פסח · הכנה למצוה
Preparation is itself part of the avodah
The first Matov Nehora Pesach issue opens with a Shendishover tradition about the severity of chametz and the dignity with which a mitzvah must be approached.
חמץ הוא חמץ
The publication records a teaching transmitted by Rabbi Avraham of Shendishov in the name of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz. When chametz was reduced to symbolism alone, the response was sharp: the spiritual meaning does not cancel the simple obligation. The hidden avodah begins with exact fidelity to the mitzvah itself.
Entering before the King
The accompanying parable compares preparation for a mitzvah to preparing a fitting vessel for a king. Fulfilling the bare instruction is not the whole encounter; care, beauty, and readiness express the face with which a person enters the King’s presence.
The Rebbe returned to this teaching at רעוא דרעוין in Tazria 5776. Matov Nehora uses that point as the doorway to Pesach: halachic care, inherited custom, inner preparation, and the light of the festival belong together.