Eat. Faith. Heal - Passover 5782

Eat. Faith. Heal. Passover 5782

Passover brings forth so many memories and experiences. Almost every family has family-specific customs, memories, and humorous stories of Seders past. That’s part of what makes Passover such a cherished holiday with cherished traditions.

Of all the commandments, customs and rituals of the Passover Seder, one stands out as being the most synonymous with the Passover experience – the eating of the Matzah. As we recite in the Haggadah, “This Matzah that we eat… is because the dough of our ancestors didn’t have time to rise before the Holy One Blessed Be He redeemed them”.

Why the big deal about eating Matzah? Is there possibly something more to it?

The Holy Zohar (main work of Kabbalah) teaches that the Matzah that we eat on Passover night is the Matzah of Emunah (Faith) and the Matzah of Refuah (Healing). The eating of the Matzah represents the faith we had in G-d Almighty that he would redeem us and that he would heal us from all our ailments.

In this spirit we are taught that when we eat the Matzah at our Passover Seders, we focus on Faith and Healing. We ask G-d to help us have faith, to broaden our intellectual and emotional capabilities, to be able to surrender ourselves to His master plan. It’s not exactly an easy task.

Additionally, as we eat our Matzah we pray for healing. We are not only asking for physical healing from sickness and disease, but spiritual healing, and cleansing as well, which allows us to become sensitized to G-dliness and holiness. 

These two ideas are interconnected. As Jews, we recognize that our long and complicated history is intertwined with our ability to connect to the spiritual and see the silver lining in the most difficult of situations.

Matzah is the magic potion that allows us to tap into the deepest part of our souls. 

May Hashem bless all of us with good health, Nachas, wisdom, clarity and the ability to be healed, spiritually and physically, and to reconnect with our faith in a more profound manner than ever before.

From our family to yours, we wish you a  Chag Kosher V’Sameyach - A happy and Kosher Passover.

Rabbi Y. Marrus