{"id":38501,"date":"2016-03-31T16:34:17","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T16:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?p=38501"},"modified":"2016-04-20T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2016-04-20T13:36:21","slug":"38501","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/38501\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Matzah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our minhag<\/em> is to break the matza<\/em> before maggid<\/em> (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim<\/em> 473:6).\u00a0 The Rambam<\/em> (Hilchos Chametz u\u2019Matza<\/em> 8:6), however, puts it right before ha\u2019motzi<\/em>, after netilas yadayim<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The basis for this difference of opinion is the Gemara<\/em> in Maseches Pesachim<\/em> (115b) that darshens<\/em> two things from the fact that the pasuk<\/em> refers to matza<\/em> as lechem oni<\/em>: a) lechem sheh\u2019onin alav devarim harbei<\/em> (we say many words over the matza<\/em>), and b) just as a poor person usually eats broken pieces of bread, so too must the matza<\/em> be a broken piece.<\/p>\n

Tosafos<\/em> (Pesachim<\/em> 116a) holds that the halacha<\/em> that the matza<\/em> must be a broken piece does not affect the general requirement to have lechem mishneh <\/em>(two whole loaves) on Shabbos<\/em> and Yomtov<\/em>.\u00a0 Thus, we have two full matzos<\/em> to fulfill the requirement of lechem mishneh<\/em>, and an additional broken piece to fulfill the requirement that the matza<\/em> be lechem oni<\/em>.\u00a0 We break the matza<\/em> before maggid<\/em> because of the other derasha<\/em> that we say many words \u2013 meaning the words of relating the account of the redemption from Mitzrayim<\/em> \u2013 over the matza<\/em>.\u00a0 And in what state is this matza<\/em> over which we recite maggid<\/em> supposed to be?\u00a0 Broken.\u00a0 Therefore, we break the matza<\/em> before maggid<\/em> so that we have the appropriate matza<\/em> over which to recite maggid<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Rambam<\/em>, though, does not bring the halacha<\/em> of onin alav devarim harbei<\/em>.\u00a0 What the reason for this is, I do not know.\u00a0 But the fact is that the requirement to recite sippur yetzias Mitzrayim<\/em> over the matza<\/em> does not appear in the Rambam<\/em>.\u00a0 Accordingly, there is no reason for the Rambam<\/em> to put yachatz<\/em> (the breaking of the matza<\/em>) before maggid<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And the Rambam<\/em> has a very strong reason to have the matza<\/em> broken right before\u00a0hamotzi<\/i>.\u00a0 Unlike\u00a0Tosafot<\/i>, the Rambam<\/em> holds that the halacha<\/em> of lechem oni<\/em> \u2013 that the matza<\/em> has to be a broken piece \u2013 is specifically coming to cancel out the normal halacha<\/em> of lechem mishneh<\/em>.\u00a0 According to the Rambam<\/em>, and some other Rishonim<\/em> as well, there are only two matzos<\/em>: one full one and one broken one.\u00a0 That is why the Rambam<\/em> holds that the matza<\/em> should be broken right before\u00a0hamotzi<\/i>.\u00a0 To show clearly that, even though we have two whole matzos<\/em>, we are deliberately breaking one of them because that is the halacha<\/em> of matza<\/em> on the seider<\/em> night: that it must be a broken piece, and not whole.<\/p>\n

In terms of the extent of the mitzvah<\/em> of eating matza<\/em> on\u00a0seder<\/i>\u00a0night, the Rambam<\/em> (Hilchos Chametz u\u2019Matzah<\/em> 6:1) says, \u201conce he has eaten a kezayit<\/em>\u00a0he has fulfilled his obligation.\u201d\u00a0 This strongly implies \u2013 and the Netziv<\/em> says this in his Haggadah<\/em> \u2013 that if one eats more matza<\/em> he gets more of a mitzvah<\/em>.\u00a0 His fulfillment of eating the matza<\/em> is even bigger if he eats more.\u00a0 This is similar to the mitzvah<\/em> of wearing\u00a0tefillin<\/i>.\u00a0 If a person puts them on for one moment, he is yotzei<\/em>.\u00a0 However, if he leaves them on he gets a mitzvah<\/em> for every additional moment he wears them.<\/p>\n

A certain great talmid chacham<\/em> made the following pithy remark: there are two things that one must be careful to not overindulge in the whole year, eating and talking (see\u00a0Avot<\/i>\u00a01:17 and Rambam<\/em> Hilchos Deios<\/em> 4:15); and on leil\u00a0<\/em>haseder<\/i>\u00a0regarding both of those things we say kol ha\u2019marbeh harei zeh meshubach<\/em>.\u00a0 When it comes to talking about sippur yetzias Mitzrayim<\/em> it is explicit, as we mention in the Haggadah<\/em>, and regarding eating matza<\/em> it is a very strong inference, as we just elaborated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our minhag is to break the matza before maggid (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 473:6).\u00a0 The Rambam (Hilchos Chametz u\u2019Matza 8:6), however, puts it right before ha\u2019motzi, after netilas yadayim. The basis for this difference of opinion is the Gemara in Maseches Pesachim (115b) that darshens two things from the fact that the pasuk refers to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133179,"featured_media":38635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[350],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-passover"],"yoast_head":"\nBreaking the Matzah - Jewish Holidays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In accordance with the Shulchan Aruch, we break the matza before maggid. The Rambam puts it right before hamotzi. 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