The Inner Light of Pesach #3: Elevating the Limits of Time2 min read

ONE OF THE hallmarks of Pesach is the acute focus on zmanim, halachic times. There is much discussion in the Gemara and poskim regarding the proper times for removal of chametz, the proper time after which one may no longer eat chametz on erev Pesach, how much matzah in how much time one must eat to fulfill one’s obligation, as well as what is the latest time for eating the Afikomen. In this article, we will delve into the depth of this special connection between Pesach and the realm of time. Let’s begin with a quick overview of some of the zmanim related to hilchos Pesach.

The Rambam (Hilchos Chametz UMatzah 1:8-11) writes that m’d’Oraysa, chametz may not be eaten after the seventh seasonal hour of the day. (A “seasonal hour” is 1/12 of the time between daybreak and nightfall) In order to prevent us from breaching this deadline, Chazal moved the prohibition back an hour, saying that we can no longer eat chametz starting from the beginning of the sixth seasonal hour on erev Pesach. Then, in order to prevent one from making a mistake on a cloudy day, when it would be difficult to tell the exact time based on the position of the sun, Chazal pushed the deadline for eating chametz back another hour with a gezeira saying that chametz could no longer be eaten from the beginning of the fifth hour. However, this gezeira did not prohibit deriving benefit from chametz during the fifth hour. It emerges that the deadline for eating chametz is two sha’os zmaniyos before midday of erev Pesach, or the beginning of five seasonal hours into the day. After this time, we still have one more seasonal hour in which chametz may be used for non-eating purposes and handled for the purpose of selling or destroying it, after which this becomes forbidden as well.

The Maharal teaches that time is bound to space in the sense that we measure time by durations related to the physical world; how long it takes for a car to travel from point A to point B; the time it takes for our planet to orbit around the sun etc. As such, time is limiting and restricting. A product of our experience in this physical realm, time is the expression of finitude, marking the expiration date of physicality – how much time the living have left. On Pesach, the redemptive spirit of boundary-shattering miracles descends within the realm of “time”, the limitations of our physical world. This is why Pesach is referred to as “Z’man cheiruseinu”; during these days, the limitation of time and the sluggishness it implies becomes permeated with the spirit of “cheirus”, the deepest freedom. The yom tov of Pesach grants us the ability to tap into the redemptive spirit that settles into the world and break out of our personal meitzarim-constraints in a way that is completely beyond the standard order of growth – an aspect of the chipazon-speed with which the b’nei Yisrael left the bonds of their slavery in Egypt.

When we place an intense focus on zmanim-times and make a seder (literally “order”) on Pesach night, we are emphasizing the standard limitations and strictures of daily life which are becoming elevated during this special time for the purpose of reminding us of the great opportunity we are being given to escape from our spiritual confines. By making restrictive deadlines and order such a focus of the Pesach experience, we are elevating the limitation of nature to the realm of the transcendent where anything is possible and even the most complex spiritual processes are expedited, enabling each and every Jew to advance in one’s avodas Hashem by leaps and bounds, in a supernatural manner, and achieve true inner redemption.