Chametz and Matzah in Pesach Mitzrayim/2
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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 relayed only those commands which were immediately relevant to the nation in Egypt, those regarding the Pesach offering (12:21-27). Since the people were not obligated to celebrate Chag HaMatzot in Egypt,2 and the act which it was to commemorate had yet to happen, the people were first told it about it after they left (in 13:3-8).3 This explanation 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.
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 such information.
"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 nation was planning on baking leavened bread.4 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 speed in which the redemption occurred, as evidenced by 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.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 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
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 matzot 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 matzot. According to him, it is possible that the prohibition of chamtetz 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.
Chag HaMatzot in the Wilderness – Ibn Ezra learns form 13:
One Day Prohibition of Chametz
In Egypt, the nation was only prohibited from eating chametz for one day.
