Leaven And Life

Πᾶς ὃς ἄν φάγῃ ζύμην, ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἐξ Ἰσραήλ. Ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἔνεκεν ζύμης· καὶ ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς ὁ χρηματίζων τοὺς νόμους, ὡς ὁλοθρεύει μοιχὸν, ὡς ὁλοθρεύει πόρνον, ὡς ὁλοθρεύει παιδοφθόρον, οὕτως ὁλοθρεύει τὸν ἔχοντα ζύμην ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀζύμων ἡμέρᾳ. Τοῦτο κατὰ Θεόν ἐστι; τοῦτο κατὰ νόμον τὸν οὐράνιόν ἐστιν; Ἀλλ' εἶποιμι ἂν ὅτι ἐὰν ἔχῃς ζύμην πονηρίας, καὶ μὴ ἐξολοθρεύσῃς πᾶσαν ζύμην κακίας ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ σου· αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀληθινὴ οἰκία σου· ὁ Θεὸς τῶν ὅλων νομοθετεῖ ἐξολοθρευθῆναί σε μὴ ἀποβαλόντα τὴν ζύμην τὴν παλαιὰν ἀπὸ σεαυτοῦ. Χρὴ γάρ σε ἐλθόντα εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τῶν νέων, νέον γενόμενον μηδὲν ἔχειν ἀρχαῖον. Τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθε, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Ὄρα πῶς ἔδει ἑορτάζειν ἐν μηνὶ τῶν νέων τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἀζύμων. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον Source: Migne PG 12.284d-285a

Everyone who eats leaven, his soul will be cut off from Israel... 1 A man shall be cut off on account of leaven, and with the God of all who gives His law, as perishes the adulterer and the whore and the corrupter of boys, so perishes the one who has leaven in his house on the day of unleavened bread. Is this worthy of God? Is this consonant with the heavenly laws? But I would say that if you have the leaven of wickedness and you do not cut off every leaven of wickedness from your leading faculty, reason, for this is your true house, the God of all ordains that you be cut off, since you are not rid of the old leaven. 2 For it is necessary for your coming to the new age, that you be made new and have nothing of the old. 'Old things have passed away.' 3 See, then, how it is fitting that the celebration of the feast of Unleavened Bread is in the month of new things. 4 Origen, On Exodus, Fragment 1 Exod 12.15 2 1 Cor 5.7 3 2 Cor 5.17 4 Jewish New Year