This week's Torah reading contains the commandments of Passover (Pesach). One of the centers of the holiday is the prohibition of eating left bread and the obligation to eat unleavened bread. Based on Likutei Sichot, vol. 1, p. 129<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Parashat Bo: Passover, Matzah, and the Spiritual Choice Between Pride and Humility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This week's Torah reading is called Bo, which means \u201ceat.\u201d<\/em> In this parashah, Gd brings the final three plagues upon Egypt through Moshe Rabbeinu and then commands the Jewish people to leave Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between these two monumental events\u2014the last three plagues and the Exodus\u2014there is a very specific commandment and holiday that the Jewish people are instructed to observe: Pesach (Passover).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Dimensions of Every Commandment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Passover contains many laws. Most of them apply specifically to Jews and not to non-Jews. However, we know that every single commandment in the Torah has two dimensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chametz vs. Matzah: More Than Just Bread<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the central elements of Passover\u2014although not the only one\u2014is the prohibition of eating chametz (leavened bread) and the obligation to eat matzah (unleavened bread).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chametz is bread that has risen. Interestingly, 2,000 years ago matzah was not as thin as it is today. It was more like a large, tough bread\u2014still unleavened, but much thicker. Today, however, matzah is very flat and crisp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what is the deeper difference between chametz and matzah?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Hidden Message in Hebrew Letters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When we look at the Hebrew words for these two types of bread, we notice something fascinating. The words matzah<\/em> (\u05de\u05e6\u05d4) and chametz<\/em> (\u05d7\u05de\u05e5) are almost identical. They share the letters mem (\u05de) and tzadik (\u05e6). The only difference is one letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both letters are made up of three lines and are open at the bottom. But there is one crucial difference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What the Letters Teach Us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages explain the meaning of this symbolically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The opening at the bottom of both letters represents what Gd told Cain after he killed his brother: In other words, the opportunity to sin is always open and easily accessible. It takes very little effort to fall downward. That's why the bottom is wide open\u2014it's easy to slip into negative behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, when a person is represented by the letter chet, there is no opening above. There is no clear way out. The only exit is downward, and that leads to a bad place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter hey, on the other hand, also has the opening at the bottom\u2014because temptation is always there\u2014but it has an additional opening above, even though it is very small. That small opening represents the possibility of escape, repentance, and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages say that Gd tells each of us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOpen for Me even a tiny opening, like the eye of a needle, and I will open for you a huge door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gd does not demand perfection. He asks for effort. Even the smallest sincere step upward invites enormous divine support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chametz = Pride<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Matzah = Humility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chametz represents growth that comes from ego\u2014from pride and arrogance. Just like leftover dough inflates, so makes a person's sense of self-importance. This mindset says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI deserve what I have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can even see this in a mitzvah like tzedakah (charity). A person might give charity while thinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c"I deserve my wealth. I earned it. The other person is poor because they deserve it."\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though the mitzvah is technically fulfilled, it is filled with ego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matzah, by contrast, represents humility and self-nullification (bitul). It reflects the understanding that whatever we have is not because we deserve it, but because Gd blessed us. And perhaps the reason we were given that blessing is so that God can bless someone else through us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our sages go even further and say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMore than the rich person does for the poor, the poor person does for the rich.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why? Because the poor person gives the rich person the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah and connect to Gd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Spiritual Meaning of Passover<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Jewish people were in Egypt, they lived with a slave mentality\u2014limited, oppressed, and constrained. Gd tells them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to leave Egypt\u2014your personal limitations\u2014you must first leave arrogance behind.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That is why, before redemption, Gd commands us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do not eat chametz. Eat matzah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let go of pride. Embrace humility. Recognize that you exist for a purpose\u2014to be an emissary of goodness, an ambassador of life in this world\u2014so that others can connect to Gd through you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is the spiritual freedom of Passover.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This week's Torah reading contains the commandments of Passover (Pesach). One of the centers of the holiday is the prohibition of eating leavened bread and the obligation to eat unleavened bread. Based on Likutei Sichot, vol. 1, p. 129 ====================================================================== Parashat Bo: Passover, Matzah, and the Spiritual Choice Between Pride and Humility This week\u2019s Torah… Read More \u00bbParashat Bo \u2013 Humility and Pride<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3301],"tags":[3566,3238,3565,3398],"series":[],"class_list":["post-32006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bo-en","tag-chometz","tag-humility","tag-matzah","tag-pride"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VIDEOS-EN-Parsha-7.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"\n
Matzah is flat, unleavened bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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\u201cSin is crouching at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nParashat Bo \u2013 Humility and Pride<\/a><\/blockquote>