Matzah: Your Guide to Enjoying Shmurah Matzah The traditional Passover matzah has no sugar, salt, yeast, or eggs, yet surprisingly, it packs all the essential Divine ingredients we all need. The following are handselected tasty gems on the significance of eating matzah on Passover. Enjoy!
Food of Faith
"Why do we eat matzah? Because our ancestors' dough had no time to rise when G-D revealed himself and redeemed them for Egypt." -The Passover Haggadah
MATZAH
HEALING BREAD
The thin matzah is definitely the eldest of all Jewish foods. The Jews left Egypt in such a rush they did not wait for their bread dough to rise.
Matzah is celebrated as the bread of faith and humility—intentionally made thin and unrisen to symbolize the absence of ego. The matzah inspires a faith that not only heals but also prevents illness.
The Haggadah calls the matzah "poor man's bread," as the matzah has no yeast, sugar, eggs, oil, or even salt. Spiritually, the matzah is humbled by witnessing G-d's extraordinary blessings, so it doesn't rise with any ego. HUMBLE BREAD Humility is not weakness; it empowers us. Humility is an awareness that we have limitations, but our G-d doesn't. This humility empowered Moses to face Pharaoh and David to face Goliath. True humility manifests in a newfound strength from knowing that an infinite G-d is performing wonders through you. EDIBLE FAITH Matzah becomes an edible expression of faith when eaten with a blessing at the Passover seder. Its power lies in the Divine spark embedded in the commandment to eat matzah on Passover. By physically digesting the matzah, we internalize holiness and experience true freedom—an impact that goes beyond merely seeing, reading, or meditating on the Exodus.
TOXIN-FREE Like the Passover offering, Jewish law requires us to eat the afikoman on a full stomach as an enjoyable dessert. This law tells us that your hunger and need for G-dliness have brought you this far, but ultimately, your Divine service should go beyond your hunger and needs. Savor this more selfless and heightened Afikoman service like a dessert that stays with you long after the meal ends. PIECE IT TOGETHER We begin telling the Passover story by first breaking the matzah. This demonstrates how our brokenness is only a beginning chapter in our tale of complete redemption. In the end, it's your brokenness that makes you whole. IMPOSSIBLE BREAD "This is the bread of affliction" that our ancestors ate when they thought redemption was impossible. But it happened, and now it will happen for you. (ADAPTED FROM THE TEACHINGS OF THE REBBE)
WHAT IS SHEMURAH MATZAH? It only takes eighteen minutes for wet flour to become leavened or chametz. So, Shmurah Matzah, or guarded matzah, is made from verified wheat that's "guarded" from moisture during the entire process, from harvest to final product. Hand-made Shmurah Matzah is produced and baked quickly in increments of less than eighteen minutes from when the water comes in contact with the flour. The human touch infuses the process with the intended purpose of being baked for a mitzvah. PASSOVER 5786 / 2026