Temple Aliyah
Torah Talk 
Wishing You A Peaceful And Restful ShabbatApril 13 - 19, 2014

Torah Talk is created to help spur conversation about the themes in the weekly Torah portion (parasha).  We hope that it will become a valuable addition to your week - both at your Shabbat table and during the rest of your daily routine.
Shabbat Hol Hamoed Pesah  

 

Throughout the year, Jews follow a cycle of Torah readings that moves forward, every Shabbat, through the five books of the Torah. On festivals, we set aside the regular cycle and read material that is chosen for its thematic connection to the holy day.

 

Following the sin of the Golden Calf, God tells Moses to lead the people to the land He has promised, but that God Himself will no longer go in their midst. Moses once again steps forward on behalf of the people and God relents. Moses asks to see God, but God refuses, saying, "Man may not see Me and live." Moses ascends Mount Sinai and receives the revelation of God's Thirteen Attributes.

 

God tells Moses that He will drive the Canaanites out of the land He has promised to Israel. For their part, the Israelites must destroy the Canaanite holy places and shun idolatry.

God speaks to Moses about Shabbat and the three pilgrimage festivals, including "the Feast of Unleavened Bread."  

 

You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread - eating unleavened bread for seven days, as I have commanded you - at the set time of the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you went forth from Egypt. (Exodus 34:18)

A.     This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Mitzrayim. All who are hungry, let them enter and eat. All who are in need, let them come celebrate Pesach. Now we are here. Next year in the land of Israel. Now we are enslaved. Next year we will be free. (Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom, p. 31)

B.     On the surface, matzah represents the cakes that our ancestors baked in haste amid frenetic preparations for departure from the house of bondage. Yet, delving for deeper meanings, the Rabbis identify leaven with the evil inclination, the urge that gives rise to wrongdoing. They point to the philological similarity between the two Hebrew words, hametz and matzah, and they ponder the implications of this resemblance. It takes mere moments for unleaven to become leaven, and it takes even less time for good intentions to become subverted. The Alexandrian philosopher Philo derives this moral: just as leaven is banned because it is "puffed up,"" so we must guard against the self-righteousness that puffs us up with false pride. (Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom, p. 17)

C.    "You shall observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread [ha-matzot]..." (Exodus 12:17) Rabbi Josiah said: Do not read it this way, but "You shall observe the commandments" (ha-mitzvot, spelled the same but with different vocalization). Just as you should not be slow when making matzah, lest it leaven, so also you should not allow a mitzvah "to leaven." If a mitzvah comes your way, do it immediately. (Mekhilta Pisha 9)

D.    The obsessive search and destruction of hametz from our homes has spiritual as well as ritual overtones. Yeast came to symbolize arrogance because the bread raised itself above the level of matza though it was only filled with pockets of hot air. (The Family Participation Haggadah: A Different Night, Noam Zion and David Dishon, p. 15)

E.     Matzah takes no advantage of the human technological ingenuity and creativity that allows man to raise the dough more than simple flour and water that are created by God. Hametz is the epitome of human involvement in nature. Thus, "non-leaven" is the symbol of the survival and ongoing existence of the Jewish people solely through the spirit of God. (Ha'amek Davar (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin), 1817-1893, Lithuania)

F.     Unleavened bread is the leveler that raises us all to the same lofty level. Outside the battle rages between the haves and the have-nots, between those who have more and those who have less. Too often the struggle for daily bread is attended by feverish competition, tension and trauma. But at this most egalitarian of banquets, bread of the most unpretentious kind is the uncommon denominator that makes all Israel haverim (kin). (Passover Haggadah: The Feast of Freedom p. 28)

 

The following questions can be used as a basis for a discussion.  Feel Free to find your own answers and explore each question in greater detail:

1.     In the Torah, Pesach is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Its essential mitzvot are eating matzah and avoiding hametz. But beyond their definition as two types of food, our commentators find many symbolic meanings in hametz and matzah. Which of them do you find meaningful?

2.     How did you feel as Pesach approached - did you look forward to or dread the days of matzah? Do you regard matzah as a symbol of oppression or freedom?

3.     How might you explain the meaning of hametz and matzah to a non-Jewish friend?

If you wish additional material on the parasha (Torah portion of the week) feel free to check out the following sites:

 

http://www.g-dcast.com -- Animated Take on the Parasha

http://www.ajula.edu/Content/ContentUnit.asp?CID=187&u=6277&t=0-- Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Online Learning Portal

http://www.jtsa.edu/Conservative_Judaism/JTS_Torah_Commentary.xml-- Torah from the Jewish Theological Seminary  
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