Parshas Passover Issue
Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
A Jew took his Passover lunch to eat outside in the park. He sat down on a bench and began eating. Shortly thereafter a blind man came by and sat down next to him. Feeling neighborly, the Jew offered a sheet of matzah to the blind man. The blind man ran his fingers over the matzah for a minute, and exclaimed, "Who wrote this garbage?"
We can eat the Matzah every year at the Passover Seder - but we don’t always get its message.
For us to truly appreciate the “message of the Matzah†requires a little preparation before the Seder. This way, when we are ingesting the matzah at the Seder Table we will also be able to “ingest†its many lessons as well.
To that end, I have put together a “one-pager†on the mitzvah (commandment) of eating Matzah, a short manual on how to do it right on Passover night. Hope you find it useful!
~ Did you know that of all the many mitzvos and rituals that we perform at the Passover Seder (and there are many), only two of them are biblical requirements that are unique to Passover – one being the mitzvah to eat Matzah and the other being the mitzvah of Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim, relating the story of the Exodus from Egypt - while all the rest are rabbinical in origin?! As G-d commands the Jewish people in Egypt, “… on the fourteenth day of the month [of Nissan] in the evening shall you eat Matzos …†(Exodus 12:18).
~ It is forbidden to eat Matzah on Erev Pesach (the day before Passover) until the Seder. According to some commentators, the reason for the prohibition is to prevent spoiling one’s appetite for Matzah so as to ensure that the mitzvah of Matzah will be performed with anticipation and desire.
~ As with all other biblical commandments, one must have an awareness when eating the Matzah at the Seder that he is about to fulfil one of G-d’s commandments - otherwise, he will not have fulfilled his obligation.
~ When eating the Matzah at the Passover Seder, one should be reclining on his left side to show cheirus, freedom and royalty. One should lean both his torso and head while reclining. The reclining position should be at a gentle incline that is comfortable for normal eating and drinking. Many people sit on armchairs and place pillows or cushions behind them to lean even more comfortably.
~ The basic mitzvah requirement for eating Matzah can be met with a single K’zayis of Matzah (volume of approximately 1.5 fluid ounces). As a general rule, those who are eating hand (round) Matzos at the Seder should eat approx. 2/5 (40%) to 1/3 of a Matzah, depending on its thickness. Those who are eating machine (square) Matzos should eat approx. 2/3 of a Matzah for this purpose.
~ The Matzah should be eaten comfortably within 3-4 minutes, but no longer than 4 to 9 minutes.
~ There are some very important messages that the Matzah has to teach us – and that we should try to “ingest†as we ingest the Matzah at the Passover Seder:
(1) The Zohar in Parshas Tetzaveh calls Matzah the “Bread of Faithâ€. The Bnei Yisaschar explains that unlike the baking of chametz (leavened bread) in which both the baker and the dough “contribute†to the baking process (the dough rises, and the baker bakes it in an oven), the Matzah is totally “passive†during its baking, as the baker does all the baking my himself. It is for this reason that the Matzah is called the “Bread of Faithâ€, as it reminds us that like the Matzah, we too are ultimately passive and given to G-d’s control to do with us whatever He likes – as He showed us clearly in Egypt and is showing us again in our own times with the Coronavirus pandemic - and we should therefore place our faith in Him and in nobody else, as He alone runs the world.
(2) The Zohar (ibid) also refers to the Matzah that we eat at the Passover Seder as the “Bread of Healingâ€. The commentators explain that the sins that we commit are really a “sickness†of the soul. The Yetzer Hara (“evil urgeâ€) whose job it is to get us to sin is referred to in the Talmud as se’or sheb’isa, the “yeast in the doughâ€. Just as the yeast “puffs up†the dough, making it look bigger than it is, when it is just full of air, so too does the Yetzer Hara get us to sin by making temptations seem bigger than they truly are. Matzah is G-d’s prescription for the spiritually sick. When we eat the Matzah which has no yeast and does not present itself as being more than it is, we absorb this vital lesson and are healed.
(3) Matzah represents true freedom even though it is also called lachma anya (lit., “poor breadâ€). The Matzah, unlike its rich cousin Chametz (leavened bread), has no taste, no sweetness, no raisins inside it, no shiny egg or fancy streusel on top of it – just plain flour and water. Yet therein lies its freedom. It doesn’t need all those external trappings to define itself – it knows what it is - so it is truly free. We, too, need to realize what is our true essence (our soul) and what truly defines us, and then we, too, will be free.
~ We eat the Matzah two more times at the long Passover Seder – once for Koreich and once for the Afikomen (see your Haggadah for all the exciting details). Following the Afikomen, food and beverages are not permitted, so that the “taste†of the Afikomen should remain in one’s mouth. Some commentators explain that the purpose of the lingering taste is to inspire continued discussion of the story of the Exodus, which is a mitzvah all night (or at least until one falls asleep).
~ L’shanah Ha’Ba’ah Bi’Yerushalayim! Next Year in Jerusalem!
CHAG SAMEACH! HAPPY PASSOVER!
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