Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim/1

Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim

Introduction

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Conflicting Verses: Why Refrain from Chametz?

It is well known that after the Plague of Firstborns, the Israelites were chased out of Egypt, leaving no time for their dough to rise:

EN/HEע/E

(לט) וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת הַבָּצֵק אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהִתְמַהְמֵהַּ וְגַם צֵדָה לֹא עָשׂוּ לָהֶם.  

(39) And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

A simple reading of the verse suggests that had there been more time, the people would not have baked matzah but rather leavened bread.  However, this idea encounters difficulty given the command of Shemot 12:15:

EN/HEע/E

(טו) שִׁבְעַת יָמִים מַצּוֹת תֹּאכֵלוּ אַךְ בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן תַּשְׁבִּיתוּ שְּׂאֹר מִבָּתֵּיכֶם כִּי כׇּל אֹכֵל חָמֵץ וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִיּוֹם הָרִאשֹׁן עַד יוֹם הַשְּׁבִעִי.

(15) Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; howbeit the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

According to this verse, already before the Exodus Hashem commanded that the nation refrain from chametz and eat matzah for seven days.  If so, regardless of being chased out, the people should have been eating matzah and not bread!  How can the two verses be reconciled?  What is the real reason that the nation refrained from chametz, Hashem's command or the speed of the redemption?

Structure of Shemot 12: Commands and Fulfillment

Chapter 12 is replete with legal directives and Moshe's relaying of these to the nation.  A close look at when each set of laws are given might bear on the questions above. [See summary table below as well.]

 In 12:1-20, Hashem speaks to Moshe about both the Pesach offering (12:2-13) and the seven day holiday of Chag HaMatzot (12:14-20).¹  Moshe immediately relays the laws relating to the Pesach (12:21-27), but makes no mention of Chag HaMatzot.   It is only in Chapter 13:3-10, after the Exodus, that we read of his relaying these directives. Chapter 12 then continues with the narrative of the Exodus but ends with yet more laws regarding the Pesach (12:43-49).²  This structure raises several questions:

• Relaying of laws – Why does Moshe only relay some of Hashem's directives before the Exodus, saving others for afterwards?  If the laws of Chag Hazatzot were only meant for later, why does Hashem bother to tell them to Moshe beforehand?  Is it possible that despite the textual silence, he nonetheless relayed them?  What does this say about whether the Israelites in Egypt observed the seven day holiday and its accompanying laws of chametz and matzah?
• Why divide the directives? Why are the directives regarding the Pesach offering split into two sections, and why are the second set mentioned only after the Exodus?  Were these not observed in Egypt?  However, if so, why does the following verse state that the nation did as Hashem commanded?
• For the present or future? Finally, by only some of the laws is there explicit mention that they apply to future generations (see 12:14 and 17 regarding Cha HaMatzot and 12:24-27,³ 48-49⁴ and 13:5 regarding the Pesach). Does this imply that these laws did not apply to the Israelites in Egypt?  Or, alternatively,  does it suggest that while these directives applied to both the present and future, the other laws applied only to the present? 

Taken together, all these points make the reader question: which laws were kept in Egypt, which only by future generations, and which by both?  What was Pesach Mizrayim like?  Were the laws of chametz and matzah observed?

Summary Table

The chapter's structure can be summarized as follows:

12:1-20: God's command to Moshe 1-13: laws of the Pesah offering 14-20: laws of Chag HaMaztot	12:21-27: Moshe's command to Israel 21-27: laws of the Pesach offering ----------
12:28: Israelites fulfill command 12:29-42: Plague of Firstborns and Exodus from Egypt
43-49: God's command to Moshe laws of the Pesach offering
12:50: Israelites fulfill command 12:51: Summary statement : Exodus
13:1-2: God's command to Moshe ------- 13:1-2: laws of redemption of firstborns	13:3-16: Moshe's command to Israel 13:3-10: laws of Chag HaMatzot and Pesach 13:11-16: laws of redemption of firstborns

Additional Questions

• How closely related are Chag HaPesach and Chag HaMatzot?  Is the reason for eating matzah on both the same?
• In discussing the laws of chametz and matzah, Devarim 16:3 writes, "שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תֹּאכַל עָלָיו מַצּוֹת לֶחֶם עֹנִי כִּי בְחִפָּזוֹן יָצָאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם".‎⁵  How does this understanding of the commandment connect to that given in Shemot?
• How does the prohibition of chametz and the positive command  to eat matzah relate to each other?  Which takes precedence?  Is the prohibition the main element and matzah simply a substitute for those who want to eat "bread"?  Or is eating matzah the focus, while the prohibition of chametz serves only to highlight it?

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

² Only Hashem's command to Moshe is recorded.  No where does Moshe explicitly tell the nation these laws, though the verses do mention right afterwards that the nation observed what Hashem had commanded.

³ This is part of Moshe's relaying of the laws, and not in Hashem's original directive.

⁴ Though these verses do not explicitly mention the future, the discussion of citizens versus foreigners and the future tense of the language, implies that they refer to a later time period when such laws could be relevant.

⁵ Seven days shalt you eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction; for in haste did you come forth out of the land of Egypt.