UNLEAVENED BREAD AND UNHESITATING HEARTS

“You shall guard the matzoth because on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; and you shall observe this day for your generations, an eternal statute.” (Shmot 12:17)

One of the central mitzvoth of the festival of Pesach which is described in our parsha is that of consuming matzo. The Torah requires that the matzo be shmura, “guarded”. This implies that the utmost care must be taken to ensure that the flour used for baking the matzoth does not become leaven. Thus, according to the strictest opinion, from the time that the wheat (or other grain) is harvested, care must be taken that it not come into contact with water, which would accelerate the process of chimutz, fermentation. At the very least, the grain should be kept away from moisture from the time that it is ground into flour (Orach Chaim 453:4). There are also very demanding rules regarding the temperature of the water that is used to make the flour for the matzoth. If the water is too warm, it could cause the flour to become leaven before it is baked (ibid chapter 455). It is for this reason that one should not knead and prepare the dough for the matzoth outside where it is exposed to direct sunlight, or even adjacent to a window (ibid 459:1).  

Any pause in the preparation of the matzoth could also result in the dough beginning to ferment, hence the halacha states (ibid 459:2 from Pesachim 48b), “Do not leave the dough unattended without it being manipulated even for one moment. And even if one works on the dough [such as kneading it or rolling it] all day long, it will not ferment.” Once the dough has been left unattended for 18 minutes, it becomes chametz and is forbidden (ibid). Hand-made matzo bakeries operate with surgical precision. Each person has a task and the team must ensure that from the time water is added to the flour until the matzo emerges from the oven, less than 18 minutes will elapse. Hence one person will measure the flour; another will add the water; a third will knead the dough; a fourth will roll it into shape and a fourth will place it into the oven. It is very exacting work and extremely tiring. Modern, industrial matzo bakeries can do all of this work with minimum human involvement, producing a perfectly baked matzo in much less than 18 minutes.

Another implication of the requirement to “guard” the matzo is that it must be baked specifically for the purpose of the mitzvah. This refers to the matzoth that are used to fulfill one’s obligation at the Seder (see Mishna Berura 460:1). These matzoth mitzvah, as they are known, must be baked by a Jew who is an adult and is obligated in the mitzvah of consuming matzo. Hence gentiles and children are disqualified. The Shulchan Aruch records (ibid 460:2), “The Rosh [Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel, Germany and Spain, 1250-1327] would go to great efforts regarding the matzat mitzvah and would be present while they were being produced. He would encourage and motivate those involved in their production and assist them in arranging them [in the oven]. And so it is proper for every person to do – to be personally involved in the mitzvah.” In our generation, we have virtually no involvement in the preparation of the matzoth other than purchasing them at the shops!

Rashi cites a teaching of our Sages (Mechilta 12:17 ) on the verse (cited above), “You shall guard the matzoth” – “Rabbi Josiah said: Do not read “the matzoth”, the unleavened bread, but rather “the mitzvoth” – just as we may not cause the unleavened bread to become leavened by letting the dough remain in its raw state too long so we may not let the commandment become “leavened” by waiting too long before we perform it; but if it (a commandment) comes to your hand, perform it immediately.” Rabbi Chaim Friedlander, the former Mashgiach Ruchani of the Ponovez Yeshiva (1923-1986 in Siftei Chaim, Shmot, Parshat Bo page 138) explains that this is not merely a clever play on words, where matzo and mitzvah sound similar. Nor is this teaching of our Sages based solely on the fact that there are no vowels in the Torah and that the words matzoth and mitzvoth are spelled identically. Rather, the Torah selected one of the first mitzvoth ever given to the Jewish people to teach an important rule about all mitzvoth.

The mitzvoth that God commanded the Hebrews on the eve of their exodus from Egypt were fundamental in nature. The first mitzvah that the entire nation was required to perform was to procure the paschal lamb and prepare it to be sacrificed on the eve of Pesach. The wording of this command was (Shmot 12:21), “You shall select and take for yourselves lambs for your families and slaughter the paschal lamb.” The word for select, mish’chu, also means “to draw away”. Hence the Midrash (Shmot Rabba 16:2) explains that they were first required to withdraw from idolatry and only then to offer the paschal lamb. The Israelites had succumbed to the temptations of Egyptian society and had become idolaters. But they could not be redeemed while they were still worshipping foreign gods. The procurement of the paschal lamb (sheep were holy animals in Egypt) was a clear indication that they were rejecting idolatry. In Psalms (34:15), King David writes, “Turn away from evil and [then] do good; search for peace and chase after it.” One must first “turn away from evil” before “doing good.” The Paschal lamb was the first step – the turning from evil, the rejection of paganism.

The mitzvah of matzo was the second step – “do good.” Once the Israelites had acquired their paschal lamb, thereby rejecting idolatry, they were required to perform a good deed. That good deed was the preparation and consumption of matzo. It was precisely in this inaugural mitzvah that the Torah required “guarding”, that is, the performance of the mitzvah with alacrity and without delay. This was a lesson to them for all positive mitzvoth. The service of God calls upon a Jew to act with passion, commitment and dedication.  There is no room for tardiness or sloth. King Solomon addresses the issue of laziness at length in Proverbs.  There (Mishlei 6:11) he urges the sluggard, “Go to the ant; see its ways and become wise. Though it does not have a commander, officer, or governor, it prepares its bread in the summer and masses its food at the harvest. How long will you lie down, idler? When will you arise from your sleep? [if you say: I will have] a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of arms to lie down, then your poverty will come like a marcher and your lack like a shielded man.”

Flour becomes leaven when it is not constantly worked upon. The same is true with human beings. When we are not constantly busy and engaged in good deeds, we tend to stagnate and deteriorate. The sheer number of mitzvoth and the frequency in which they apply is enough to keep us busy from morning to night.  Procrastination and laziness are the enemies of spiritual growth. This is the lesson we learn from guarding the matzoth.     

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Liebenberg. For this week’s YouTube message:  https://youtu.be/jwBnqf7xOl8?si=UQpyNvNHnKz5bq47