Matzah

Food

Matzah is the unleavened bread made from any of the five grains mentioned in Torah: wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats. In the Torah, God commanded the Israelites to eat matzah before leaving Egypt, a practice still observed and commemorated yearly as Jews eat matzah at the Passover Seder and throughout the holiday of Passover.

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How to Make the Matzah

TOSEFTA

There are strict rules governing exactly how to produce a piece of matzah. In a collection of ancient laws and teachings called the Tosefta, a protocol is explained for how matzah was made around the 2nd century in the land of Israel.

And the Sages say, three women are involved in the dough (i.e., the process of making matzah): One kneads it, one spreads it out, [and] one bakes it. When one [completes her] kneading, she spreads it out, and another kneads in her place. When one [completes] spreading out [the dough], she bakes it, and another one spreads out in her place. Since the three of them are involved in it and each one continues in turn, the dough will not become leavened. What is the measure of the dough? Rabbi Yishmael bar Rabbi Yochanan ben Berokah says, with respect to wheat, up to three kavs…

Tosefta Pesachim 3:8

The Original Matzah

TANAKH

Each of the symbolic foods eaten at the Passover seder represents an aspect of the Passover story. According to the Book of Exodus, matzah not only holds special symbolic meanings, it also allows people to physically reenact one aspect of the exodus from Egypt.

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.

Exodus 12:39

Let All Who Are Hungry Come and Eat

LITURGY

Matzah is sometimes explained as bread that represents our affliction, and is therefore symbolic of our willingness to help others who are in need. The maggid section of the Haggadah begins with this Aramaic passage which centers on the symbol of matzah.

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.

Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Ha Lachma Anya 3

How many days of matzah?

MIDRASH

Does the Torah expect people to eat matzah every day of Passover, or just to skip bread for a week? This work of legal analysis of the Book of Leviticus, from the time of the Talmud, compares and contrasts biblical verses to try to solve the puzzle.

3) "the festival of matzoth to the L–rd, seven days, etc." What is the intent of this? Because it is written (Devarim 16:8) "Six days shall you eat matzoth and on the seventh day it is a cessation (atzereth) for the L–rd" — The seventh day was included in the general (mitzvah of matzoh, viz.: [Shemoth 13:6] "Seven days shall you eat matzoth; and it left that general category to serve as a paradigm, viz.: Just as (the eating of matzoth on) the seventh day is permitted (and not obligatory), so, all (of the days) are permitted (in this regard, and not obligatory…

Sifra, Emor, Chapter 11 3

The Hillel Sandwich

TALMUD

This combination of matzah and bitter herbs is eaten on seder night. The Babylonian Talmud explains the origin of this ancient sandwich and how it got its name.

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.

Pesachim 115a:5

Humble Bread

CHASIDUT

Matzah is referred to in the Torah as “lechem oni,” often translated as “bread of affliction.” In this 18th century work on the Book of Leviticus, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Pollone explains the phrase differently based on a subtle wordplay.

And with this, it is understood [why] it was necessary to write two warnings (negative commandments) - “nothing fermented (chametz) is to be seen with you; and no leaven is to be seen with you” (Exodus 13:7). For it is to destroy two types of evil impulse: The one of arrogance is called leaven, as mentioned earlier; and the one of lowliness, listlessness and inappropriate modesty without thought is called chametz. As there is only a [slight] something differentiating chametz from matza (they are spelled with almost all of the same letters)…

Ketonet Pasim, Tzav 91

Eat it Anywhere

COMMENTARY

Many Passover rituals are centered around the home, as opposed to a synagogue or other communal location. In his commentary on the Book of Exodus, Rabbi Chezekiah ben Manoach (13th century, France) explains that the celebration follows you wherever you go.

בכל מושבותיכם תאכלו מצות, “you are to eat unleavened bread in all of your dwellings.” The reason why the Torah uses the expression: בכל מושבותיכם, “wherever you will be at home,” is because this commandment applies equally in the land of Israel and outside of it. This is distinct from eating of the Passover lamb, a law which can be fulfilled only in the land of Israel and at a time when offerings can be offered in the Temple or at least on the Temple Mount.

Chizkuni, Exodus 12:20:1

Matzah and the Power of Renewal

COMMENTARY

How does an unleavened flatbread become a symbol of freedom and renewal? This 19th century commentary on the Haggadah explains how matzah’s simple nature is designed to teach a complex idea.

Matzah: A Remembrance of History and a Symbol of Hope:
This is like the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate: As we begin the Haggadah, we do so by emphasizing the power of God. Matzah serves as a symbol of memory. When we refer to the bread of affliction we are reminded that despite the fact that Pharaoh was so powerful that no slave ever escaped from Egypt, we were able to do so with the help of God. Matzah teaches us that we could not have escaped from Egypt on our own. Other people would have taken credit for their escape…

Ephod Bad on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Ha Lachma Anya 3:1

Not All Matzah is Created Equal

HALAKHAH

According to some, the best matzah for the seder is matzah shmurah, or “guarded matzah” meaning that wheat used to make the matzah was watched from its harvest. The authoritative 16th-century legal code, the Shulchan Arukh, explains what to do if one does not have enough of this special matzah.

The law of one who does not have protected (sheumurah) matzah, and it has one paragraph:
One who only has a kazayit (the size of a [large] olive) of matza recites the blessing of, "about eating bitter herbs," and eats [them]. And when he finishes his meal with matza that was not protected, he recites the blessing, "about eating matza," eats that kazayit and does not taste anything after it. Gloss: And one who only has three matzot for the [first] two nights should recite on the first night…

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 482:1

The Healing Power of Matzah

KABBALAH

What if matzah has healing properties? According to the Zohar, the seminal work of Jewish mysticism, matzah may well be healing to the soul.

Zohar, Tetzaveh 9:75

Spring Celebration

TANAKH

Why does Passover have to occur in the spring? The somewhat ambiguous phrase “month of Aviv” in the Book of Exodus has inspired a great deal of discussion by Torah commentators.

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 Abib, for in the month of Abib you went forth from Egypt.

Exodus 34:18

The second Nuremberg Haggada, 15th century

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