The Ruzhiner once asked the Sadagerer when R. Abraham Jacob was still a child – “Why do we sell our leavened to a Gentile before Passover?”
R. Abraham Jacob replied – “leavened refers [behinah] to the evil inclination – evil – so we sell him.
“If so,” asked the Ruzhiner, “why then do we buy it back after Passover?”
The future Sadagerer replied, “Passover refers to love – if we sell evil – this means that we are repenting out of love, and repentance out of love turns sins into merits so the leavened becomes exchanged for goodness – that is why we buy it back.”
I.F.
Boyaner Rebbe
