Bostoner Torah Insights Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in Hebrew and English Shabbos HaGadol (Parshas Metzora) – 12 Nissan 5784
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The custom of Boston is to bake Matzah for the Mitzvah of the Seder night on Erev Pesach after midday at the same time that the Korban Pesach would have been slaughtered in the times of the Beis HaMikdash. According to Halacha, the process of baking matzah should take no more than 18 minutes. Many matzah bakeries bake in less time and even though many are strict regarding the laws of Pesach, we do not find an opinion that puts the threshold below the 18-minute mark.
I recently heard a father asking his 7-year-old son what blessing to make on various food items. When the boy was shown a cake and asked what the proper Bracha was, the young boy answered correctly Borei Minei Mezonos. When I followed up by asking his son why Borei Pri HaAdama was not the correct blessing, the boy said that he was not taught that in his school. I explained to the boy that Chazal tell us that the cake is a significant improvement to the wheat which is Borei Pri HaAdama. The production of wheat involves planting, plowing, reaping, threshing, winnowing, and separating. The production of cake or bread requires the additional tasks of grinding, sifting, kneading and baking.
This is how man differs from the animal. An animal eats that which it finds in the field as it is. Man is able to take something that is found naturally and improve it with the intelligence and capabilities that Hashem has given him. However, in order that one should not think the praise for creating cake or bread should belong to man and not to Hashem, instead of saying Borei Pri HaAdama, we say Borei Minei Mezonot and HaMotzi Lechem Min HaAretz, to attribute the turning of wheat into cake/bread to the Creator who bestowed this knowledge and ability to do so upon us.
Part of the consequences of Adam HaRishon’s actions was “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” (Beraishis 3:19). Man will have to work harder than he did living in Gan Eden, but in exchange for this hard work he will have the ability to improve the world and benefit from these innovations.
Hashem gives man the opportunity to make improvements to the physical world and man praises Hashem for being given the opportunity to do so. We find this idea of improvement both by removing the Arlah of Bris Milah, a prerequisite for Korban Pesach, as well as the Mitzvah of Korban Pesach itself. Taking the object which the Egyptians mistakenly ascribe divinity to and instead showing how it is a creation of the Creator and it is to be used as a medium to serve Hashem by offering it as a Korban to Hashem.
Returning now to Matza. The five grains by themselves are not Chametz or Matzah. Once man improves the flour and water by mixing them and baking them, they are worthy of greater praise and blessing towards Hashem. However, why on Pesach is it a Mitzvah to eat Matza and a severe punishment of Karais to eat Chametz?
The reason behind eating Matzah at the Seder is required to be mentioned at the Pesach Seder in Maggid. The reason given is that we did not have enough time to bake bread properly due to the haste with which we prepared for the departure of Mitzrayim. Therefore, only Matzah and not Chametz was made and therefore we must eat Matza and Chometz is forbidden. However, why couldn’t Hashem have allotted more time to make bread? The process of Yetziyas Mitzrayim with the Ten Plagues took months and months. Why did there need to be such haste at the end?
Perhaps HaKadosh Baruch Hu did not give the Jewish People the leisurely time to bake bread to teach the importance of Zrizus or alacrity in our Avodas Hashem and the dangers of procrastination. On the individual level, although one is able to do Teshuva at any stage in life – even at the last moment – once your life is over it is too late. Pirkei Avos (2:15) teaches to “Repent one day before your death”, emphasizing the importance of not pushing off Teshuva until tomorrow, even though we anticipate a long lifetime. Similarly, eighteen minutes after the mixing of the flour and water, there is a chemical change of Chimutz that is irreversible. No matter how hard one may try to undo what was done – it is too late. On a national level, although the current Galus seems endless, there is a certain window of opportunity for each Jew to prepare for the Geulah Shalayma. The severity of Chametz and the importance of Matza reinforces the need for alacrity to prepare for Geulah and not Chas V’Shalom to be caught off-guard.
May this Pesach be a time of redemption for all Jews both individually and as a nation. May we be able to receive the Moshiach and Geula Shlayma speedily in our days, Amen.--
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