There may be no food upon which so much ink has been spilled, not to mention blood, as matzah. The blood, to which I refer, is not that of the Blood Libel, the hate-driven lie that Jews, having killed Jesus, remained hungry for Christian blood, which we used to prepare our matzah. I mean the innocent Jews who were murdered over the centuries because of that lie - one which persists in parts of the world to this day, including this example from Hamas TV in Gaza. But back to the spilled ink.
What is the meaning of the matzah eaten at the Seder and for the eight days following?
The truth is, that according to some traditions, even those two "eatings" have different reasons - the first fulfills a specific biblical command to eat unleavened bread at the onset of Passover, while the second is just the bread we use because all of the leavened kind is prohibited. Some believe that we fulfill a commandment when eating matzah any time we eat it during the holiday.
Others find their own reasons for eating matzah, which is great too. In fact, one tradition teaches that matzah, called lekhem owni in some sources, is meant to evoke new answers to eternal questions. Translated literally from the Hebrew, lekhem owni means bread of poverty e.g. what slaves would eat. But others say it means bread over which we answer (ownim - hence the pun) questions.
In that spirit, Beliefnet's Fresh Living blog jumps in with reasons to go organic with your matzah. Check it out. But before you do, tell us what eating matzah means to you!
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