Reeh 16:3 · unit 12

TT #379 · Parashas Reeh · Seventh Aliyah · Passuk 16:3

The Complete Passuk

לֹא־תֹאכַ֤ל עָלָיו֙ חָמֵ֔ץ שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֛ים תֹּֽאכַל־עָלָ֥יו מַצּ֖וֹת לֶ֣חֶם עֹ֑נִי כִּ֣י בְחִפָּז֗וֹן יָצָ֙אתָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכֹּר֔ אֶת־י֤וֹם צֵאתְךָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃

You shall not eat leaven with it; seven days you shall eat with it matzos, the bread of affliction, for in haste you went out of the land of Egypt, in order that you may remember the day of your going out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

Chabad.org — 16:3

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Pesachim.

Sefaria — Pesachim

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
לֶחֶם עֹנִי – מַה עָנִי שֶׁדַּרְכּוֹ בִּפְרוּסָה אַף כָּאן בִּפְרוּסָה; דָּבָר אַחֵר, מַה דַּרְכּוֹ שֶׁל עָנִי הוּא מַסִּיק וְאִשְׁתּוֹ אוֹפָה אַף כָּאן הוּא מַסִּיק וְאִשְׁתּוֹ אוֹפָה.

English: "Bread of affliction" — just as a poor person is accustomed to a broken piece, so here [the blessing is] over a broken piece; alternatively, just as the way of a poor person is that he heats the oven and his wife bakes, so here he heats and his wife bakes.

On the daf / in context: Both the broken piece at the Seder and the simple domestic preparation reflect the character of poverty-bread.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Pesachim) — broken piece and simple preparation.

What Is Learned

The blessing over matzah is recited over a broken piece, and the matzah is prepared in the simple manner of the poor.