Legendary rabbi, Rav Kook wrote that flour symbolizes potential while bread is the manifestation or realization of that potential.
So why make Matzah?
Why rid ourselves of all food products that contain flour for Passover? Don’t we want to achieve our potential?
We tell our children that we eat Matzah because our ancestors didn’t have time to let the bread rise before God led them out of Egypt.
The divine “hand” that led us out of Egypt did not do so gradually. Rather God brought out/realized/fulfilled the potential within us very quickly by taking us from slavery to freedom in a blink of an eye.
The human “hand,” analogous to the Divine Hand, can bring us from potentiality to fulfillment through gradual growth. If you want to get a job, get into a certain school, win that case, get that promotion. . . these things take hard work and time. Leavening. With a sweet payoff. Like a well-baked Challah.
The crumbly, bland, constipation-inducing, taste of Matzah reminds us of the grandeur and beauty of growth — specifically gradual growth.
So, let’s give ourselves time to learn, mature, gain insight or adjust to our present situation. There will always be obstacles in front of us, and challenges that seem unbearable.
Don’t live your life like Matzah, hastily making decisions and not giving yourself time, because you will end up with an often-unappealing end product.
Take the time to let flour and egg and yeast of your potential grow, and I promise you’ll enjoy the taste much better.
