An hour before Pesach started a friend called me from out of town frantically searching for specialty Matzah due to a surprise medical issue discovered in one of his family members that day. Thankfully, with two phone calls, we found some Spelt Matzah in his neighborhood and I was heartened everyone could fulfill the Mitzvah of eating Matzah at the Seder that night.
A few days later I asked him how his Seder was in light of the hectic day leading up to it. “Honestly, in past years I felt more energy and inspiration at the Seder,” he said. “This year it felt more like we were just trying to get everything done.” We talked about it and quickly realized there was something so refreshing about that experience. Although all Mitzvot, especially the Seder can and should be meaningful experiences, Judaism is obligational and not recreational. Even when we’re not in the mood, or distracted by stuff going on in our lives, we just have to get Mitzvot done.
Reflecting on our conversation more deeply, I realize this is a spectacular post-Pesach lesson for us all. On Pesach, Matzah is the only bread we can eat, and Chametz (leaven) is strictly prohibited to commemorate the tremendous miracle of our swift exodus from Egypt 3,336 years ago. Aside from the absence of leavening, another crucial difference between the Matzah we eat at the Seder and year-round Chametz is that Matzah is plain (just flour and water) without flavor, to represent “the bread of poverty” whereas Chametz is typically flavored.
This eight-day menu change expresses an important soul journey. The flavorful Chametz is analogous to logic and sophistication and the tasteless Matzah represents ironclad simple faith. Certainly, Judaism is meant to be an intellectually stimulating and passionately inspirational experience, but to be real and sustainable it must be rooted in ironclad simple faith, unrestrained by personal understanding or moods.
On the anniversary of our nation’s birth, we purge ourselves from the flavorful Chametz for over a week and engage exclusively with the simple Matzah to ensure our foundations are strong. So our relationship with Torah study and Mitzvah observance should not be hampered by our subjective experiences and we can “just get it done” even when we are not in the zone. But then we must reengage with the sophistication and delightfulness of logic, reason, and feelings so the entire human being can have a wholesome relationship with G-d.
As we relish the familiar delicious taste of leaven Challah this Shabbat, let’s remember the blandness of the Matzah we just finished eating earlier this week, and be sure to get Mitzvot done no matter what.