to right, Right to left. Just scan across, Notice where you feel that pressure of inflammation. Maybe just by noticing it, You are letting it calm down. Maybe you're noticing and your breath directed towards it can help it soothe and release. Maybe that's not really happening, But at least you can imagine that being possible. And eventually you will heal. The inflammation can subside. Breathing and slowing down, Staying still and quiet. Not silent, Not thoughtless, Just present in this moment. Not the past, Not the future. Just coming back and back. My voice, Your breath, Sounds around you, Your weight, Gravity. A few more breaths. Another aspect of the Hebrew concept Chametz is fermentation. The bubbling up of beer and dough. From the microbes, Yeasts and fungi around it. Bubbling up in a jar. Producing alcohols. That's part of your emotional state. You are fermenting. Your emotions are bubbling. They almost always are. Sometimes deep below the surface and sometimes right at the surface. And some process of fermentation with your feelings. Notice. Maybe it doesn't feel very good. There's something to address there. Feel it all generating. All the feelings that come up in a daily experience in a human life. Just notice. Don't resent them. Don't cross examine them even. Just be aware. You are bubbling somewhere. That's cool. That's good. You'll get through it. Just notice yourself and be grateful that you have feelings in fermentation. You're a loving person. You're a sensitive person. Breathe into it. You're going to get distracted. Your mind is going to drift off. Just bring it back to this moment and this moment and the next. You can use my voice as a lure. You can use a cue of the birds outside or the sounds of the breezes. Just your own heart and breath. Whatever you want to follow back to this moment. Getting distracted and coming back. Breathe deeply. Out slowly. Inhale deeply. Exhale slowly. Another aspect of the idea of Chammaitz is inflation. The way dough rises and the way inside ourselves we are puffed up. Arrogant. Narcissistic. Self-aggrandizing. Too big for the space. Full of ego fighting ego. Unable to let go. Just notice all the places you're big. All the places you inflate yourself. Ready for a fight. Trying to make yourself seem bigger than you need to be. Taking up space. Over praising yourself. Not trusting that the world will see you as you are. Just breathe into it. Taking stock. Going through these experiences of inflammation and fermentation and inflation. Just noticing that we all do those things and we all have those things. They are normal. They're typical. They come and go. And at any given moment, This moment, You may notice inflammation. You may notice emotional fermentation. And intellectual inflation. And when you do, You just notice and allow the noticing to start soothing it. Breathe deeply. Take a few more big breaths. In slowly. Out slowly.