Countdown to Pesach 29: Hiding From God

“It will be at that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles and I will deal with the men who are settled on their lees, who say in their heart, Hashem will not good, and will not do evil.” (Zephaniah 1:12)

Many of us hide from God. It is not only the embarrassed sinner who wants to hide while, or even after, sinning. People can fall into a trap of believing that a relationship with the Almighty will be too demanding from us. Some of us are frightened of prayer because we expect to be disappointed or to feel rejected. So, we hide. The prophet assures us that God will “search” for us, with candles, if need be. The only ones who should be frightened are those who are complacent, and rather than hide from God, they reject the idea of reward and punishment. God promises to deal with the complacent, but will search out those who are hiding because they feel lost or intimidated.

Our search for Chametz on the eve of Pesach is a reenactment of God’s search. We use candles to examine each and every nook and cranny. We are determined to find every single crumb. God searches us out with the same care and concern with which we search for chametz. (Machberes Avodas Hashem)