Why do we call it "Pesach," when God calls it "Matzah"?
A powerful teaching from B'nai Yissachar, taught in the name of Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev...
We should carefully examine this fact: Throughout the entire Torah, this festival is called “The Feast of Matzot.” Yet, Jews call the festival “The Feast of Passover.”
Give ear to this teaching -- we’ve heard it taught in the name of the Holy, Renowned Rabbi whose Jewish leadership, teaching, and holiness are great, our teacher, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev (may the memories of the righteous and holy be a blessing) --
Look: In Torah it is written (Exod 12:39): “And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had taken out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, since they had been driven out of Egypt
and could not delay; nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.” For this, God praised them through the words of His prophet: “Thus says the Eternal: I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved Me as a bride, following me in the desert, in a land unsown” (Jer 2:2). Note that they didn’t ask, “should we take provisions?” They simply trusted in the Eternal, and were sure of His salvation. And so they took only dough, to bake unleavened cakes.
And look: the Passover sacrifice that the Jews ate in Temple times was performed because the Omnipresent One passed over the houses of our ancestors, etc...
This is why God, in the Torah, calls the holiday “The Feast of Matzot.” In doing so, God is praising the Jewish People
for baking unleavened bread which they brought out of Egypt as cakes of matzot, and for not taking along provisions for themselves.
Meanwhile, the Jewish people call the holiday “Passover” in praise of the Holy One, “who passed over the homes of the Israelites...when He struck Egypt, but saved our houses” (Exod 12:27).
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