The Bread of Affliction
Crying Out
At the Pesach Seder we say, “Ha lachma anya — This is
the bread of affliction,” which comes from the Chumash (Devarim
16:3). The Torah uses the words lechem oni (bread of
affliction). Every word in the Torah deserves a great deal of
scrutiny, and even then we may not fully understand it. But
we should at least attempt to understand the word oni. Oni
is translated in English as affliction, which means suffering.
Of course, oni is connected to the word ani, a poor man. But
the word oni itself is not the original world. The original word
is oneh, to speak up. “Vayaan —He spoke up.” Oneh is also
translated as he answers, but fundamentally oneh means to
speak up. Why is a poor person called an ani? Because he
cries out. The man who cries out is called an ani.
The gemara makes an important comment on the words
lechem oni. The gemara says “Lechem oni: lechem she’onim
alav devarim harbei — [Matzos are a kind of] bread over which
we say many things.” We start the Seder by speaking about the
matza: ha lachma anya. We say “Matza zu she’anu ochlim al
shum mah – For what reason do we eat this matza?” We pick
up the matza and talk about its purpose. We say the Haggada
over the matzos. We say Hallel. There’s so much to say in
connection with the matzos. This is clearly not an accident.
The purpose of the matzos is that we should open our mouths
and speak. Lechem oni means the bread that will cause you to
speak up. This is not a drash (deep meaning); it is the simple
meaning of the word. In Mitzrayim, matza was the kind of food
that caused the eaters to cry out. It wasn’t leavened, it didn’t
have the taste of real bread. The Jews were so busy working
that they didn’t have a chance to let their dough rise like ordinary
bread. They had to work all the time, and it’s quite possible
they weren’t given enough bread. Why should they be given
bread? The Egyptians were not kindhearted. And so the Bnei
Yisrael cried out. Their bread caused them to cry out.
There’s an inherent connection between the bread and the
crying out. The first time that we see this is in Mitzrayim, but
we’re going to see that this is a lesson for every period in history.
When they cried out, they didn’t cry out just to protest,
they cried to Hashem. And Hashem loves to hear His people
cry out to Him. You must learn that fundamental principle,
“Haoneh l’amo Yisrael b’eis shavam eilav — He answers His
people, [not when they need His help, but] when they cry out
to Him” (Shacharis). He doesn’t help them because they need
help; He helps them because they need to cry out. That’s their
help; that’s their success.
In parshas Mishpatim the Torah tells us not to afflict a widow
or an orphan: “Kol almanah v’yasom lo se’anu” (Shemos 22:21).
The verse continues, “Im anah te’aneh oso — If you will afflict
him…” The logical conclusion of the verse should be that you
will be punished, but that isn’t what it says. The verse says that
when you afflict him, “Ki im tza’ok yitzak eilai — He will cry
out to Me,” then “shamoa eshma v’chara api v’haragti eschem
b’cherev — I will hear his outcry, and [only then] will you be punished.”
So we see the action is taken not because the almanah and yasom
are being afflicted, but because they cry out. What
we have to understand is that when they cry out something is
accomplished. They are changed. They gain daas, an awareness
of Hashem, by crying out. They gain emunah by crying out. And
because of this excellence that they have now achieved by crying
out to Hashem, Hashem answers them and takes action. He rewards
the perfection that they achieved by crying out.
There is another place in the Torah where these steps are repeated.
The verse is talking about taking the garment of a poor
person as collateral for a loan. The verse tells us to be careful
to give back the collateral at night, since the poor man will have
nothing else with which to cover himself when he goes to sleep.
He may be cold at night without a blanket or a coat to cover
himself. “V’haya ki yitzak eilai, v’shamati ki chanun ani — If
he will cry out to Me I will listen, because I am merciful.” It
doesn’t say I will take action because he needs it. I will take
action because he cried out to Me. We must understand that
the crying out changed his personality. It doesn’t mean that
he instantly acquired the highest degrees of perfection. But
when you’re dealing with diamonds you don’t need thousands
of diamonds to be rich. One diamond is also worth a lot. When
a man gains a little more awareness of Hashem, he cries out
to Hashem. That’s a diamond. And because of that diamond
he deserves that Hashem should listen to him. Now let’s study
the subject a little more thoroughly. This is not only about
poor people; it is about all of us. The verse states that when
the mann (manna) fell in the midbar (desert), “Vayilaktu oso
baboker baboker — they gathered it every morning” (Shemos
16:21). Now that’s a job, to get up early every morning to gather
the mann. If they waited until later in the day, the mann would
be gone. You had to be on time to pick the mann every morning.
Why? Hashem in His kindness couldn’t have given the
mann for the whole week? The mann could have been canned
or packaged, like packaged matzos. Instead, every morning the
Bnei Yisrael had to get up to collect the mann, and it couldn’t
be saved. “Vayarum tolaim vayivash,” it rotted away if you
kept it to the next day, and “v’cham hashemesh v’namas,” on
the field it melted away.
The mann was not the only food that couldn’t be saved. It’s
remarkable that of all the commodities that men require, food
has the least durability. It doesn’t last. When you buy a hat,
if it’s good quality it can last a lifetime. A new pair of shoes
last a long time. Eyeglasses last a long time. Food doesn’t last.
The gemara explains that if food would last for a long time,
profiteers would be able to hoard it. They would pile up grain
in their barns and keep it for years until there would be a
famine. Then they could sell the grain at inflated prices and
become rich. Instead, what happens? Rats and insects and
rot start attacking the food, and the hoarders have to sell it
a bargain prices. You see this in the big fruit stores all the
time. The fruit inside is very expensive, but the same fruit
is outside at half price. It’s beginning to rot, you can’t keep
it anymore, so the price goes down. This phenomenon that
food doesn’t last has many benefits. But that is not the main
benefit. The chief benefit is that “Einei chol eilecha yisabeiru
— Everyone’s eyes have to hope to You” (Ashrei). Hashem
doesn’t want anybody to become too confident. He wants you
to know that you have to lift your eyes to Him every day and
ask for your basic necessities again and again. Of course, in
today’s modern society we become deceived. Our pantries are
full of canned goods, and we think that it’ll last forever. (We
don’t worry about whether we will last forever to eat all the
food, but that’s a different story.) In a natural society, you
have to worry about your food every day.
The verse continues, “V’Atah nosein lahem es achlam b’ito
— and You give them their food in its time.” Food is a timely
item. The purpose of food is that you should cry out to Hashem
for it. We have to hope to Hashem for food. Don’t make
any mistake, the supermarkets loaded with food are begging
you to come in. Come in and save, they’ll tell you, come in and
save. You can have everything you want. But you should know
it’s only a hallucination, it’s a dream. Before that food comes
into your mouth many things can happen. You have to pray to
Hashem for your food
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