Passover is around the corner.
The Seder will take place on Monday night.
The MO of the Seder is questions and answers.
It’s really a conversation.
All the interesting customs we practice are only in place to elicit questions.
Here’s a good question -
Do you like Matza?
It’s a conundrum.
Some people wait all year to eat Matza.
It’s a treat and a delight.
Others do not like Matza at all. It’s dry and difficult to eat and digest.
Those who feel that way have to make the best of the situation.
Funny how the same Matza can evoke such a range of feelings.
That happens to mirror the nature of Matza itself.
Matza is called “the bread of our affliction”.
This refers to the fact that the Jewish people ate Matza in Egypt and it came to reflect the terrible suffering they experienced during that dark time.
Matza is also called the “bread of our redemption”.
This description is given to the Matza as it is the bread the Jewish people ate when they left Egypt. The Exodus happened so quickly there was no time to wait for the bread to rise so they took Matza with them and it became the symbol of the Redemption.
So which is it?
It’s both!
How can it be both?
Here’s another question.
Do we use one piece of Matza at the Seder to memorialize these two aspects?
The answer is - Yes.

At the Seder we take the middle Matza and break it in half.
One half sits on the table in its brokenness. It’s called the bread of affliction and it’s used as show and tell - this is the bread we ate in Egypt.
That broken piece epitomizes the nadir of our experience in Egypt.
It represents everything that is broken in the world.
But the other half of the very same Matza - what happens to the other piece?
It becomes the Afikomen, the “dessert” the very last part of the Seder which represents the Redemption. The last part of the Seder is made of praises of Gd and envisioning a time when the Jewish people will be a light to the world.
It is the prayer for the Ultimate Redemption.
How can the same Matza hold all of this together?
It’s the Matza of resilience.
Even in the darkest of times when things look desperate, we must not despair.
Because the challenges come our way from the same source that will birth the Redemption.
Gd once us to traverse challenge to become sensitive to others travails. To exhibit positivity in the face of negativity, morality in times of confusion and darkness.
Even in times of war and strife we are still obligated to maintain memschlichkeit, a proper moral stance, because we are the light to the world.
Lessons from the war.
There are too many stories to enumerate. We have gotten glimpses into the lofty spirits of so many of the young people of our nation. In their last Will and Testament which they prepare in case they fall, we see the high level of their morality. These heroes go to war for their people, to protect their nation and they do so with their hearts full of love. They are prepared to sacrifice their lives for each other and for us, yet they endanger themselves because they also put a priority of life for the innocent victims of war.
No other nation is so principled.
In these most devastating of times, when we are in the most broken part of the “Matza” we see the glimmers of Redemption that the children of our nation are birthing with their selfless acts.
The challenges and broken pieces are the key to growth and strength.
There are many customs regarding the Afikomen.
Sometimes the children steal it and sometimes the children have to go on a hunt to find it.
But most customs have the children as the agents bringing the Afikomen back to complete the Seder.
It’s a beautiful message.
Who will bring about the repair and take us forward?
The children.
They are our hope and future.
We pray for an Exodus for the hostages.
May they rejoin their families at the Seder on Day 198.
May that be the last day of the count.
Have a sweet and meaningful Passover.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!