Chava Dumas
Chava DumasBy Pr

Are you stressed when you even think about Pesach (Passover) cleaning? Are you in a situation this year which makes preparing for the Passover holiday particularly difficult? Do you see the month or two before Pesach as a time of bondage, and the Passover seder as freedom from Pesach cleaning?

All that can change! This is not the way preparations for Pesach were meant to be!

The Jewish People are celebrating their connection to Hashem (G-d), their freedom from Egyptian bondage, and their becoming a nation. It's a time of great joy and celebration! We are meant to be filled with gratitude for the precious gift of life and for the abundance of blessing!

Chava Dumas explains that there are two goals in the huge task of preparing for Passover. The short term goal is to rid the house of hametz (leavened products, including bread, crackers, pasta, and more). This is not to be confused with "spring cleaning," though many families try to refresh their homes top to bottom prior to Pesach.

The second goal is creating a legacy for our children. We want them to have special, warm, and fond memories of the Pesach seder, of the whole holiday, and even of the month-long preparations. If we spend our time cleaning while angry, while full of stress, and while yelling at the family for eating, the memories our children will have are bound to be negative.

Chava teaches us how to do the preparations in small bites, in an organized fashion, keeping in mind the big picture. We are not slaves to Pharaoh while getting ready for Passover; we are G-d's holy nation, doing an important mitzvah (commandment), and therefore should be full of joy.

In her book, Preparing for Pesach B'Simchah (lit. "preparing for Passover with joy" - ed.), Chava shares many creative and useful ideas. She has shopping lists, cleaning lists, recipes, ideas for how to get kids to help, a section on the Jewish law (halakha), and a section on people in special circumstances. Chava shares cleaning tips and ways to get the kids involved in the story of Passover.

What's her first piece of advice to those beginning to tackle the job? Take good care of yourself! Drink enough. Eat properly. Get enough sleep.

"If you don't take care of yourself, you will end up being tired, hungry, dehydrated, and probably cranky," Chava warns.

Tune in to hear helpful tips on how to make this time joyful. And don't miss Chava's ideas about what can be done now, just one week before the holiday begins!