Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim/2

Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Overview

Commentators disagree regarding to what extent the Israelites who left Egypt observed the laws of chametz and matzah.  Ramban asserts that even before leaving Egypt, Hashem had commanded that the people observe the entire seven day holiday of Chag HaMatzot.  The people did not eat leavened bread, not because there was insufficient time to bake it, but because it had been prohibited.  Ibn Ezra, in contrast, claims that there was no obligation to refrain from chametz in Egypt at all.  The only reason the people ate matzah upon leaving was because in the haste of the redemption they had no choice. A middle position is put forth by R. Yose HaGelili who maintains that chametz was prohibited only on the day of the Exodus itself.

Seven Day Prohibition of Chametz

The Israelites celebrated a seven day holiday in Egypt, just as they did in future generations.  Chametz was prohibited for the entire week.

Sources:Tanna Kama in Tosefta PesachimPesachim 8:21About the Tosefta, RambanShemot 12:21-51Shemot 13:2Vayikra 23:2Bemidbar 9:1Devarim 16:2Devarim 16:2About R. Moshe b. Nachman, AbarbanelShemot 12:15About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel

Hashem's commands to Moshe: one holiday or two? According to this position, the Pesach offering and the following seven day holiday of Chag HaMatzot comprise one integrated unit.¹ Hashem commanded Moshe about both since both were to be observed in Egypt.

Which commands were relayed to the nation in Egypt? Ramban explains that even though the Torah only records Moshe relaying the commands regarding the Pesach offering,² it can be assumed that he relayed all that Hashem had told him beforehand, including the laws of chametz and matzah.³ When verse 28 writes, "וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה י"י אֶת מֹשֶׁה" this indicates that the nation observed all that Hashem had commanded.  As such, even before they left Egypt, the nation was planning to eat only matzah and not chametz..

"וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת הַבָּצֵק... עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם" – Ramban explains that the real reason that the nation baked matzot was due to Hashem's command not to have leavened bread.  This verse is only coming to explain that due to their hasty departure, they did not have time to bake matzah in Egypt proper, but were instead forced to do so en route.⁴

Institution of Chag HaMatzot - why? This position must explain what was the purpose of the original command:

• Future event – The Avudraham, quoting R. Yosef Kimchi, suggests that the command was given based on the future event of being chased out.  Hashem knew in advance that they would be forced to flee, without time to bake matzot, and gave them a command which they would only understand later.  This explanation, however, fails to account for the fact that if the nation were baking matzah due to the command, the fact that they were chased out would have had no practical consequences. 
• Highlight haste – Abarbanel, thus, explains that Hashem wanted to highlight the speed in which the nation left, which they would not appreciate unless they had previously been commanded to bake matzah.  He points out that even though they were never planning on baking anything other than matzah, they did not even have time to do that.  Moreover, they moved so quickly that the bread had still not risen by the time they arrived in Sukkot and had time to bake it.⁵
• Poor man's bread – In contrast to the above, Ramban explains that the matzah was supposed to commemorate the meager food that the people were given to eat as slaves in Egypt.  It is not clear, however, why, at the time of the Exodus, it would be necessary for the Israelites to reenact what they lived daily.

Why seven days specifically? This position might suggest that there is no special significance to the length of the holiday. Many festivals were set to be seven days long.  Abarbanel adds that had the holiday only been one day long, its significance would not be felt since often someone might go for a day without eating leavened bread.  Moreover, Hashem wanted the nation to celebrate from the day of the Exodus until the drowning of Paroh (the final stage of the redemption).

"שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תֹּאכַל עָלָיו מַצּוֹת לֶחֶם עֹנִי כִּי בְחִפָּזוֹן יָצָאתָ" – Ramban and Abarbanel disagree in their understanding of this verse, each reading it in line with their position regarding the reason for the holiday's institution mentioned above:

• Two reasons – According to Ramban, this verse gives two reasons for the obligation to eat matzah, the haste of the redemption and the fact that matzah represents "לֶחֶם עֹנִי". He might say that only the second reason applied to the Israelites in Egypt (as the first had yet to happen when they were commanded to eat matzah), but in Devarim Moshe is speaking to future generations who are also commemorating the events that occurred while leaving.
• One reason – Abarbanel, in contrast, highlights only the explanation relating to the haste of the redemption "כִּי בְחִפָּזוֹן יָצָאתָ".  He explains that "לֶחֶם עֹנִי" is a description of matzah and not a reason for its being eaten.

Matzah with the Pesach offering – These sources would explain that the command to eat matzah with the offering was part of the larger command to eat matzah and refrain from chametz the entire week long.  The reason for both were one and the same.

Which takes precedence – eating matzah or refraining from chametz? Both Ramban and Abarbanel asserts that throughout the week, one is permitted, but not obligated to eat matzah.  Since they maintain that the commandment did not relate to commemorating a historical seven day event of eating matzah, this is logical.  In fact, according to this approach it is possible that refraining from leavened bread is really the focus of the holiday⁶ while eating matzah is simply the alternative left if one wants a bread-like food.

Laws of Pesach in Shemot 12:43-49

• Applicable in Egypt – Ramban maintains that the laws in these verses also applied in Egypt, as proven form the summary statement which follows, " וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כׇּל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה י"י".‎⁷ He explains that they are separated from the initial laws of Pesach for literary reasons.
• Laws for the future – Abarbanel disagrees, and maintains that these laws applied only to future generations, which is why they were commanded separately from the earlier ones.⁸ The summary statement only teaches that in the future the nation did as commanded.⁹

Commands of Shemot 13:3-8 – This position must explain why, if Moshe had already relayed the laws of Chag HaMatzot to the nation, he does so again in Chapter 13:

• Ramban implies that these laws were relayed after the Exodus to teach the nation that they were to apply in the Wilderness.¹⁰
• Abarbanel, instead, suggests that Hashem introduced the new law regarding consecration of firstborns and wanted to juxtapose it with the laws of Pesach and Chag HaMatzot since the threesome together speak to the various aspects of the redemption.  In addition, there is a new emphasis here on passing these teachings to the new generation.

Chag HaMatzot in the Wilderness – According to Ramban, just as the nation kept both Pesach and Chag HaMatzot while in Egypt, they continued to do so during their sojourn in the wilderness.¹¹

No Prohibition of Chametz

In Egypt, the Children of Israel did not celebrate Chag HaMatzot.  Though they ate the Pesach sacrifice with matzah, they were neither prohibited from eating chametz, nor obligated to eat matzah the week afterwards.

Sources:Mishna PesachimPesachim 9:5About the Mishna, Ibn EzraShemot Long Commentary 12:14-51Shemot Long Commentary 13:8Shemot Long Commentary 40:2Shemot Short Commentary 12:14Shemot Short Commentary 13:5About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, R. Yosef ibn KaspiShemot 12:15:21About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi, Rashbaz, ShadalShemot 12:14Shemot 12:21Shemot 13:3About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto, Hoil Moshe, R. David Zvi HoffmannShemot 12, IntroductionShemot 12:14-15Shemot 12:39Shemot 12:46, 50About R. David Zvi Hoffmann

Hashem's command to Moshe: one holiday or two? According to these commentators, Hashem commanded Moshe about two distinct celebrations: Chag HaPesach (12:1-13) which refers to the Pesach sacrifice which was to be eaten on the fourteenth of Nissan at twilight, and Chag HaMatzot (12:14-20) which refers to the future seven day holiday in which the nation was supposed to eat matzah and refrain from eating chametz.¹²

Which commands were relayed to the nation in Egypt? Moshe relayed only those commands which were immediately relevant to the nation in Egypt, those regarding the Pesach offering (12:21-27).  Since Chag HaMatzot was intended only for future generations (וְחַגֹּתֶם אֹתוֹ חַג לַי"י לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם) and the people were not obligated to celebrate it in Egypt, the nation were first told it about it only after they left (in 13:3-8).¹³

Why no Chag HaMatzot? According to this position the act which Chag HaMatzot was instituted to commemorate had not yet happened,¹⁴ so there was nothing to mark.  R. D"Z Hoffmann and the Hoil Moshe add that it would not make sense that as the nation was about to embark on a journey in the wilderness, that they would be commanded to celebrate a seven day holiday, especially when creative work would have been prohibited on the very day that they were supposed to leave.¹⁵

Why was Moshe told about the holiday earlier? These sources might suggest that Hashem commanded Moshe about both the laws for the present and the future together, since they are linked, and unlike the Israelites, Moshe would be able to handle information that related only to the future.

"וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת הַבָּצֵק... עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם" – These sources point to this verse as proof that the nation was not prohibited from eating chametz, as it suggests that had they not been chased out, the people were planning on baking leavened bread.¹⁶  Only because they had no time were they not able to.

Institution of Chag HaMatzot – These sources explain that the seven day holiday was instituted to commemorate the fact that the nation did not even have time for their bread to rise before being chased out of Egypt, forcing them to eat matzah.

Why seven days specifically?

• Ibn Ezra explains that the people were on the run until Paroh drowned in Yam Suf seven days after the Exodus.¹⁷  As such, they subsisted on matzah for the entire week.  In commemoration, future generations do the same.
• Ibn Kaspi, in contrast, asserts that the choice of seven days is unrelated to the original act which was being commemorated and it is possible that the people only ate matzot for a day or two. Hashem chose seven days since that is the norm for holiday length in the Torah.¹⁸ 

Which takes precedence – eating matzah or refraining from chametz?

• Obligation of matzah -– Ibn Ezra maintains that according to the simple sense of the verses, it is not just permissible to eat matzah for the seven days of the holiday, but there is an obligation to do so throughout.  This works with his understanding that the point of the holiday is to commemorate the nation's similar eating of matzah.  According to him, it is possible that the prohibition of chametz simply comes to highlight the eating of matzah. 
•  Prohibition of chametz – One might disagree, however, and claim that the point being remembered is the fact that the bread did not have time to rise.  Eating matzah was simply the alternative left to the nation, but not important in its own right.  Thus, throughout he holiday one is prohibited from eating chametz, but not obligated to eat matzah.

"שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תֹּאכַל עָלָיו מַצּוֹת לֶחֶם עֹנִי" – These sources might suggest that the phrase "לֶחֶם עֹנִי" is simply a description of the matzah,¹⁹ not the reason for eating it for seven days. Only the following words "כִּי בְחִפָּזוֹן יָצָאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם" provide the reason for the holiday.

Eating matzah with the Pesach offering – According to this position the reason for eating matzah with the Pesach is unconnected to the eating of matzah throughout the week of Chag HaMatzot.  A variety of reasons are given for the command:

• Haste – Ibn Kaspi²⁰ suggests that this obligation is related to many other aspects of the Pesach offering, including its being roasted and eaten ready to go, which are symbolic of haste.  He does not explain if this was related to the need to eat the sacrifice before the Plague of the Firstborn or due to the speedy nature of the redemption.   Either way this haste is distinct from the later haste of the actual exodus when there was no time for the bread to rise.
• Bread of Affliction – Orchot ChayyimOrchot Chayyim, Commentary to the Haggadah quotes Ibn Ezra as suggesting that the Egyptians fed the Israelites matzah when they were slaves since it takes a long time to digest., and implies that perhaps it was this aspect of the oppression that was being symbolized by the matzah that accompanied the Pesach.  This, though, is difficult since there would have been no need to do commemorate the enslavement while they were still living it.
• Demonstration against idolatry – See Purpose of the Pesach that the offering might have been a demonstration against idolatry. The RambamMoreh Nevukhim 3:46About R. Moshe b. Maimon asserts that idolatrous sacrifices were normally accompanied by leavened bread and honey.  It is possible that to counter such practices, the Pesach was instead accompanied by matzah and maror.
• Accompaniment to a קרבן תודה – According to R. D"Z Hoffmann, the Pesach was in essence a thanksgiving offering (קרבן תודה).²¹  If so, like all such offerings, it was brought with matzot.²²

Laws of Pesach in Shemot 12:43-49 – Ibn Ezra posits that these laws relating to the Pesach offering were meant only for future generations and did not apply in Egypt.  It is for this reason that they are written separately.²³  This reading forces Ibn Ezra to understand the summary statement "וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כׇּל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה י"י" to refer to the nation keeping these laws when they observed Peach in the Sinai desert the following year.²⁴

Chag HaMatzot in the Wilderness – Ibn Ezra learns from 13:5, "כִי יְבִיאֲךָ י"י אֶל אֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי" that not only did the nation not keep Chag HaMatzot in Egypt, but that they were not obligated to observe it until entry into the land.²⁵  Only the new generation had to set aside time to remember the original events ("וְהָיָה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לָכֶם לְזִכָּרוֹן"); the earlier one had witnessed it by themselves.

One Day Prohibition of Chametz

The nation did not celebrate Chag HaMatzot in Egypt, but were prohibited from eating chametz at night with the Pesach offering and during the day of the Exodus itself.

Sources:R. Yose HaGelili in Tosefta PesachimPesachim 8:21About the Tosefta, Bavli PesachimPesachim 96a-bAbout the Bavli, Tosafot RidRid, Pesachim 116bAbout Ba'alei HaTosafot, Ranon the Rif, Pesachim 25bAbout R. Nissim Gerondi,

Source for this opinion – R. Yose points to Shemot 13:3-4 as evidence that chametz was prohibited on the day of the Exodus.  He combines the two verses, so that they read, "וְלֹא יֵאָכֵל חָמֵץ הַיּוֹם".  Though this is not the simple sense of the verses, the motivation to read it in this manner appears to be the fact that this command is separated from the other commands relating to chametz in the chapter (13:5-7) and that mention of the Exodus is otherwise extraneously doubled in verses 3 and 4.

When were the various commands relayed to the nation? This position would read the verses similar to Ibn Ezra above, that only the commands regarding the Pesach (12:2-13) were given before the Exodus, while those regarding Chag HaMatzot (12:14-20) were given later.  The prohibition to eat chametz at night with the Pesach was presumably given along with the other commands relating to the offering but it is not clear when the prohibition of eating chametz during the day was given:

• As R. Yose's source for the prohibition is Chapter 13, where it states "today you are leaving", he would likely posit that the command was first given where it appears, as the people were en route from Egypt.  However, considering that there had been no time regardless to make leavened bread, the command would appear to be superfluous.
• From the words of Tosafot Rid and the Ran, in contrast, it would seem that the command was given on the day of the Exodus, but before leaving Egypt (sometime between the events of Shemot 13:30 and 33).  They might explain that the command is written out of place so as not break up the narrative.²⁶

"וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת הַבָּצֵק... עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם" – Tosafot Rid and the Ran explain that since the prohibition was only for one day, and related only to refraining from eating (while seeing chametz was allowed), the people were originally planning on baking chametz for the next day when it would once again be permitted.  The verse teaches that since they were chased out, there was no time for such preparations.

"וַיִּשָּׂא הָעָם אֶת בְּצֵקוֹ טֶרֶם יֶחְמָץ" – Tosafot Rid and the Ran might explain that this verse does not refer to the same dough as verse 39, but instead to the nation's taking unleavened bread to eat on the fifteenth itself, as per the command of Hashem.  This would resolve the otherwise superfluous double mention of the fact that the nation took their dough.

Reason for Prohibition – This approach has difficulty explaining what the reason for the original prohibition of chametz would have been, and why it should have extended from the night to the day, especially considering that reality prevented them from baking leavened bread regardless.

Institution of the seven day holiday of Chag HaMatzot – This position would explain, as does Ibn Ezra above, that the full week long holiday was instituted to commemorate the fact that the nation did not have time to bake bread before leaving and were forced to eat matzah not just for a day but for the entire week.  Had they not been chased out, there would have been only a one day holiday.

Variations on this approach

• R. Moshe ChalavaR. Moshe Chalava Pesachim 116b and the Shibalei HaLeketShibalei HaLeket, Comentary to the Haggadah in the name of the Rid²⁷ understand that there was a prohibition of chametz in Egypt only at night, when eating the Pesach.²⁸  This variation would be able to read the chapter just like Ibn Ezra above and could better explain the reasoning behind the prohibition as it is simply the flip-side of eating the sacrifice with matzah.
• The TzelachTzelach, Pesachim 116b suggests that when R. Yose speaks of a one day prohibition he refers not to the night and day of the fifteenth, but to Erev Pesach, the day of the fourteenth and the night that follows.²⁹  As such, according to him as well the prohibition is only related to the sacrifice.

¹ See Pesach and Chag HaMatzot – A Two for One? for a discussion of the relationship between the two celebrations.

² See Shemot 12:21-27 in which Moshe relays Hashem's words of 12:2-13.

³ Ramban explains that it is the way of the text to be brief in one place and lengthy in another. Instead of tediously repeating both a command and its fulfillment, sometimes the Torah only brings one or the other.   For other places where he uses this principle, see his comments to Bereshit 31:7, 42:21, 44:7, Shemot 4:17, Bemidbar 20:14,and 21:13 and see Invoking Hashem's Name Without Explicit Divine Sanction for elaboration].

⁴ Ramban's explanation might be supported by the fact that the verse speaks of the "dough" which they took out of Egypt ("הַבָּצֵק אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם").  They left so quickly that they had to take their unbaked dough with them.  He would likely understand the term "כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ" to mean that the dough had not contained any leavening (due to the command).

⁵ Abarbanel emphasizes that only because they had been commanded to make matzah did they appreciate just how quickly they left Egypt.  Being the first commandment that they received, the people wanted to be very careful about its observance.  Thus, when they were forced to leave before baking the matzah, they were very fearful that their bread would rise and they would not be able to observe the commandment properly.  After arriving in Sukkot and seeing that the bread still had not risen they realized just how quickly they had departed.

⁶ See how Ramban says that in Egypt the people baked matzah because of the prohibition of "שְׂאֹר לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְּבָתֵּיכֶם" (rather than because of the positive command "and seven days you shall eat matzah").  For Ramban the refraining from chametz highlights the lack of rich foods eaten by slaves, and for Abarbanel it is the absence of rising that marked the haste of the redemption.

⁷ Since Shemot 12:28 already states that the commands of verses 1-20 were fulfilled, this statement is only necessary if it refers to a new set of laws.

⁸ He claims that, after the Plague of Firstborns, when many Egyptians wanted to join the nation, Hashem needed to tell the nation new laws regarding a foreigner who wants to partake in future offerings.. 

⁹ Cf. Ibn Ezra below.

¹⁰ Considering that Moshe had already mentioned that they were also for future generations, the repetition is still troubling.

¹¹ He acknowledges that according to the Sages the nation only kept one Pesach in the wilderness since they were not able to circumcise their children in the dangers of the route.

¹² See Pesach and Chag HaMatzot – A Two for One? for a discussion of the distinct nature of the two celebrations and when they appear to have merged into one holiday.

¹³ This understanding works with a straightforward reading of the verses which do not present Moshe as relaying Hashem's commands of 12:14-20 until chapter 13.

¹⁴ See point below that according to this position the holiday was instituted to remember the fact that the nation were chased out in such haste that they did not have time for their bread to rise and were forced to bake matzot.

¹⁵ It is also possible that the people did not even know that they were supposed to be leaving for good, and believed that they were going for just a three day journey, in which case it would make even less sense to already tell them about a holiday for future generations.  See A Three Day Journey? for the opinion that the three day ruse was intended for the nation itself who would have been fearful and reluctant to leave Egypt if they thought that it was forever.

¹⁶ See both Ibn Ezra and Shadal that the phrase "כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ" is a verbal clause, meaning "because [the dough] did not rise."  The verse is not saying that the nation made matzot because they did not put leavening into their bread, but rather that despite doing so, the bread did not rise.

¹⁷ He points to the verse "לָלֶכֶת יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה", as evidence for the fact that the people had no time to pause and walked both day and night.

¹⁸ He explains that a commemoration does not have to match the original act in all its details.  As evidence, he points out that the holiday of Sukkot, too, is celebrated for seven days even though it is commemorating forty years worth of wandering in the wilderness.

¹⁹ See the Ritva who asserts that matzah is called poor man's bread because it is flat and simple.

²⁰ See Rashbam similarly.

²¹ For elaboration on his understanding of the Pesach, see Purpose of the Pesach.

²² See R"M Spiegelman, פרשת בא - חג הפסח and R"Y Grossman, פרשת בא - פסח - קרבן או סעודה who elaborate on this idea and the many similarities between the laws of Pesach and those of sacrifices as a whole.

²³ However, according to this reasoning, it is not clear why the laws of Chag HaMatzot, similarly only for the future, were not also written as an appendix.

²⁴ He supports the idea that a story might end with discussion of a commandment's fulfillment even if it occurred only a year or more later from the mention of storing of the manna in Shemot 16, which similarly occurred a while after the original story being discussed.  [For a discussion of epilogues and the example of the manna in particular,, see Epilogue to the Manna Story.]

²⁵ He points out that in the Wilderness, with only manna to eat , it would have been impossible to find enough matzah for the week.  He claims that in Sinai, even though they were close to settled lands, it was incredible that they were able to find sufficient matzah to eat for even just the one night with the Pesach sacrifice. According to Ibn Ezra, this was the only time throughout the forty years that they brought the Pesach itself as well, as the commandment is really contingent on living in the land ("וְהָיָה כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ").

²⁶ According to him, Moshe relayed each of Hashem's commands only as they became relevant.  Thus the commands of the Pesach in 12:2-13 were relayed in the beginning of Nissan, those relating to the Exodus on the fifteenth itself (13:3-4) were commanded right beforehand, while those relating only to future generations waited until after the Exodus (13:5-10).

²⁷ This does not match Tosafot HaRid where he mentions a prohibition during the day.

²⁸ This might also be the simple understanding of Mishnah Pesachim 9:5.

²⁹ This would follow the opinion that before the Giving of the Torah, a "day" began in the morning and not at night.