Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim/1
Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim
Introduction
Conflicting Verses
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:
(לט) וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת הַבָּצֵק אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהִתְמַהְמֵהַּ וְגַם צֵדָה לֹא עָשׂוּ לָהֶם.
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:
(טו) שִׁבְעַת יָמִים מַצּוֹת תֹּאכֵלוּ אַךְ בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן תַּשְׁבִּיתוּ שְּׂאֹר מִבָּתֵּיכֶם כִּי כׇּל אֹכֵל חָמֵץ וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִיּוֹם הָרִאשֹׁן עַד יוֹם הַשְּׁבִעִי.
This verse suggests that 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 12-13: 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. 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). 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). This time only Hashem's command to Moshe is mentioned. This pattern raises several questions:
- 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 are the directives regarding the Pesach offering divided into two sections, and why are the second set mentioned only after the Exodus?
- Finally, by only some of the laws is there explicit mention that they apply to future generations (by Chag HaMatzot in 12:14 and 17, by the Pesach in 12:48-491 and 13:5). Does this imply that these laws applied only to future generations? Or, alternatively, does it suggest that while these directives applied to both the present and future, the other laws applied only to the present?
