Where has all the Hametz Gone? ClubHouse

The only mention of Hametz in the Haggadah (besides the Bedikat Hametz blessings and Aramaic legal nullification formula traditionally tacked on to the beginning of the Haggadah) is in the 4 Questions:

Greco-Roman Concept of Leaven

“Leaven itself comes from corruption, and corrupts the dough with which it is mixed . . . and in general, fermentation seems to be a kind of putrefaction” (Plutarch, Quaest. Rom. 109). Plutarch records that the Roman high priest (Flamen Dialis) was forbidden even to touch leaven (ibid.). To be sure, all of the above-cited references stem from late antiquity (Christian, rabbinic, and Hellenistic sources), but they undoubtedly reflect an older and universal regard of leaven as the arch-symbol of fermentation:’ deterioration, and death and, hence, taboo on the altar of blessing and life. [pp 188-9 Leviticus 1-16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary Anchor Bible, Vol. 3, Jacob Milgrom]

Leaven in Philo

Leaven is forbidden because of the rising which it produces. Here again we have a symbol of the truth, that none as he approaches the altar should be uplifted or puffed up by arrogance; rather gazing on the greatness of God, let him gain a perception of the weakness which belongs to the creature, even though he may be superior to others in prosperity; and having been thus led to the reasonable conclusion, let him reduce the overweening exaltation of his pride by laying low that pestilent enemy, conceit. …. For naked you came into the world, worthy sir, and naked will you again depart, and the span of time between your birth and death is a loan to you from God. During this span what can be meet for you to do but to study fellow-feeling and goodwill and equity and humanity and what else belongs to virtue, and to cast away the inequitable, unrighteous and unforgiving viciousness which turns man, naturally the most civilized of creatures, into a wild and ferocious animal! (Philo,The Special Laws, Book I, 293-295 quoted in The Passover Anthology, Philip Goodman).

Leaven in the New Testament

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth. [Corinthians 5:8]

“the leaven of the Pharisees,” which is “hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1; d. Mark 8:15).

It could be that Leaven and the purging of Leaven had become, at least in the early days of Jewish - Christian relationships, a wedge issue.... especially given the reference to the "leaven of the Pharisees" aka followers of Rabbinic Judaism.

Jewish-Christian tensions in the Middle Ages

We return to the question of why the purging of physical leaven and the leaven of our hearts is seemingly absent from our Seder. Israel Jacob Yuval details the conflagratory nature of "leaven" in Jewish-Christian tensions in the Middle Ages. In his article Passover in the Middle Ages in Passover and Easter; Origin and History to Modern Times pp 141-2 writes:

But burning leaven evoked messianic images of redemption, as we see from the thirteenth-century halakhic authority and German pietist, Eliezer of Worms: “As reward for the burning of leaven, Israel will set Esau [Rome] on fire.” Little imagination is needed to guess what Christians who observed the ceremony must have thought. On the eve of Passover, on the day which (as Jews reckoned it) Jesus was crucified, Jews removed all leaven from their home and burned it—while thinking of the destruction of Christianity and the coming of redemption. Some Jews themselves feared that interpretation....

The following event, however, reveals the danger that existed in that regard. In the year 1399, a disputation occurred between the convert from Judaism, Peter, and Rabbi Lipmann Mulhausen. The remarkable conclusion of the disputation— the execution of eighty Jews—evokes the impression that this was not a learned debate so much as it was an inquisitorial trial played out against the backdrop of the charge of host desecration [The "host" is the sacred bread used in the Eucharistic service of the Mass]. The central Christian argument was that Jews disdain Christianity and seek to destroy it: “Of all the dough that you knead, you burn a little as an affront to their God [i.e., the Christian God]. Also, on the eve of Passover, the time of the fast [Lent] you burn bread.” The accusations refer to two customs: burning challah (the ritual removal and burning of part of the dough as an equivalent to the dough offering from Temple times, before baking bread) and burning leaven. The apostate from Judaism apparently saw in both a Jewish effort to disparage the host.

Spiritual Spring Cleaning - Persia/India - Zoroastrian

House cleaning, or shaking the house (Persian: خانه تکانی‎, romanized: xāne tekāni) is commonly done before the arrival of Nowruz. People start preparing for Nowruz with a major spring cleaning of their homes.

People prepare to welcome the new year days before by spring cleaning and arranging the “haft

seen”, a table with seven items that name start with the letter “s”. Al-bīrūnī said: haft-sin came from jamshid since he destroyed the evil that made persian lands weak.

At this time of year in Iran, you’re likely to see countless persian rugs hanging outside, where their owners can beat the dust out of them. For Iranians, nowruz is a celebration of renewal and change.

Spiritual Spring Cleaning - Orthodox Christianity

Similarly Lent comes from the word length.. as in the longer days of spring. Instead of Ash Wednesday, the Eastern Church celebrates Clean Monday, otherwise known as Ash Monday. According to Wikipidia:

The common term for this day, “Clean Monday”, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. It is sometimes called “Ash Monday,” by analogy with Ash Wednesday (the day when the Western Churches begin Lent). …. Liturgically, Clean Monday—and thus Lent itself—begins on the preceding (Sunday) night, at a special service called Forgiveness Vespers, which culminates with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness, at which all present will bow down before one another and ask forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness, and with renewed Christian love. The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as “Clean Week,” and it is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house thoroughly.

Psalms read Read on Monday and Thursday during Lent include: