Passover (Pesach) is NOT the Biblical name for the holiday, but rather "Hag HaMatzot" (The festival of unleavened bread". Pesach is actually the name of the sacrifice, which was offered on the afternoon BEFORE the actual beginning of the holiday, and was eaten in the evening. Occasionally, the Torah refers to that afternoon as Hag HaPesach. By Talmudic times, the name "Pesach" had "stuck".

Unleavened bread has been used since time immemorial as the food of peasants and slaves. With the Exodus, it takes on a dual meaning; it is the bread of affliction, and is the bread of freedom. The intertwining of the two contradictory concepts is central to virtually all the ceremonies of Passover. Life is not monolithic; there is the bitter and the sweet. The Torah's explanation of the matzah is that when the Israelites left Egypt, it was in haste. There was no time for the bread to rise in their kneading troughs. This is the explanation that we recite during the Seder. However, the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice a lamb, and eat it at night before leaving Egypt, with Matzah and bitter herbs (Maror; to be discussed in another post). Many see this as problematic. Why are they eating matzah, before the Exodus? Now we can understand. They are summing up centuries of affliction. They had been eating matzah as slaves. This was a last goodbye to bondage. The matzah they ate on their way out had a new meaning; freedom. The same element, with a new and wonderful meaning.

The Israelites were commanded to reenact this ceremony annually, but not in haste, as one about to flee. Rather, calmly, relating to what had happened, what is happening, and what is yet to happen. There is a beautiful Sephardic custom, as the middle matzah is broken near the beginning of the Seder, the broken piece is placed in a bag, and given to a child. The child leaves the house, and then knocks on the door. The leader of the Seder asks "Who is there?" "A Jew" replies the child. "Where are you coming from?" asks the leader. "From Egypt!" says the child. "Where are you going?" asks the leader. "To Jerusalem!" replies the child. All those present shout out "next year in Jerusalem!" at this point, as opposed to the Ashkenazi practice of saying it at the end of the Seder. The leader then asks "Why have you come?" The child says "I have some questions", whereupon he walks in, sits at the table, and asks the traditional Four Questions. (I must admit that I am tearing up just writing about it).

This seems simple enough. But when we seek to buy matzah, we are faced with a confusing array. Machine Shemurah Matzah, Machine regular, machine 18 minute, hand shemurah; Ashkenazi style. Hand Shemurah Sephardic style, hand shemurah Djerba style, hand shemurah Yemenite style. Erev Pesach (Passover eve) matzah. Egg matzah. And, although I'm not sure it is made anymore, the German Matzot Mitzvah. What are the differences? Why would one prefer one over the other? That will be my next post.