This is the bread of affliction that 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 Pesacḥ. Now we are here; next year in the land of Israel. Now – slaves; next year we shall be free. – Haggadah

THIS MATZA – that we eat: what does it recall? It recalls the dough of our ancestors, which did not have time to rise before the King, King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself and redeemed them, as it is said: “They baked the dough that they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for it had not risen, for they were cast out of Egypt and could not delay, and they made no provision for the way.” – Haggadah

Matzah delivers a mixed message at the Pesach Seder. On the one hand it is presented as the “bread of affliction” and then again in the Seder as the boarding pass, the ticket to freedom? Which is it?! Is it meant to evoke bitter and harsh neuro-associations or a completely positive and hopeful message?!

Matzah is made out of two primary ingredients; 1) flour from any of the 5 grains, wheat, barley, oat, spelt, or rye. 2) water. There are two other hidden factors that determine whether or not the product is Matzah or not; fire and time. When the flour and water come into contact with one another, the clock begins. There are 18 minutes and not a second more to roll the mixture into a dough, flatten it out, and bake it in an oven before it qualifies as Matzah for Pesach. After 18 minutes the Matzah is not only disqualified, it is rendered Chometz, an absolutely forbidden element on Pesach.

In Jewish homes around the world right now, on the cusp of Pesach, and for thousands of years, great Jewish mothers happily and frenetically rid their holy homes of Chometz, which is considered poison for the Jewish Soul on Pesach. If a single Cheerio is found a Hazmat team might need to be called in with flame throwers to destroy that deleterious agent. It’s only a slight exaggeration!

The Torah spells out a strict consequence for consuming Chometz on Pesach and every good and decent mother desires to protect their children and family from moral and mortal harm.

What are the ingredients that comprise Chometz? 1) flour from any of the 5 grains, wheat, barley, oat, spelt, or rye. 2) water. After 18 minutes that same admixture naturally becomes Chometz. The same stuff that goes into Matzah is the same stuff that Chometz is made out of. Wait a second! If Chometz is so destructive and dangerous, representing the negative inclination and everything threatening and harmful then the last thing you would want to bring onto your table on the Sacred Night of Pesach is Matzah. Not only that but it crowns the Seder table and it is required to be eaten by everyone.

Matzah and Chometz are literally separated by seconds and yet they are worlds apart. The letters that spell Chometz and Matzah in Hebrew are also almost exactly the same. CHES – MEM – TZADI =CHOMETZ. MEM – TZADI -HEY = MATZAH. Two letters are exactly the same, MEM and TZADI and the two different ones are HEY and CHES which are visually, in their shape, almost identical. The difference between HEY and CHES is a little space that allows the breath to flow or not.

So, what is MATZAH? It is disciplined CHOMETZ! What is CHOMETZ? It is undisciplined MATZAH! This is the lesson of freedom on Pesach. We do not retreat from anything negative. We discipline it and make proper and appropriate use of all the ingredients in life. Fire is not bad, atomic energy is not bad, and technology is essentially not bad. It depends on how it is used. Good fences make good neighbors and potential CHOMETZ can be converted into something glorious if we employ discipline, and we remain loyal to a prescribed plan. It’s been said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!” MATZOS, the same letters as MITZVOS, like any other diet or discipline, is not easy, but that’s our plan to achieve freedom.