The Message of the Matzah

Thousands of years after the Exodus, we’re still being redeemed

I

recently saw the most beautiful insight into matzah and its message. In the sefer Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh, the anonymous author discusses the Targum’s chiddush that the matzos were baked by the sun when Bnei Yisrael carried the raw dough on their backs as they escaped Mitzrayim.

He explains that there were three steps that went into making those matzos: mixing the ingredients, forming the dough, and baking them. Bnei Yisrael undertook the first two steps; it was Hashem who performed the third step, causing the matzos to bake in the sun as Bnei Yisrael walked through the desert toward the Yam Suf. Contained in here is the message that Chazal tell us (Avos 2:17), “It’s not for you to finish the work, and it’s also not for you to be absolved of completing it.”

It’s Hashem’s Handiwork

This is theme of so much of our life, and particularly the story of our Geulah from Mitzrayim. We do our hishtadlus, but it’s Hashem Who brings the results to fruition.

The pesukim describe Bnei Yisrael’s cries to Hashem: “And they called to Hashem, and their cries ascended, and He heard, and He knew.” (Shemos 22:25) It was these cries that engendered the Geulah. We need to develop emunah that Hashem will bring about redemption, but at the same time, He wants to see that we try, so we must do our hishtadlus of calling out to Him. In the same vein, Hashem would split the sea, but first Nachshon ben Aminadav had to jump in before the miracle could take place.