S.A.L.T. - Motzaei Shabbat

Before we begin the “maggid” section of the Pesach seder, during which we tell the story of the Exodus, we perform the ritual of “yachatz,” the splitting of the middle matza.  The larger piece is hidden and later eaten as the “afikoman,” in commemoration of the korban pesach.  The symbolism of the yachatz ritual seems clear.  We take a whole matza and break it into uneven pieces to symbolize “lechem oni,” the bread eaten by the poor and downtrodden.  While standing on the lowest rung of the social ladder in Egypt, Benei Yisrael fed off meager scraps of bread and did not enjoy the luxury of respectable, whole loaves.  Yachatz serves as a symbol of the type of bread eaten by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, and indeed, immediately following yachatz, we begin maggid with the words, “Ha lachma anya” – “This is the bread of affliction…”  What remains unclear, however, is the timing of this ritual. Why do we break the matza already now, before maggid, well before we prepare to eat the matza?

Rav Chayim of Brisk is cited as explaining the timing of yachatz as yet another symbolic commemoration of the korban pesach.  The korban pesach, like all sacrifices, had to be slaughtered by day, before sunset.  However, halakha also requires that one partake of the meat of the korban pesach “al ha-sova” – with a satiated stomach, meaning, after the meal.  For this reason, we eat the afikoman – the commemoration of the korban pesach – after we complete the meal at the seder. The large time gap between the korban’s slaughtering and consumption necessitated the protection of the sacrificial meat from tum’a.  People would therefore wrap and hide the meat of the korban until after the meal.  In commemoration, we wrap and hide the afikoman until the time for its consumption.

A different approach is brought in the name of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach.  The Gemara in Masekhet Pesachim offers two interpretations for the term, “lechem oni.” The more common interpretation, as mentioned, is “bread of poverty” or “bread of affliction.”  The Gemara, however, adds a second translation: “Lechem she-onim alav devarim harbei” – bread over which we say many things. This refers to the fact that we must recite maggid and discuss the Exodus over the matza, meaning, with matza present on the table.  Rav Shlomo Zalman suggests that at this point in the seder, when we are about to begin these “many things” – the discussion of Yetziat Mitzrayim, we break the matza to show the association between these two definitions of the term “lechem oni.” As we prepare to fulfill one definition of the expression, we also fulfill the other definition, combining our discussion of freedom with the symbolic commemoration of our slavery and oppression.***************** 

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