Generous Gifts Funds Listings Summer Bulletin July 2010
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Cantorial Notes
Matzoh: The Secret of Our People's History
By now, Purim is behind us as we begin preparations for what the rabbis call “Our Season of Liberation.” On Passover, through our seder meal, we reenact the ancient story of our people’s journey from slavery to freedom, from dark to light, from ignorance to knowing.
If there is one element of this holiday that even non-Jews understand, it’s matzoh. We are lucky enough to live in an area with a sufficient Jewish population so that “matzoh pizza” is offered and matzoh is served even in non-kosher restaurants. The commandment to eat matzoh is clear: “On the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat matzoh.” (Exodus 12:18). In ancient times, the matzoh was eaten along with the Passover lamb-sacrifice and maror. Today, even though we can’t eat the sacrificial lamb, we all are still obligated independently to eat matzoh.
Our sages understood that matzoh is more than flat, tasteless bread. It is the food of a people on the run, a simple food that represents a complex idea, one sovereign God.
The mystical text of the Zohar calls it “the food of faith.” The Zohar saw the flat matzoh as the opposite of puffy, yeasty bread, which represents the puffed-up ego. By eating this tasteless bread, we identify with the afflicted and help suppress our selfish tendencies. For our sages, matzoh represents simplicity, and regular bread sophistaction. Only by transcending the ego can we internalize our faith and become truly free.
On a practical note, this year, if you have never before purchased what is known as “shemurah” matzoh, I encourage you to try some. It can be found in most stores and, though pricey, is worth it. This matzoh is guarded by knowledgeable Jews from wheat seed until it is finished and made in to round, tasty cakes. The taste is very different from the square, industrial matzoh we have come to accept as our standard. It is much more of a flatbread that is closer to what the ancient Israelites baked on hot rocks as they hurried to leave Egypt.
But no matter what kind of matzoh you eat, keep in mind that this simple item contains within it the secret of our people’s history—faith.
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SHPIEL PARTICIPANTS THIS YEAR! “MIDDLE EAST SIDE STORY” WAS A SUCCESS DUE TO YOUR HARD WORK
Jane Eisenstat
Bruce Greene
Dave Harris
Alan Janoff
Merle Kalishman
Vicki Kalmus
Evi Meinhardt
Jessica Mester
Ron Meyers
Wayne Polay
Marilyn Rosenbaum
David Wien
