Some thoughts on the message of Matzah on Pesach and a general idea on the whole Seder experience-5777

A)

It is fascinating to note that Matzah depicts both ‘cheirut’ and ‘avdut’/freedom and servitude.Both ideas are alluded to in the Hagadah:a) ’This is the bread of affliction which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt(avdut).b)’Why do we eat Matzah? Because the dough was not able to rise when we left Egypt…(cheirut).

This element of Matzah as avdut makes sense in that just as an eved/servant is restrained in what he can do, so too is the Matzah constrained from rising. But what is there in Matzah to depict the aspect of ‘cheirut’. Surely the limited ability to rise is conveying exactly the opposite of the message of freedom, which is the lifting of restrictions in order to go free?

Rabbi Isaac Bernstein zal answers this question with a great insight into being Jewish and to be committed to a Torah lifestyle. Judaism believes that freedom without discipline is not freedom , it is anarchy.

’Freedom is not the ability to do what you want to do but the opportunity to do what you have to do’.(George 6th of Britain)

We express this idea in Pirkei Avot, ch. 6:

 שֶׁאֵין לְךָ בֶן חוֹרִין אֶלָּא מִי שֶׁעוֹסֵק בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה.

for there is no free man except one that involves himself in Torah learning; 

Freedom without the discipline of Torah is chaos.

This is the heart of the confrontation between the ‘wicked son’ and the father as read in the Hagada. The wicked son does not understand why we limit ourselves with so many rules and regulations. Surely this limits our ‘freedom’.

The answer we give him is to ‘blunt his teeth’. This is a strange answer to his question. However what we are saying to the questioner is, that according to his definition of freedom, why am I not able to ‘punch him in the teeth’ whenever I want to. Surely freedom is the ability to do whatever I want according to your definition? In fact, this idea of freedom leads to anarchy, as it is freedom without limitations which can be used for very negative purposes. Our ‘rules’ make us really free, as symbolized by the Matzah, which exhibits restraint. This is the equivalent of the rules of Torah limiting and guiding us in how to be truly free.

B)

Another thought on Matzah:

Rabbi Bernstein notes that the same ingredients which produce the symbol of servitude also produce the symbol of freedom. This is most extraordinary. There is a lesson for life to be learned here. There are certain people blessed with identical talents. And yet some use them for good purpose and others take the same talents and use them in the opposite way.

There was a great philanthropist in London (who was killed in a car crash in 2009). His ability to create wealth was a real talent which he used for good purpose and his Purim distribution of funds became legendary. He always said that he is like G-d’s ‘mail man’, who is delivering the money that he is blessed with to those who need it, as best he can. There are many who are only interested in using this talent to increase their bank accounts without any sense of a moral duty to help others. And there are others who truly understand both the blessing they have and the responsibility that it carries.

This is the message and challenge of Matzah. How will you use those special ingredients that G-d has blessed you with? What you make of these ingredients is your business and your unique challenge. It can be ‘avdut’ and it can also be ‘cheirut’.It is up to you.

C)

The essence of the Hagada/asking questions/why?

In Tractate Pesahim (10th perek) we come across a repeated phrase:

‘kedai sheyishalu hatinokot’-‘so that the children will ask’.

We have always accepted this as part of the Seder experience. My question here is a simple one: why does the Talmud extol the virtues of encouraging the children to ask, but it does not say the same about the answers. It is as if the whole ‘end game’ is the ‘asking’ more than the answering. What is so special in the asking process on its own?

I once heard from Rav Matityahu Salamon shlita (Mashgiach in Lakewood Yeshiva and formerly in Gateshead UK) that the Seder service is the reenactment of the ‘yetziat mitzraim’,as we sit there on the night of Pesach. This act of recreation of the Exodus is, in my mind, the explanation of the Talmud’s emphasis on the asking of questions. When the Jews left Egypt in haste, we can only imagine what the Jewish children began to ask: Why? How? The act of asking questions at our Seder recreates this atmosphere which must have prevailed at the original Exodus. Did the parents have all the answers? Surely not. But the very act of asking is so important that it becomes the raison d’etre for so much of what we do at the Seder table. We recreate the atmosphere of ‘asking‘so that any Jewish child (and Jewish adult) should know that every question is valid when asked with respect and with a genuine sense of curiosity.

What a great lesson in educational terms this becomes for us all. I have met many students from Jewish schools where questions were not permitted and I believe this runs counter to the essence of who we are and the lessons of the Seder night.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer  Cherry Hill NJ