Parashat Vayikra

by Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon
Founder and Board Chairman, JobKatif

We all know about matzah in conjunction with the Pesach story. However, in this week’s parasha we see matzah being used in the holy temple for the mincha sacrifice. So, what is the connection between matzah and the holy temple?

The Maharal explains that matzah is dough that didn’t rise. This bread represents dough in its most natural state, without any superfluities. On Pesach, we progress towards our internal truth – without any additions, without being enslaved by anything foreign and without the influence of foreign cultures.

This is what matzah is coming to teach us. During the rest of the year we can eat chametz, and accept other influences (in proportion) from the world without hurting our identity or the identity of the nation of Israel.  But, on Pesach and especially in the Holy Temple our souls need to be purely with G-d.

There is an additional interesting point about matzah. In the Haggadah it says that matzah came about because we didn’t have enough time to let dough rise. This idea is seemingly problematic because the commandment for matzah came before we even left Egypt. As it says in Shemot “For seven days you shall eat matzah” (Shemot 12:15).
First, G-d commanded us to eat unleavened bread and we didn’t have time to let the dough rise.  We can learn from this that when we try to do the will of G-d our actions naturally lead us in that direction.

Shabbat Shalom!