“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” 

- Exodus 12:15

‘What is Leaven?’

LEAVEN - Noun -  a substance, typically yeast, that is added to dough to make it ferment and rise.

“Leavening agent: substance causing expansion of dough and batters by the release of gases within such mixtures, producing baked products with porous structure. Such agents include yeast, baking powder and baking soda.”

What to look for…...

• Baker’s Ammonia
• Baking powder
• Baking Soda
• Barm
• Beer
• Cream of Tartar
• Ginger Beer
• Powdered Baking Ammonia
• Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
• Sourdough starter
• Yeast

Where to Begin??

Go through your kitchen, refrigerator, and your pantry (wherever you keep food!!) in search of EVERYTHING that has leaven or a leavening agent in it! Read ALL the ingredients! ON EVERYTHING! You’ll be surprised what you find leaven in!

1. Set these items in a designated area in your kitchen. This way you can begin cleaning your house & also use up the items that contain leaven in the days leading up to Pesach (Passover).
2. Begin cleaning in any room(s) that might have had food in it. Vacuum, sweep, wipe down and dust!  Think of it as your Spring Cleaning & give the whole place a thorough cleaning!!

Now for the DEEP CLEANING…..the Kitchen!

1. Start up high and work your way lower! (this is a great time to dust or wash all the dishes that haven’t been used much!
2. Wipe out every cupboard and cabinet or vacuum them out!
3. Wash out/wipe out your refrigerator!
4. Clean your Oven!
5. Clean and wipe down your pantry!
6. Scrub down counters and sinks!
7. Sweep and mop the floor!

What about the “leaven” that is not eaten??

We must remember the importance of what Yah is showing us. The picture exemplified by Paul is that leaven represents sin. It is tempting to want to hide sin but we must consider that Yah is giving us a spiritual exercise not unlike Naaman who was asked to dip 7 times… it was by his obedience that his faith changed from potential faith, to kinetic/active faith.