While preparing for these annual Feasts of the Lord, let us remember that there are physical and spiritual activities to keep in mind.  Of course, the spiritual is the most important.  However, how we use our efforts and energies to prepare for the Passover season is very important.  We need the proper instruction (necessary knowledge), understanding, and wisdom to prepare properly in a physical sense as well as in a spiritual sense.  One of the important things we do is de-leaven our homes and cars.  As we de-leaven our homes and cars, let us be sure to de-leaven ourselves.

Leavening is an agent that puffs up dough.  God uses this analogy in several places in the Bible (example: 1 Corinthians 5:2-7).  It is not always clear to us which items are leavened or are leavening agents.  Hopefully, recognizing common leaven and items below that may have leavening will help us to be alert.

• Items that are considered to leaven:

Yeast, baking powder, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate – when an acid is added), and potassium bicarbonate (potash), trisodium orthophosphate, tripotassium phosphate (as in Cheerios), sodium phosphate

• Many items that commonly (but not always) contain leavening agents:

Bread, cake, crackers, cookies, some cereals, cream puffs, donuts.

• An example of an item that does not commonly have leavening is pie crust (yet, some do, therefore we need to check the ingredients list).
• Items that are not necessarily leavening agents because they do not
  puff up by themselves:

Brewer’s yeast, yeast extract (a flavoring, often found in canned soup), cornstarch, cream of tartar, autolyzed yeast, torula yeast, ammonium carbonate (baker’s ammonia), ammonium bicarbonate (hartshorn), sourdough starter, tartrate powder, alum, sodium aluminum sulfate, sodium caseinate, polysorbate 60, egg whites.

• Do not be fooled because a bread product looks flat.  Many flat items contain leavening.  Be sure to read the ingredients.  Examples of this are items like pita bread and flour tortillas.  We have even found leavening in matzos that some people use for Passover.

NOTE: While there are homemade foods that look fluffy that do not have leavening, perhaps we need to avoid them during the Days of Unleavened Bread based on the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5 that tells us to avoid even the appearance of evil.  Examples of these are cream puffs and angel food cake.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 

 Learn to read labels.  Our family motto is “if in doubt, throw it out.”  If it looks puffed up maybe we need to leave it alone.  Being cautious is a good thing.  Yet, we need not suspect everything.

During Unleavened Bread we are to have no leaven or leavened products in our home.

Exodus 12:15,19 (15) Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. (19) Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Exodus 13:7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.