Kabbalist Karen Berg

Many people ask me, “Why do we need this concept of ‘Cleaning for Passover’ this time of year, to try to create an environment that is somehow different?”  My answer is simple: The “cleaning” we are talking about here is not simply external cleaning.

During Passover, we are asking for freedom from financial woes, from having to worry about sickness, and for the freedom to be able to believe what we want and to live how we want.

However, to gain this freedom we’ve got to look inside and find those places within ourselves that need to be cleaned. That’s what the cleaning for Passover is really all about. But we must also do the external work of cleaning our surroundings because the physical effort we make creates a Vessel, a place for the blessing we desire to reside.

This means that we, you and I, are responsible for planting the seed—and providing a clean place—that will allow this Vessel to grow and flourish. To make this happen, we first have to eliminate something and create a clean space inside of ourselves.