Published April 2024
MATZAH – THE ANTITHESIS OF FINE FOOD
Matzah, the unleavened bread, is called lechem oni. The second Hebrew word carries with it several different meanings.
The first and oldest use of lechem oni is “the bread of affliction or oppression.” Matzah is a slave bread. That is because it is not enriched but is simply flour and water. It is bread that can be made quickly. Therefore, it becomes a symbol of slavery and our commitment to work on behalf of freedom.
The second meaning of lechem oni is “the bread of poverty”. Since matzah is made of just flour and water and no other ingredients, it is the cheapest form of bread. It is the antithesis of fine food, the bread of poor people. It is a reminder of our responsibility to deal with the problem of widespread hunger.
The third meaning of lechem oni is “the bread over which much is answered.” The word hagaddah itself literally means “the telling”. The Seder service tells the children, and incidentally the adults, the answers to some basic questions about history and life itself.
Judaism is a repository of wisdom which offers a guide to the conduct of a good life. In fact, someone once observed that the problem today is that Judaism has the answers but too many of us contemporary Jews have forgotten the questions. Perhaps if we ask again the meaning of matzah, we will find some very significant answers to the questions of life.
Rabbi Alvin Kass
Chief Chaplain of the NYPD