Pesach - Matzo - a Recipe for
Revelation
by Ari Shaer
ARI613@aol.com
There are two sides
to the Mitsvot of Pesach.
On the negative side there is "Baal Yiraeh uh Baal
Yimatze" - you shall
neither have leaven in your possession ( even your leaven in
someone else's
property) nor shall you have leaven within your property (even if
it is not
yours you cannot have leaven - anyone's leaven - in your
property).
On the positive side there is, of course, the eating of the
Matzo.
What is the significance of these commandments?
The significance may be summarized in the statement "Sur
m'rah ve'assey Tov"
- "flee from evil and (then) do good." In order to be
able to do that which
is good we must first remove all that is evil from our internal
and external
environment. Then we will be in a position to do that which is
truly good.
Chometz or leaven has traditionally been compared to the
"yetzer hara" or
evil inclination. In keeping with this analogy we must, before
Passover,
endeavor to remove all of the influence of the yetzer hara. We do
this both
internally, by removing all traces of the yetzer hara from our
personality
(Baal Yiraeh) as well as from our environment which includes the
unwanted
influence of friends and family (Baal Yimatze).
Once this is completed either by "fire" (teshuvah) or
by "water" (total
immersion in torah - inspired holiness) then we are ready for the
next step -
the eating of the Matzo.
So what is the symbolic significance of the Matzo?
As Rabbi Gamliel says in the Haggada "What does the eating
of the Matzo mean?
It's significance is due to the fact that the dough of our
ancestor's in
Egypt did not have time to properly ferment. Hashem became
revealed to them
and they were redeemed."
So what, may I ask is the connection here between fermentation
and
revelation?
In fermentation we are dealing with a strictly physical process.
You buy a
(kosher for Passover) cake mix, add eggs and water, stir, mix,
heat and bake
and you have a cake.
In revelation we are dealing with a spiritual process. So what is
the
connection between baking and revelation?
I believe that the connection has to do with "Sur m'rah
ve'assey Tov" -
"flee from evil and (then) do good." In any deal, no
matter how good the
offer seems, given enough time our yetzer hara (evil inclination)
will find
faults with it (or him or her).
So too with revelation. Hashem did not give our collective yetzer
hara time
to think over the deal. As soon as we left Egypt we experienced
the wonders
of revelation - of being close to Hashem Yisborach - at the
splitting of the
Red Sea when even a child could have a mystical experience that
even the
prophet Ezekiel (Yecheskel) could not. We did not have time to
think it over
and over and over. It was just done.
In commemoration of this we remove all influence of the yetzer
hara form
ourselves and our environment in accordance with "Baal
Yiraeh uh Baal
Yimatze."
Now we are really ready for revelation.
This is symbolized by the Matzo - the piece of dough that did not
have time
to ferment.
Revelation is best experienced without precondition and without
warning. We
do not want to give the yetzer hara to much time think about it
and filter
our experience.
The yetzer hara might say "yes, I like commandments #'s
3,15-17 and perhaps
#99 but I will have to think about the rest."
The eating of the Matzo is all about taking Hashem's revelation
straight and
undiluted into a body, mind, soul and environment that is
guaranteed
one-hundred percent
free of the evil inclination.
On Pesach night, we are truly free. Free to serve Hashem.