„All human culture, the bread of the mundane, is leaven. Changes rule…”
„All human culture, the bread of the mundane, is leaven. Changes rule over it, and its forms alter through the turning wheels of time. Not so the Eternity of Israel, which does not lie and does not relent.”From Ma'amarei HaRe'iyah, 'Matzah Zo'
Leaven is not evil. All year we eat leaven; it is the food that sustains and gives us life. In the Rav's words the idea is brought that leaven is perishable — it spoils and is ruined. The matzah, by contrast — the dough that did not undergo the process of leavening — symbolizes eternity (and indeed does not spoil). Our forefathers' decision in Egypt to go out in haste with food that underwent an accelerated process in order to fulfill the word of God marks a new stage for the people of Israel and a bond with the Holy One and with eternity — a vision that is above and beyond the here and now. On Passover we celebrate our bond with eternity, the exodus of Israel from Egypt and our becoming a people, on the way to our land, in the receiving of our Torah, and in the shaping of our selfhood as individuals and as a nation.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.