The Story of Matzah

(33) The Egyptians urged the people on, impatient to have them leave the country, for they said, “We shall all be dead.” (34) So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks upon their shoulders.... (39) And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had taken out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, since they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay; nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

(18) You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread—eating unleavened bread for seven days, as I have commanded you—at the set time of the month of Aviv, for in the month of Aviv you went forth from Egypt.

(1) Observe the month of Aviv and offer a passover sacrifice to your God יהוה, for it was in the month of Aviv, at night, that your God יהוה freed you from Egypt. (2) You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for your God יהוה, from the flock and the herd, in the place where יהוה will choose to establish the divine name. (3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. (4) For seven days no leaven shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning. (5) You are not permitted to slaughter the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that your God יהוה is giving you; (6) but at the place where your God יהוה will choose to establish the divine name, there alone shall you slaughter the passover sacrifice, in the evening, at sundown, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. (7) You shall cook and eat it at the place that your God יהוה will choose; and in the morning you may start back on your journey home. (8) After eating unleavened bread six days, you shall hold a solemn gathering for your God יהוה on the seventh day: you shall do no work.

(5) These are the types of grain with which a person fulfills his obligation to eat matza on the first night of Passover: With wheat, with barley, with spelt [kusmin], with rye [shifon], and with oats [shibbolet shu’al]. And one fulfills his obligation by eating not only matza made from properly tithed grains, but even with matza made from doubtfully tithed produce, and matza made with first tithe from which its teruma was already taken, or second tithe and consecrated food that were redeemed. And priests may eat matza prepared from ḥalla, the portion of dough that is given to priests, or with teruma, as priests are permitted to eat these portions. However, one may not fulfill one’s obligation to eat matza made with untithed produce, nor with matza made from the first tithe from which its teruma was not separated, nor with matza made either from the second tithe, nor from consecrated grain that was not redeemed. With regard to one who prepared loaves of matza that are brought with a thanks-offering, or to the wafers brought by a nazirite, the Sages drew the following distinction: If he prepared them for himself, then he does not fulfill his obligation to eat matza with them. However, if he prepared them to sell them in the market to those who require these loaves or wafers, one fulfills the obligation to eat matza with them.

(5) Rabban Gamliel would say: Anyone who did not say these three matters on Passover has not fulfilled his obligation: The Paschal lamb, matza, and bitter herbs. When one mentions these matters, he must elaborate and explain them: …The reason for matza is because our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt, as it is stated: “And they baked the dough that they took out of Egypt as cakes of matzot, for it was not leavened, as they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual” (Exodus 12:39). …

(2) All the meal-offerings that come as matza are to be kneaded with lukewarm water so that the dough will bake well, as only a small amount of oil is added. And one must watch over them to ensure that they do not become leaven while kneading and shaping them, and if a meal offering or even only its remainder becomes leaven, one violates a prohibition, as it is stated: “No meal offering that you shall bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven; as you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as an offering made by fire to the Lord” (Leviticus 2:11). And one is liable to be flogged for kneading the meal offering, and for shaping it, and for baking it, if the meal offering becomes leaven.

Rebbi Levi said, he who eats matzah on Passover Eve is like one who sleeps with his betrothed in his father-in-law’s house [After the preliminary but before the definitive marriage, when she is forbidden to him.], and he who sleeps with his betrothed in his father-in-law’s house is flogged. It was stated: Rebbi Yehudah ben Batira says, both bread and matzah are forbidden [On the entire 14th of Nisan, even in the morning when leavened matter still is permitted..] Rebbi Simon in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: Rebbi ate neither bread nor matzah. No matzah because of that of Rebbi Levi, and no bread because of that of Rebbi Yehudah ben Batira.

Earlier it was taught in a baraita: The mitzva of matza and all its facilitators override Shabbat; this is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. The Gemara asks: From where does Rabbi Eliezer derive this matter? If you say he derives it from the halakha with regard to the omer and the two loaves, this can be refuted, as these are the necessities of Temple service to God on High. If you say he derives it from the halakha with regard to lulav, this too can be refuted, as it requires four species. If you say he derives it from the precedent of sukka, this too can be refuted, as it applies during the nights just as it applies during the days. Rather, Rabbi Eliezer derived it by means of a verbal analogy based upon the word fifteenth stated with regard to the mitzva of matza, and the word fifteenth stated with regard to the festival of Sukkot: Just as below, with regard to the mitzva to dwell in a sukka on the festival of Sukkot, which is on the fifteenth of the month, its facilitators override Shabbat, so too here, with regard to the mitzva to eat matza on the fifteenth of the month, its facilitators override Shabbat.

Rava did not retract his statement that guarding grain must begin before kneading. For he would say to those who cut and tied the stalks [kifei] of grain in the field: When you cut the grain, cut it for the purpose of the mitzva. Apparently, Rava maintains that it is necessary to guard the grain from the outset, i.e., from the beginning of its preparation until its end.

The Gemara asks: Who is the tanna that you heard say that mitzvot do not nullify each other? It is Hillel, as it was taught in a baraita: They said about Hillel that he would wrap matza and bitter herbs together and eat them, as it is stated: “They shall eat it with matzot and bitter herbs” (Numbers 9:11), which indicates that these two foods should be consumed together. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Hillel’s colleagues disagree with him, as it was taught in another baraita: I might have thought that one should wrap matzot and bitter herbs together and eat them in the manner that Hillel eats them; therefore the verse states: “They shall eat it with matzot and bitter herbs,” meaning that one may eat even this, the matza, by itself, and that, the bitter herbs, by themselves. Rav Ashi strongly objects to this proof: If so, if the Sages disagree with Hillel and maintain that mitzvot nullify each other, what is the meaning of the word even in this baraita? This wording indicates that Hillel’s opinion is not rejected entirely, but that one fulfills his obligation even if he eats the items without combining them. Rather, Rav Ashi said: This is what this tanna is teaching: I might have thought that one fulfills his obligation with them only if he wraps matzot and bitter herbs together and eats them in the manner that Hillel eats them. Therefore, the verse states: “They shall eat it with matzot and bitter herbs,” i.e., one fulfills his obligation even if he eats the matza by itself and the bitter herbs by themselves. The Gemara comments: Now that the halakha was stated neither in accordance with the opinion of Hillel nor in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis, one recites the blessing: Commanded us over eating matza, and eats matza to fulfill his obligation. And then he recites the blessing: Commanded us over eating bitter herbs, and eats the lettuce as bitter herbs. And then he eats matza and lettuce together without a blessing in remembrance of the Temple, in the manner of Hillel in the days of the Temple, who ate matza and bitter herbs together with the Paschal lamb.

Shmuel said that the phrase: “The bread of affliction [leḥem oni]” (Deuteronomy 16:3) means bread over which one answers [onim] matters, i.e., one recites the Haggadah over matza. That was also taught in a baraita: Leḥem oni is bread over which one answers many matters. Alternatively, in the verse, “leḥem oni” is actually written without a vav, which means a poor person. Just as it is the manner of a poor person to eat a piece of bread, for lack of a whole loaf, so too here he should eat a piece of matzah.

(20) On the first day, [more particularly, for the matzah used to fulfill the commandment of eating matzah on Pesach night]; it is forbidden to knead or baste [the matzot] with any other substance besides water; not because of the prohibition against chametz, but rather so [the matzah] will be "poor man's bread." [Deuteronomy 16:3 states "For seven days eat matzah, poor man's bread." In contrast, dough mixed with these liquids is considered matzah ashirah, "rich matzah." ]. It is only on the first day that the "poor man's bread" must be commemorated. [to recall the "poor man's bread" eaten by our ancestors when they were slaves in Egypt.]

(1) It is a positive commandment of the Torah to eat matzah on the night of the fifteenth [of Nisan], as [Exodus 12:18] states: "In the evening, you shall eat matzot." This applies in every place and at every time. Eating [matzah] is not dependent on the Paschal sacrifice. Rather, it is a mitzvah in its own right. The mitzvah may be fulfilled throughout the entire night.
Throughout the other days of the festival, eating matzah is left to one's choice: If one desires, one may eat matzah. If one desires, one may eat rice, millet, roasted seeds, or fruit. Nevertheless, on the night of the fifteenth alone, [eating matzah] is an obligation. Once one eats the size of an olive, he has fulfilled his obligation.

(4) It is good to make the mitzvah-matzah from wheat that has been guarded so that no water has fallen on it from the time of harvest, or at least from the time since it was ground [into flour]. But in times of duress, it is permitted to buy flour from the marketplace.

(4) A person cannot fulfill his obligation with stolen Matzah.

(5) It is customary to not place salt in the Matzah and this is the proper thing and even subsequently one should forbid it (Mordechai and also his own words)

(4) One should not make shaped cakes of dough, which is shaping the bread like a species of animal or bird. Rather, all that one does with a comb so that it will not inflate or poking holes in the Matzot is permitted. Nevertheless, ideally one should expedite doing these things so as not to delay them [Matzot]. REMA: there are those who make the Matzot wafer-thin and not a thick loaf like other breads, for wafers do not leaven as quickly.

YAHATZ / SPLITTING

The middle matza is broken in two.
The bigger portion is then hidden away to serve as the afikoman
with which the meal is later concluded.
The smaller portion is placed between the two whole matzot.

MAGGID / TELLING

During the recital of this paragraph
the seder plate is held up
and the middle matza is displayed to the company.

הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא THIS
IS THE BREAD OF OPPRESSION
our fathers ate
in the land of Egypt.
Let all who are hungry
come in and eat;
let all who are in need
come and join us for the Pesaḥ.
Now we are here;
next year in the land of Israel.
Now – slaves;
next year we shall be free.

רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל Rabban Gamliel would say:
Anyone who does not say these three things on Pesaḥ
has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are they:
PESAḤ, MATZA, AND BITTER HERBS.

He holds the matzah in his hand and shows it to the others there.

This matzah that we are eating, for the sake of what [is it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that our ancestors' dough was not yet able to rise, before the Sovereign of the sovereign of sovereigns, the Holy One, blessed be God, revealed [the Divine Self] to them and redeemed them, as it is stated (Exodus 12:39); "And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt into matzah cakes, since it did not rise; because they were expelled from Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they made for themselves provisions."

MOTZI MATZA

The leader holds all three matzot and recites:

בָּרוּךְ Blessed are You, LORD our God,
King of the Universe,
who brings forth bread from the earth.

The lowermost matza is replaced.
The leader recites the following blessing while holding
the uppermost and middle matzot:
בָּרוּךְ Blessed are You, LORD our God,
King of the Universe,
who has made us holy
through His commandments,
and has commanded us to eat matza.
A piece of the uppermost matza, together with a piece of the middle matza,
is given to each member of the company.
Eat while reclining to the left.

KOREKH / WRAPPING

Bitter herbs are sandwiched between two pieces of matza
taken from the lowermost matza.

זֵֽכֶר In memory of the Temple, in the tradition of Hillel.
This is what Hillel would do when the Temple still stood:

he would wrap [the Pesaḥ offering] up
with matza and bitter herbs
and eat them together,
to fulfill what is said:
“You shall eat it with matza and bitter herbs.”
Eat while reclining to the left.

TZAFUN / HIDDEN

At the end of the meal, the remaining piece
of the middle matza which had been hidden earlier (the afikoman),
is eaten.

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