Early in the Seder ritual, we break a piece of Matzah, wrap it in a cloth, and hide the larger portion of it for after our meal. Breaking the Matzah and hiding the larger portion is a poignant symbol. Slaves and those who live in poverty don’t know when they’ll eat next.

They ration what they can, saving more for later rather than using it all up. They must conserve. They must think about how to sustain their lives and their families. Early in the Seder we’re re-enacting slavery. After dinner, we’re rejoicing in our freedom. Even then, in the comfort of our celebration as free people, we know that more about life is hidden from us than revealed.

We, too, must consider how to sustain our welfare and our values, our health and our loved ones, our community and our world, unaware of, and preparing for, what may happen next. We are free, but we remember when we were slaves. We are whole, but we bring to mind those who are broken.

The larger part of the Matzah is hidden as a symbol that we hope the future will be greater than the past, tomorrow’s Passover greater than yesterday’s Exodus.

At this year’s Seder in Seclusion, in addition to breaking the Middle Matzah, let’s hold up a whole Matzah, symbolizing our hope to be reunited with those whom we love, and to be whole again in the social closeness and relationships of our lives.

-Rabbi Ron Shulman


haggadah Section: Yachatz