Follow ChabadInfo & Never Miss an Update!

Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our WhatsApp status and broadcast Follow us on Tiktok Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on Google News Subscribe on YouTube

BEGIN WITH A GRIN

Why is matza called “bread of poverty”? Because at today’s prices, handmade shmura matza has reached a point where anyone who buys them becomes poor. And after Pesach, even a destitute person wouldn’t touch them…

A MATTER OF TASTE

One of the main mitzvos of Pesach is eating matza, to the extent that in the Torah the Yom Tov is called “Chag HaMatzos.”

Regarding the mitzva to eat matza on the night of the 15th of Nissan, we find something remarkable. In Mitzrayim, the Jewish people could fulfill their obligation of eating matza with “rich matza” (“dough kneaded with wine, oil, and honey”). In contrast, today one cannot fulfill the obligation of eating matza on the Seder night with rich matza, because the matza must be “bread of poverty,” and it is not the way of a poor person to mix wine, oil, or other liquids besides water into their dough.

What is the reason for this difference between “the Pesach in Mitzrayim” and “the Pesach of generations”? And what is the reason for the difference between “bread of poverty” and “rich matza”? And how is all this connected to the true and complete Geula?

Every child knows that chametz represents the yetzer hara, to the extent that the evil inclination has been nicknamed “the leaven in the dough,” and it is what causes a person to “sour” their path. In contrast, matza, made from dough that has not been leavened, represents the nullification of the evil inclination. In other words, chametz symbolizes human desires and cravings for physical and material things, and for forbidden things. Matza symbolizes the battle against these desires and cravings and their nullification.

According to Chassidic teachings, in the battle against the evil inclination, there are two well-known stages: iskafya (subjugation) and is’hapcha (transformation).

Iskafya – A person overcomes their desires by forcing themselves not to listen to the evil inclination. After that comes the second stage, is’hapcha – the person must work hard on themselves so that they no longer want or desire physical things at all. This stage is called “is’hapcha” because in it, the person “transforms” or “turns over” their heart to want only matters of goodness and holiness.

In a wonderful sicha, the Rebbe explains that the difference between iskafya and is’hapcha is expressed in the two types of matza discussed above: “bread of poverty” and “rich matza.” The bread of poverty matza symbolizes the service of iskafya, while rich matza symbolizes the service of is’hapcha. How so?

The “bread of poverty” matza is made with water, which has no taste at all, causing the person to derive no pleasure from eating it. On the spiritual level, this hints and symbolizes that the person has no pleasure in their divine service; they are still at the beginning of their path in serving G-d, their heart still desires what is forbidden, and they have no true ‘taste’ for what they are doing. Such a person can serve the Creator only through kabbolas ol (accepting the yoke of heaven), because they do not yet have an understanding or inner feeling of the pleasantness and preciousness of serving the Creator.

In contrast, rich matza is made with liquids that give taste to the matza, which the person enjoys eating more. This symbolizes that this person truly understands and feels pleasure in their personal divine service; he is not just following mitzvos mechanically. He enjoys and takes pleasure in what he is doing. Such a person is one who has already ‘transformed’ his heart; one who has worked on himself so much that he changed fundamentally and became a different person, one who wants only goodness and holiness.

CHANGING TASTES

The difference between serving G-d in the manner of iskafya and serving G-d in the manner of is’hapcha, the difference between “bread of poverty” and “rich matza,” is also the difference between the spiritual state of the Jewish people during the exodus from Egypt and the state of the Jewish people in the era of the true and complete Geula!

In Mitzrayim, the Jewish people were immersed in 49 gates of impurity, “these are idol worshipers.” Understandably, in such a state, they were not capable of the service of is’hapcha, because their minds and hearts were captive to their evil inclination. This is why we needed to flee from Egypt (“for the people fled”), and this is also why the exodus from Egypt was in haste, because the Jewish people were still captive to their yetzer hara, they had no possibility of beginning the work of correcting their traits and desires, they needed to ‘flee’ from the impurity of Egypt as quickly as possible so as not to transgress Hashem’s will.

In the future Geula, however, things will change. The Gemara says (Sukka 52a) that “In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the evil inclination and slaughter it.” It is understood that if there is no evil inclination, there will also be no desires and inclinations for forbidden things or even for permitted physical things, and therefore at that time there will be no need to ‘flee’ from evil, because there won’t be evil. This is the reason why regarding the future redemption it is said (Yeshaya 30:15): “not in haste shall you go out, nor in flight shall you leave,” but rather “with calmness and restfulness shall you be saved.”

According to the above, we can understand why it is impossible to fulfill the obligation of eating matza with rich matza. On the night of the Seder, we need to commemorate the aspect of ‘haste’ in the exodus from Egypt, and therefore the matza must be bread of poverty, without taste, which represents serving Hashem through accepting the yoke of heaven, even when a person has no ‘taste’ for divine service, and even when their heart takes no pleasure in this service.

However, here a question arises: why do we commemorate each and every year the negative state of the Jewish people at the time of the exodus from Egypt, why remind everyone how bad and evil we were?! Why not eat some rich matza, which would show our ability to change and improve??

The Rebbe explains that there is a wonderful advantage in the service of iskafya, an advantage that even is’hapcha does not have!

What is the advantage of iskafya? The effort! The hard work!

When a Jew has reached the level of is’hapcha, their divine service is done with ease, without any difficulties, with inner vitality and pleasure. It’s not a clever feat to do things you enjoy…

The true clever feat is to devote oneself to Hashem even when we don’t feel like it, even when we don’t want to, even when we have to force ourselves. In Chassidus, this work is called the service of bittul (self-nullification), and bittul represents a wonderful level in divine service.

It turns out that precisely the ‘deficiency’ in the service of iskafya, that the evil in one’s soul is still in full force, reveals a tremendous advantage that this service has even over the service of is’hapcha: the advantage of self-nullification to Hashem and devotion to Him through tremendous effort. And in order to internalize this advantage in our divine service today, we eat “bread of poverty” specifically, bread of complete self-nullification to the supernal will, even when we don’t feel like it!

A TASTE OF THE FUTURE

The Alter Rebbe explains that regarding the exodus from Egypt it says, “and I will also bring you up,” using the verb form for going up twice, indicating a double ascent, hinting that in the future Geula both advantages will be realized together, the advantage of iskafya and the advantage of is’hapcha. That is, even when a person’s heart and mind are completely refined and purified and desire only to fulfill G-d’s will, even then they do not serve G-d only because their intellect necessitates it and they enjoy it, but they serve G-d also out of self-nullification and out of a true acceptance of the yoke of heaven.

So why did they eat “rich matza” at the exodus from Egypt?

The above explanation of the Alter Rebbe, that the future Geula is already hinted at in the exodus from Egypt, teaches us that the future Geula also acts upon the exodus from Mitzrayim, meaning that already in Egypt the Jewish people had the ability to eat “rich matza,” that is, a higher level in accepting the yoke, which is also done through understanding and comprehension and with pleasure. A person can accept upon themselves the kingdom of heaven with understanding, they can accept the yoke of commandments with an inner feeling that explains to them why they should do so, one doesn’t have to live with a ‘dry’ and ‘grating’ acceptance of the yoke, one can mix in a little wine or oil, a little taste and aroma, a little intellect and emotion!

So why now, after the exodus from Egypt, is it forbidden to eat “rich matza?” What happened?

After the exodus from Egypt, at the time of the giving of the Torah, the Jewish people were elevated to an even higher level of self-nullification, like someone standing right before the king. In such a state a person is forbidden to show any movement at all, because even “one who gestures before the king is liable to death,” even a slight movement, even a small feeling of self-existence on the part of the person, is perceived as rebellion against the kingdom, and is utterly forbidden. Therefore, today we are required to have complete self-nullification, without any personal existence, something that is particularly evident in “bread of poverty,” matza without any addition of liquids (except water), symbolizing the complete service of iskafya!

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

And we’ll conclude with a story about the advantage of the service of iskafya even when one is already in a state of is’hapcha.

It is told about the Rebbe Rayatz, that once when he was in Warsaw, they served him a cup of hot tea mixed with milk. It was a particularly cold day, and the Rebbe did not drink from the cup.

The Chassid who served the cup of tea to the Rebbe asked in surprise: “Rebbe, why aren’t you drinking?”

The previous Rebbe answered: “Don’t make a big deal out of it, a little iskafya…”

The Chassid wondered: “Iskafya?! I thought that was only for coarse people who need to refrain from physical things, but iskafya for a person like you?!”

The previous Rebbe remarked: “Einer darf un einer vill! There is one who needs iskafya, and there is one who wants iskafya!”

Good Shabbos and Chag Kosher v’Samayach!

2