Laws
Passover Cleaning: How to Guide
42 min read
4 min read
The legacy of a young girl who died from cancer teach us how to leave our own Egypts and gain freedom by giving others joy.
The words below were recorded by Dassi Rabinovitch (z”l) three weeks before she passed away at the age of 19, after fighting a courageous and relentless battle against her cancer for two years.
She was moved to do so one night after the Oren Family came to visit her in the hospital. The 8-year-old Oren twins sang a song for Dassi called, “These are the things that make me happy.” Dassi enjoyed their singing so much that she asked the Oren girls if they would sing for other patients in the children's ward.
But the Oren girls were embarrassed and refused. Finally after much urging, one of the twins agreed to sing. When she had finished, Dassi asked her if she enjoyed singing, but the girl replied “No!”
That night, Dassi felt bad that she had pushed the girls to sing for the other patients. On the other hand, she wanted to explain to them how important it is to give with joy.
“Bubbles of Joy” are the spontaneous words she left them on their phone answering machine that evening. This was the last time Oren Family heard Dassi’s voice.
BUBBLES OF JOY
Each and every person has a bubble in his heart,
A bubble of joy.
Sometimes it’s a small bubble,
But it can grow and grow and GROW …
When the bubble of joy is big to bursting,
It sends small bubblets to hidden places in the body,
Places that sometimes hurt.
There are some people whose bubble of joy is small
And we have the job of helping it grow!
Surely you’re asking “How?”
Each one of us can find a way …
We can bring a piece of candy, or give a flower,
Sing a song, draw a picture,
Or even simply say, “Good morning, how are you today?”
But the most important thing is to do it with joy.
With all your heart,
Always creating lots of bubbles of joy for others.
And by growing bubbles of joy in others,
Your bubble will grow as well.
Every symbol, in Judaism represents a deeper idea.
Passover is the time each year where we get rid of our chametz and taste matzah. Chametz, puffed up dough, is our ego that so often gets us lost in our desires, our image and packaging. Once a year, by cleaning out the chametz and tasting the simple flat matzah, we try and reconnect with our true essence which is not spoiled by our ego desires.
The word in Hebrew for Egypt, Mitzrayim, comes from the root meaning "restricted." Yetziat Mitzrayim, "leaving Egypt," means asking God to help us move beyond the barriers we impose on ourselves to gain true inner freedom by reconnecting with our soul. Giving to others always sends us beyond our ego and reconnects us with our true essence -- and thus by giving we gain a sense of inner freedom.
Dassi -- the girl who wrote "Bubbles of Joy" at the height of her physical pain, only three weeks before she passed away -- was always thinking how she could bring a little joy into someone’s life. This gave her internal strength and a deep sense of freedom, even though she was confined to a hospital bed.