1

"This matzah that we eat -- for what reason? Because the dough of our fathers did not have time to become leavened before the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them."[13]

In the discourses of the Rebbeim it is explained why this reason -- "it did not have time to become leavened" -- is given for why we eat matzah on Pesach. [This reason seems superfluous] because the commandment to eat matzah was already given before [they left Egypt.[14]

They explain that this particular reason is given] because in the commandment to eat matzah it is written,[15] "In the evening you must eat matzos," the word matzos written without the letter vav. However, in the verse [quoted in the Haggadah][16] "They baked matzos from the dough that they brought out of Egypt," the word matzos is written with the letter vav.

[The reason for the absence of the letter vav] is because the commandment to eat matzah was before midnight, when they were still in Egypt, "before the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself to them." Therefore, in this reference to matzah, the word matzos is spelled without the letter vav [which would indicate a special G-dly revelation].

However, the verse, "They baked matzos from the dough that they brought out of Egypt" speaks about the matzah which they baked (and ate) after they came out of Egypt ("the dough that they brought out of Egypt") -- which occurred after midnight, and after "the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them." Therefore, [because at this time there was this special G-dly revelation,] in this reference to matzah, the word matzos is spelled with the letter vav.

This also explains why regarding the matzah which was before midnight it is written,[17] "Be careful regarding the matzos," i.e. that one must be careful to prevent them from becoming leavened; whereas regarding the matzah which was after midnight it is written,[18] "They baked matzos from the dough...because it was not leavened," which indicates that by itself it would not become leavened [even if one wasn't careful. The explanation of this is] because the matzah of after midnight is on the level of matzos as it is spelled with the letter vav, which is the revelation of "the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He." Therefore, [because of this special revelation this matzah] one does not need special precautions to prevent it from becoming leavened.

However, this distinction between the matzah before and after midnight was only on the first Pesach, before Mattan Torah, not [with the matzah eaten] after Mattan Torah. This is so because although the matzah that we eat on Pesach night is before midnight, it is nevertheless on the level of matzos as spelled with a vav -- i.e. that it (also) has the quality of the revelation of "the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He."

This explains why the Haggadah says, "This matzah that we eat -- for what reason? Because the dough... did not have time to become leavened, (i.e. that by itself it would not become leavened) before the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them."

2

One can say that the matzah that we eat today after Mattan Torah is even higher than those matzos from the first Pesach, with the letter vav, which were before Mattan Torah. The revelation of "the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He" associated with our matzah is a higher revelation because it follows our fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos the entire year (before Pesach).

This is similar to the advantage of the revelation of Shavuos Z'man Mattan Toraseinu -- which follows the counting of the Omer -- over the revelation of Pesach. Although the revelation of Pesach was extremely high ([G-d Himself] "in His glory and His essence"), nevertheless, since this revelation came from above, it was only temporary.

Through our service from below of counting the Omer (after the revelation of the Exodus from Egypt), we draw down the 49 Gates [of Binah]. In addition, after the shleimus of these 49 Gates, we also draw down the 50th Gate (which we also draw down through our service, as the verse says,[19] "You shall count 50 days"). In the 50th Gate itself, in addition to drawing down the lower level, which has a connection with the 49 Gates (similar to Arich); we draw down also the higher level, which is higher than any connection with the 49 Gates (similar to Atik).

This revelation is even higher than that of the Exodus from Egypt.

There is an another advantage of our matzah of after Mattan Torah over their matzah (in addition to the fact that the revelation of our matzah follows our service of Torah and mitzvos before Pesach.) This is because the eating of matzah is itself a mitzvah. Their matzah of after midnight was (primarily) "because the dough of our fathers did not have time to become leavened" (due to the revelation from Above), and did not involve any effort (associated with the fulfillment of mitzvos). However, the matzah that we eat after Mattan Torah is connected with human effort, i.e. fulfilling the mitzvah of eating matzah.

3

We still must understand, however, why we say "This matzah that we eat -- for what reason? Because the dough of our fathers did not have time to become leavened." [This is puzzling because] the matzah that we eat (after Mattan Torah) does have the advantage of human effort and that of fulfilling a mitzvah (and among mitzvos themselves, the mitzvos after Mattan Torah). How then can we say that the matzah we eat is because "it did not have time to become leavened" (i.e. that it was matzah instead of chametz automatically, because there was no time [not because of their efforts])?

The explanation is [first of all] because the mitzvah of relating the story of yetzias Mitzrayim is to tell about the Exodus from Egypt as it was then. Another (and the main) reason is because "If the Holy One, Blessed be He, had not taken our fathers out of Egypt...we would have remained enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt."[20] Therefore, although we are already after the Exodus from Egypt and after Mattan Torah, the previous situation exists even now (and particularly on the night of Pesach).

Therefore (in telling the story of yetzias Mitzrayim in the Haggadah) we say, "This matzah that we eat...is because the dough of our fathers did not have time to become leavened before the King of the king of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them." This is because the matzah that we eat today before midnight [has both advantages:] it has the advantage of matzah which is eaten before midnight -- which is the advantage of service from below through fulfilling G-d's command (as it was before Mattan Torah); and in addition, the advantage of the matzah eaten after midnight -- which is the advantage that "it did not have time to become leavened" (i.e. that it was impossible for leaven to be in it) because of the revelation from Above.

In addition, the matzah that we eat also has the advantage of Mattan Torah, i.e. the fulfillment of a mitzvah after the Torah was given.

Even moreso, this matzah has an advantage like that of the matzah eaten on the Seventh Day of Pesach, which is optional (reshus, higher than something obligatory) -- similar to the eating of l'asid lavo.

4

May it be His Will -- in particular because we are concluding (as is customary) with giving charity -- that just as the conclusion of Pesach is the Seventh Day of Pesach; and moreso [outside Eretz Yisrael], Acharon Shel Pesach, on which the radiance of the light of Mashiach shines openly, for which reason the Haftorah for Acharon Shel Pesach is about the coming of Mashiach --

(which can be tied in to the fact that it is the eighth day of Pesach, because in the Haftorah it is written,[21] "On that day, G-d shall again, a second time, stretch forth His arm to take possession of the remnant of His people who will remain" from the seven areas of Galus (Ashur, Egypt, etc. and the eight islands of the sea) and bring them to a state of "eight," the state of the true and complete redemption)

-- that He fulfill in the plain sense, with all the details, and also b'pnimiyus, the promise that "the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the ocean bed."[22]

   

Notes:

13. (Back to text) Haggadah for Pesach (Kehot, 5745, p.30).

14. (Back to text) Therefore, even if there would have been time to make leavened bread, we still would eat matzah on Pesach because of the commandment which had been given previously.

15. (Back to text) Ex. 12:18.

16. (Back to text) Ex. 12:39.

17. (Back to text) Ex. 12:17.

18. (Back to text) Ex. 12:18.

19. (Back to text) Lev. 23:16.

20. (Back to text) Haggadah for Pesach (Kehot, 5745, p.14).

21. (Back to text) Isaiah 11:11.

22. (Back to text) Ibid., 11:9.