Breaking the Matzah

ENTERING THE BROKEN

WORLD

The Pesach story begins in a broken world, amidst slavery and oppression.

The sound of the breaking of the matza sends us into that fractured

existence, only to become whole again when we find the broken half,

the afikoman, at the end of the Seder.

This brokenness is not just a physical or political situation.

In Hebrew, Egypt is called Mitzrayim, reminding us of the word tzar, narrow.

Thus, in Hassidic thought, Mitzrayim symbolizes the inner straits that trap

our souls. Yet even here we can find a unique value, as the Hassidic saying

teaches us: ‘There is nothing more whole — than a broken heart’

Or as Leonard Cohen wrote: “There’s a crack in everything / That’s where the light comes in.”

Some families pass out a whole matza to every Seder participant, inviting

them to take a moment to ponder this entrance into a broken world, before

they each break the matza themselves.


haggadah Section: Yachatz
Source: A Different Night