Matzah vs Chametz

Haggadah Section: Yachatz

Why is matzah so basic to the celebration of Passover? Why is Passover called Chag HaMatzos, "the Holiday of Matzos" by the Torah? ...Why has matzah come to symbolize human freedom?

Matzah has many aspects. It is the "bread of affliction," poor man's bread, eaten by slaves. It is also the bread of liberation and freedom....

Bread is the staff of life, but matzah is the most basic bread, the simplest food made by man. Matzah involves the amalgamation of the three basic elements that define civilized man: grain, water and fire. No external element beyond flour and water is permitted to define or influence its form. If the mixture of flour and water was allowed to stand for more than 18 minutes, the process of fermentation has already begun to take place...

The intervention of this outside force is a symbolic expression of the intrusion of outside forces on man; forces that sway people from their chosen determined path ..., compromising human independence, autonomy and choice. ...

What is the difference between chametz (leaven) and matzah? Time. Nothing else. The ingredients are the same. By definition, dough made of flour and water that stands for more than 18 minutes before it is fully baked becomes chametz , leaven. Because matzah is bread that is not leavened, it represents exercising independent, disciplined will, uninfluenced by external forces. Matzah is the opposite of chametz .

Matzos are baked quickly, in an effort to overcome the influences and limitations of time. We bake flat, crisp matzah in order to reenact the Exodus, when the Children of Israel fled Egypt in a hurry, as the Torah says: "You shall eat matzot during seven days…bread of suffering, for you departed Egypt in great haste." What was the hurry?

For the above reasons, the words "mitzvah" and "matzah" are analogous. Our Sages teach, "mitzvah she'haba'ah leyadcha al tachmitzena, when a mitzvah comes your way, do not allow it to ferment" i.e. when the opportunity to do a mitzvah arises, do it quickly. ...[We are] expected to conquer time, to live beyond time, to associate his life with God, Who is timeless and eternal. ... the present is now -- this is why it is so precious....

Source:  
http://www.aish.com/h/pes/t/g/the_inner_meaning_of_matzah.html

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