This is the bread of affliction.

At the Seder, we begin as slaves.  We eat matzah, the bread of affliction, which leaves us hungry and longing for redemption.  The matzah enables us to imagine what it was like to have only poor bread to eat, to be denied our right to live free and healthy lives.

But, while we will soon enjoy a large meal and end the Seder night as free people, 795 million people around the world live with the daily reality of hunger, including almost 40 million in the United States.  Let us awaken to their cries and declare:  

Kol dichfin yeitei v'yeichol--let all who are hungry come and eat.

Let us work toward a time when all who are hungry will eat as free people.

Let all people have access to sustenance.  Let farms flourish and local economies strengthen.  Let our world leaders recognize food as a basic human right and put an end to hunger.  Let us support the communities of the world on their paths to sustenance.

This year, hunger and malnutrition are among the greatest risks to health around the world.  Next year, may the bread of affliction be simply a symbol, and may all people enjoy the bread of plenty, the bread of freedom.


haggadah Section: Yachatz
Source: AJWS Global Justice Haggadah