Difference between revisions of "Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim/2"
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<point><b>Institution of Chag HaMatzot</b> – Ibn Ezra, Shadal and R. D"Z Hoffmann all explain that the seven day holiday was instituted to commemorate the speed in which the redemption occurred, and the fact that the nation did not even have time for their bread to rise before leaving.</point> | <point><b>Institution of Chag HaMatzot</b> – Ibn Ezra, Shadal and R. D"Z Hoffmann all explain that the seven day holiday was instituted to commemorate the speed in which the redemption occurred, and the fact that the nation did not even have time for their bread to rise before leaving.</point> | ||
<point><b>Why seven days specifically?</b><ul> | <point><b>Why seven days specifically?</b><ul> | ||
| − | <li>Ibn Ezra explains that the people were | + | <li>Ibn Ezra explains that the people were on the run until Paroh drowned in Yam Suf seven days after  the Exodus.<fn>See his comments on "ללכת יומם ולילה", that the people had no time to pause and walked both day and night.</fn>  As such, they did not have time to make bread and subsisted on matzot for the entire week. In commemoration, future generations do the same.</li> |
<li>Ibn Kaspi, in contrast, asserts that the choice of seven days is unrelated to the the original act which is 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.<fn>He explains that a commemoration does not have to match the original act in all its details.  As evidence, he points out hat sukkot too is celebrated for seven days even though it is commemorating forty years worth of wandering in the wilderness.</fn>  </li> | <li>Ibn Kaspi, in contrast, asserts that the choice of seven days is unrelated to the the original act which is 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.<fn>He explains that a commemoration does not have to match the original act in all its details.  As evidence, he points out hat sukkot too is celebrated for seven days even though it is commemorating forty years worth of wandering in the wilderness.</fn>  </li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
Version as of 01:31, 8 April 2016
Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim
Exegetical Approaches
Seven Day Prohibition of Chamtez
The Israelites celebrated a seven day holiday in Egypt, just as they did in future generations. Chametz was prohibited for the entire week.
No Prohibition of Chametz
In Egypt, the Children of Israel ate the Pesach sacrifice with matzah but were not prohibited from eating chamtez, nor obligated to eat matzah the week afterwards.
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.1
Which commands were relayed to the nation in Egypt? According to these sources, Moshe only relayed those commands which were relevant to the nation in Egypt, those regarding the Pesach (12:21-27). Since the people were not obligated to celebrate Chag HaMatzot in Egypt, and moreover, the act which it was to commemorate had not even occurred yet,2 the people were first told it about it after they left, in 13:3-8. In addition, it is possible that the people did not even know that they were supposed to be leaving for good, and believed that they were leaving 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.3
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 unlike the Israelites, Moshe would be able to handle such information.
"וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת הַבָּצֵק... עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם" – According to this position, the nation was planning on baking leavened bread since they had no prohibition against doing so; however, due to being chased out they were not able to.4
Institution of Chag HaMatzot – Ibn Ezra, Shadal and R. D"Z Hoffmann all explain that the seven day holiday was instituted to commemorate the speed in which the redemption occurred, and the fact that the nation did not even have time for their bread to rise before leaving.
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.5 As such, they did not have time to make bread and subsisted on matzot 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 the original act which is 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.6
