Matzah's a funny thing. A simple, non-descript staple; yet such a powerful, ageless symbol of Jewish practice and pride.
Sound paradoxical?
Perhaps we can understand it this way:
Communication is fundamental to a relationship. If you’re feeling love or gratitude, you really need to show it. Sometimes it’s not easy (especially for guys!), but the talent of expressing one’s deepest thoughts/emotions is key to maintaining a healthy relationship. After all, the other person deserves to know what you’re experiencing.
Yet, even a healthy communicator will sometimes have feelings that escape normative expression. Sometimes one’s inability to articulate doesn’t reflect poor communication skills, but rather the profound depth of an experience.
Sometimes, the most elegantly expressed words are inadequate; they can even get in the way. At those times, it can be a simple touch that best conveys the powerful sentiment you feel.
In concrete terms, this seems counter-intuitive. The power of touch is much less nuanced than the power of speech, and your ability to touch is – relative to speech - ‘psychologically detached’ from your deepest internal processes.
So, on the face of it, a simple touch seems so much less artistic, so much less appropriate a medium for heartfelt expression.
But that’s just the point. When your essential feeling is too strong for the normative communication system, sometimes you need to bypass the system. Sometimes your very inability to express, except through [the relatively shallow medium of] touch, is the greatest illustration of how deeply you feel.
On Passover, 3324 years ago, the Jewish people were bestowed with a very deep sense of connectedness to the Divine. A relationship was forged that was so powerful, so transcendent, so super-rationally intimate, that it was physically expressed through….Matzah.
Matzah – which the Kabbalah refers to the Food of Faith - is simple, even as compared to bread. But simplicity is exactly the point. When a deep relationship is in play, sometimes less is more; let the feeling take hold and don’t let the ego, the self-image, the self-important hyper-analysis get in the way.
Passover is about letting ourselves be touched by the Divine.
And about touching G-d in return.
It’s just over two weeks to the Seder, to a re-enactment and re-experience of that magical Matzah touch.
Are you ready?