As Pesach approaches, everyone is busy cleaning their house. We scrub the walls, we clear the cabinets, we clean the fridge and oven, we purchase Kosher products for Pesach, but we often forget an important and critical point ... why make the house spic and span and then enter our home wearing muddy shoes?

Removing Chametz from our home is important, but what about internal cleaning? We face so many challenges yearly, daily and during our entire lives. There is no shortage of conflicts, worries, failures, defeats, faults, pain and anxiety ... We clean the house for Pesach, but we forget that deep inside us, the Chametz must also be removed. Each one of us is a repository for abundance. To make this vessel apt to receive abundance, we must first clean it out.  If this receptacle is dirty, it will contaminate all that comes into contact with it. It's time to prepare for a spiritual Passover, an emotional Passover, empty our vessel, clean it well, and make space for the abundance which is on its way to us.

Each one of us experiences hardships. Do not make the mistake of imagining the “perfect” lives led by others. No Jew is exempt from trials or difficulties in one area of ​​life or another. Everyone faces daily struggles. Everyone has a Tikun, a grey area that needs to be amended. One must be aware that most of our work takes place in times of darkness, similar to the obscurity of Egypt. Everyone experiences periods which seem unbearable, when everything transpires in the opposite direction of our desires when we are engulfed by pain and suffering...

In this Egyptian darkness, no light can be seen or perceived, not even the minutest slit or aperture allowing a single ray of light from entering. We feel as if blindfolded, not knowing where to go or how to extricate ourselves from pain. We keep going through the thick darkness and in its midst, we understand that this is exactly the point where our work begins. Real life lies in the trials and hardships of existence. From whence we can progress, grow, develop, strengthen ourselves!

When we live in comfort and serenity, and feel that life is a long and flowing river free of obstacles and problems, nothing is really happening….Life transpires within hardships! Know that most of the work of our Tikun is to carry on and avoid being shattered! The Holy One, blessed be He, says, "Don’t you understand? "It was night, it was morning". Hold on during the night and you will see the light! ". Do not give up, turn to God: "Father, I do not understand You. But I know that You love me and that all You send my way is for the better. "

Truthfully, we confront and endure complex difficulties every day. And even when we put these trials behind us, we are scared and we fear the worse. But Pesach is the optimal moment to clean the dirt. As you scrub the walls of your house, scrub the walls of your heart to erase all negative traces! When you empty your cabinets, empty your mind of any residue of fears accumulated over time. Just as you clean the fridge and the oven’s leftovers, remove any unnecessary residues from your life. You know that you have to release these elements, and yet often refuse to let them go. Let them go! Just like you shop for the Pesach festival, try to acquire good Midot. Our goal is to repair and improve our Midot, to get rid of our bad character traits and to acquire Kosher LeMehadrin Midot!

Internal cleaning is more difficult to achieve than the actual cleaning of our homes. Removing the Chametz from your heart is a job that requires more than a couple of days. However, it can happen in an instant, the moment you decide to begin! Make no mistake, just because the workload is enormous, our list of defects interminable, our burdens too heavy to carry, and our mission seem hopeless with no end in sight, this does not mean we shouldn’t begin. The difficulty is the first step, but as soon as you start liberating yourself, everything starts taking care of itself! Free yourself from thoughts that block your growth, free yourself from imaginary fears, free yourself from worries about unchangeable situations, because in a lot of cases, Hashem leads you into specific situations to help you understand that you have no control over reality, that solutions are not in your hands but in the hands of your Creator, who loves you so much and wants your ultimate good. So, let Him resolve all your problems, you just have to trust Him. He'll do the rest, I know from experience.

Are you hurt? Let go of grudges! Why carry this heavy burden? The moment you understand that everything comes from the Creator, you will conclude that when an individual has hurt you it is only because he was given permission to do so And when you understand that these are your Tikunim, your own amendments for soul purification, you will release all anger and start to smile. You will smile because the obstacles could have been much worse. And despite everything, God had mercy on you and inflicted upon you a feeling of shame through a loved one. Shame erases your mistakes more than anything else! You could have been stuck in your mind or body, but instead, you confronted a situation of shame. So try not to misdirect your anger towards the messenger and thank him instead. He or she is helping you to perfect yourself for your own good!

Eliminate the Chametz from your heart. Release the blockages that bind you and forgive the people who hurt you! Accept and love yourself even though you are far from being perfect. The first step is to recognize your faults and start working on them. Clear the negative and replace it with good, cleanse yourself of superfluous pride and let go of past mistakes to become a pure and pristine receptacle, ready to receive the immense abundance which is now on the brink of reaching you.

Pesach is the festival of freedom. Teshuvah taught me one thing: "Enslavement to time is bondage. But one who submits to God’s service is free." Teshuvah transformed me from being a prisoner of my worries into a free bird, flying with Emuna. You are a prisoner of your thoughts, your desires, your failures, your worries.  Isn’t it time to embark on the road to freedom?