Chametz

khorasan matzah

We’ve just finished out the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and I’ve been ruminating The Word given in that time over the last week.

1 Timothy 4 warns us to steer clear of myths and fables, or nonsense traditions. While our Passover evening wasn't quite as "remembering" as I'd like in the future, I don’t want to recite Jewish prayers and blessings that are NOT giving credit to The Messiah and His fulfilling of this Feast. I want to do as He did—washing feet, drinking the cup and breaking the bread in remembrance of His atoning blood and flesh, and a traditional Haggadah does not admit that. Not only this, but we can see traces of Babylon in certain parts of a Seder plate, the egg and the charoset being most blatantly opposing the purity and simplicity. Thanks to Yah, I hadn’t even known of these things until we received the opportunity to host some very kind friends and neighbors to share our lamb with, who were more familiar with a Seder.

Not all tradition is bad—in fact I do love the idea of incorporating what they call “kiddush” on Friday evening. That just means “sanctified”, and it is a practice of stopping what you’re doing, blessing the Father, Creator and Giver of all and acknowledging HIS kindness in giving us Shabbat! I cannot see a better way to make sure our children know for a fact what the 7th day is about—Him, and our relationship to Him, and not ourselves and our own pleasures!

That leads into what I want to share—the things I was able to receive through this past Feast opened my eyes yet a bit more to His purpose in it! He is The Master of experiential training, and I do believe the more times we lay down ourselves and come INTO His Kingdom for His things (“Bible things in Bible ways”), we find deeper and more filling reasons to DO SO! Why would he give us meaningless, vain traditions meant to be undone? He wouldn’t. They are deeper than we can fathom, unlike the Babylonian traditions which will always point to the demonic powers whose name they are given under. Polluted, mucked waterways, bad trees with bad roots bearing bad fruits. A demonic habit doesn’t become a holy habit when you say a Catholic blessing over it.

Here’s what I was hearing as we cleaned up the home for the 1st day of Unleavened Bread (the day after Passover): it’s not about the toaster crumbs or the crusts under the fridge. Yes, those require a great deal of intention to address and eliminate (as does pride!). But I was hearing something different this year. How perfect, that He would stage a return of actual chametz into the home of an average person so that we might come into an understanding of this Feast, even as we come to realize that HE is the meaning of them all?! Grocery store yeast isn’t chametz. Chametz is specifically, the leavening that comes from the inherent cultures upon grains that become bubble-producing consumers.

The difference between חמץ (chametz) and מצה (matzah): they share two letters, and one is different. The ones they share are tzade צ (whose pictograph originally meant a pathway to a stronghold, also meaning pursuit), and mem מ which means water.

Now here are the characters which are different:

Chametz (leaven) has a chet ח which was originally a tent curtain/divider. The differing letter for matzah is a ה — which was a man with arms upraised and always held the meaning of “behold!” or breath, as one inhales upon a glorious revelation or sight.

Interesting. Still ruminating those things. I know there's more to perceive! We are sheep, and sheep have a rumen. They don't immediately render their grasses, they chew and swallow, ferment a while, and then work it again. I've come to the realization that leaven acts sort of as our rumen, in order for us to render the most benefit out of grains (which interestingly, come from grasses).

Here's the thing about leaven: it needs cultivation. While it abides on the surface of every seed, it needs to become established through tending. It is built up through nourishment and water. It isn't sudden. It is a slow, stealthy process.

For every Good Thing Abba offers us, the enemy has an imposter. Firstly, the beginning of the year is around the spring equinox, not in the dead of winter. Nothing witnessing His Word (nature) speaks newness or life in January. But millions of people set their intentions and resolutions, hoping this calendar year will be the one they can follow through. Did you know that the true version of this, is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, authored by the One True Authority?

Hear this: as they left Egypt, Yah didn't want traces of the spirit of Egypt (Babylon) to remain with them. Leaven is spiritual. (Literally, the gas bubbles are air--ruach is breath.) Always. As the Word began to open my eyes over the course of the Feast, I started to realize that it very much filled out some of the missing pieces in the bread revelations He had already given me a few years ago! I heard a whisper:

"What is it about leaven? You feed it. You care for it. It is an appetite. Not just a "growth" or the pomp of the prideful, but habits. What is cultivated and tended daily."

I started to hear more clearly...maybe it's more than just "sin", in general. Maybe it's anything I devote my time and attention to regularly; a habit. Cleansing out all chametz in the house has a way of making you rethink everything you do on a daily basis! And because it is an act of submission and obedience to Yah, all kinds of arrows come at you in the meantime. As these flaming arrows come, it is so tempting to numb out of the trial with some distraction or another. And the light comes on: picking up my device--leaven. Grabbing a cookie--leaven. The appetites we feed will rule over us...and that is leaven. There is a very good reason you have to remove (discard) some of the leaven every time you feed it. If you don't, the number of eaters is too great for the feed and the volume increases, while the effective capacity depletes, before atrophying, then dying.

My goodness, can we hear this?!

Many years ago I started naming my annual leaven after different prophets. These guys speak the Word! Today, I have a 6 day old Zekaryah, he's currently one of my favorite prophets.

And יהוה shall be Sovereign over all the earth. In that day there shall be one יהוה, and His Name, One. Zekaryah 14:9 TS2009

How beautiful, at the beginning of each New Year (biblical) He has ordained for us a system check, that reminds us to test the integrity and fullness of every activity and appetite we tend. Is it not so much richer to receive that, than to stand in a long line of resolutionists to do this or that better than last year? Will He not bless it? I'll tell you this--He already has. He has done so many Good Things in my heart just in the last few weeks, to remind me how to hear Him, receive Him, enjoy Him. It is fullness.

Therefore we were buried together with Him through immersion into death—in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 TLV

Therefore let us celebrate the feast not with old hametz, the hametz of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread—the matzah of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:8 TLV