Broken Matza

At the matza factory yesterday, you could buy only three things: Whole matzas, broken matzas and matza meal made from the special wheat I described.

The broken matzas being sold were cheaper. They are, of course, equally kosher for Passover. But seeing them for sale reminded me about the mitzvah of the broken matza. According to the Talmud, one of the matzot used for making the motzee at the seder needs to be broken. This gave rise to the custom of breaking it before hand and hiding one part for the Afikomen. The reason for breaking the matza is that it is in fact a symbol of the poverty and degradation that we endured while in Egypt when we did not have enough to eat. (Homiletically, it also serves to remind us of the fact that there are still plenty of Jews who do not have enough to eat on a regular basis).

But this also reminds me of why we use three matzot for the seder. Originally we used only two. But, when Seder and Shabbat coincide, you need two full matzot to symbolize the double portion of manna which fell in the desert on Friday. Gd sent the double portion so that we would not have to work gathering the manna on Shabbat. To this day, that is why we use 2 challot at the Shabbat dinner table. And if you don’t have two challot, (or don’t want to have two challot), you can use two rolls. You cannot, however, use a slice of bread instead of a roll since a slice is like a “broken” – i.e. unfinished loaf. A single matza, however, represents “an entire loaf”. And so, on Shabbat, if you’re not big challah eaters, you can use two matzot, provided that they are whole. But for seder we use two full and one broken.

Just a little seder Torah to get you started…