Tzav - Matzah and Thanksgiving
(יא) וְזֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת זֶ֣בַח הַשְּׁלָמִ֑ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַקְרִ֖יב לַיהוָֽה׃ (יב) אִ֣ם עַל־תּוֹדָה֮ יַקְרִיבֶנּוּ֒ וְהִקְרִ֣יב ׀ עַל־זֶ֣בַח הַתּוֹדָ֗ה חַלּ֤וֹת מַצּוֹת֙ בְּלוּלֹ֣ת בַּשֶּׁ֔מֶן וּרְקִיקֵ֥י מַצּ֖וֹת מְשֻׁחִ֣ים בַּשָּׁ֑מֶן וְסֹ֣לֶת מֻרְבֶּ֔כֶת חַלֹּ֖ת בְּלוּלֹ֥ת בַּשָּֽׁמֶן׃ (יג) עַל־חַלֹּת֙ לֶ֣חֶם חָמֵ֔ץ יַקְרִ֖יב קָרְבָּנ֑וֹ עַל־זֶ֖בַח תּוֹדַ֥ת שְׁלָמָֽיו׃ (יד) וְהִקְרִ֨יב מִמֶּ֤נּוּ אֶחָד֙ מִכָּל־קָרְבָּ֔ן תְּרוּמָ֖ה לַיהוָ֑ה לַכֹּהֵ֗ן הַזֹּרֵ֛ק אֶת־דַּ֥ם הַשְּׁלָמִ֖ים ל֥וֹ יִהְיֶֽה׃ (טו) וּבְשַׂ֗ר זֶ֚בַח תּוֹדַ֣ת שְׁלָמָ֔יו בְּי֥וֹם קָרְבָּנ֖וֹ יֵאָכֵ֑ל לֹֽא־יַנִּ֥יחַ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃

(11) This is the ritual of the sacrifice of She that one may offer to the Eternal: (12) If they offer it for thanksgiving, they shall offer together with the sacrifice of thanksgiving matzot with oil mixed in, matzot wafers spread with oil, and cakes of choice flour with oil mixed in, well soaked. (13) This offering, with cakes of leavened bread added, they shall offer along with their thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being. (14) Out of this they shall offer one of each kind as a gift to the Eternal; it shall go to the priest who dashes the blood of the offering of well-being. (15) And the flesh of their thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be set aside until morning.

(א) הַתּוֹדָה הָיְתָה בָאָה חָמֵשׁ סְאִין יְרוּשַׁלְמִיּוֹת, שֶׁהֵן שֵׁשׁ מִדְבָּרִיּוֹת, שְׁתֵּי אֵיפוֹת, הָאֵיפָה שָׁלשׁ סְאִין, עֶשְׂרִים עִשָּׂרוֹן, עֲשָׂרָה לֶחָמֵץ וַעֲשָׂרָה לַמַּצָּה. עֲשָׂרָה לֶחָמֵץ, עִשָּׂרוֹן לְחַלָּה. וַעֲשָׂרָה לַמַּצָּה, וּבַמַּצָּה שְׁלשָׁה מִינִין, חַלּוֹת וּרְקִיקִים וּרְבוּכָה. נִמְצְאוּ שְׁלשָׁה עֶשְׂרוֹנוֹת וּשְׁלִישׁ לְכָל מִין, שָׁלשׁ חַלּוֹת לְעִשָּׂרוֹן. בְּמִדָּה יְרוּשַׁלְמִית הָיוּ שְׁלשִׁים קַב, חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר לֶחָמֵץ, וַחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר לַמַּצָּה. חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר לֶחָמֵץ, קַב וָחֵצִי לְחַלָּה. וַחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר לַמַּצָּה, וְהַמַּצָּה שְׁלשָׁה מִינִין, חַלּוֹת וּרְקִיקִים וּרְבוּכָה, נִמְצְאוּ חֲמֵשֶׁת קַבִּים לְכָל מִין, שְׁתֵּי חַלּוֹת לְקָב:

(1) The flour for the loaves accompanying the thanks offering would come from a measure of five Jerusalem se’a offering, which are equivalent to six wilderness se’a. The se’a referred to in the Bible when the Jewish people were in the wilderness is smaller than the se’a used later in Jerusalem. This is equivalent to two ephahs, each ephah being three wilderness se’a. These two ephahs are twenty measures of a tenth of an ephah. Ten of these tenths were used to make leavened loaves and ten of these tenths were used to make unleavened loaves, i.e., matza. The mishna elaborates: There are ten tenths for the loaves of leavened bread, a tenth of an ephah per loaf. And there are ten tenths for the loaves of matza. And among the loaves of matza there are three types: Loaves, wafers, and those poached in water, ten loaves of each type. Consequently, there are three-and-one-third tenths of an ephah for each and every type, three loaves per tenth of an ephah. And in the Jerusalem measure there were thirty kav, fifteen kav for the loaves of leavened bread and fifteen for the loaves of matza. The mishna elaborates: There are fifteen kav for the loaves of leavened bread, one and one-half kav per loaf. And there are fifteen kav for the loaves of matza. And among the loaves of matza there are three types: Loaves, wafers, and those poached in water. Consequently, there are five kav for each and every type, two loaves per kav.

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: אַרְבָּעָה צְרִיכִין לְהוֹדוֹת: יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם, הוֹלְכֵי מִדְבָּרוֹת, וּמִי שֶׁהָיָה חוֹלֶה וְנִתְרַפֵּא, וּמִי שֶׁהָיָה חָבוּשׁ בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים וְיָצָא.
Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Four must offer thanks to God with a thanks-offering and a special blessing. They are: Seafarers, those who walk in the desert, and one who was ill and recovered, and one who was incarcerated in prison and went out. All of these appear in the verses of a psalm (Psalms 107).
מַאי מְבָרֵךְ? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: ״בָּרוּךְ גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים״. אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: וְצָרִיךְ לְאוֹדוֹיֵי קַמֵּי עַשְׂרָה, דִּכְתִיב: ״וִירוֹמְמוּהוּ בִּקְהַל עָם וְגוֹ׳״. מָר זוּטְרָא אָמַר: וּתְרֵין מִינַּיְיהוּ רַבָּנַן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבְמוֹשַׁב זְקֵנִים יְהַלְלוּהוּ״.

The Gemara asks: What blessing does he recite? Rav Yehuda said: Blessed is…Who bestows acts of loving-kindness. Abaye said: And he must offer thanks before ten people, as it is written in the same chapter: “Let them exalt God also in the congregation of the people and praise Him in the assembly of the elders” (Psalms 107:32), and congregation indicates a group of at least ten. Mar Zutra said: Two of them must be Sages, as it is stated there: “And praise God in the assembly of elders.” These elders are the Sages, and the use of the plural indicates a minimum of two.

על חלת לחם חמץ יקריב קרבנו. משמעות המקרא דתכלית הקרבן הוא חלות לחם חמץ. ומשום זה מפרש עוד המקרא על זבח תורת שלמיו. מש״ה לחם חמץ הוא עיקר משום שהוא זבח תודת שלמיו. והענין דתכלית תודה שבא על הנס הוא כדי לספר חסדי ה׳ שגמל עליו . ומטעם זה ריבה הכתוב בלחם ומיעט בזמן אכילת תודה מכל שלמים. היינו כדי שיהי׳ מרבה ריעים לסעודה אחת ביום הקרבה ויהי׳ ספור הנס לפני רוב אנשים וארבע חלות לכהנים שהן המה ת״ח. וא״כ העיקר אכילה הוא לחם חמץ דמצה הוא לחם עוני ואינו נאכל יפה כמו חמץ כמש״כ התוס׳ זבחים דע״ה ב׳ ד״ה שביעית. והיינו דמסיים טעם שלחם חמץ עיקר משום שהוא זבח תודת שלמיו. תודה על שלומו במה שנחלץ מצרה:

...And the idea is the following: The purpose for bringing the thanksgiving sacrifice upon experiencing a miracle is in order to relate the kindness of God that was performed for [the one bringing the sacrifice]. It is for this reason that the Torah required great amounts of bread but then reduced the amount of time with which to eat it, in comparison to the other Shelamim sacrifices. This, in order to bring many friends together at one meal on the day of the sacrifice, at which the host will relate the miracle before them...

(ה) רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר, כָּל שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר שְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים אֵלּוּ בְּפֶסַח, לֹא יָצָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פֶּסַח, מַצָּה, וּמָרוֹר. פֶּסַח, עַל שׁוּם שֶׁפָּסַח הַמָּקוֹם עַל בָּתֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְמִצְרַיִם. מַצָּה, עַל שׁוּם שֶׁנִּגְאֲלוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְמִצְרַיִם. מָרוֹר, עַל שׁוּם שֶׁמֵּרְרוּ הַמִּצְרִים אֶת חַיֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְמִצְרָיִם. בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם. לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַחְנוּ חַיָּבִין לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַלֵּל, לְשַׁבֵּחַ, לְפָאֵר, לְרוֹמֵם, לְהַדֵּר, לְבָרֵךְ, לְעַלֵּה, וּלְקַלֵּס, לְמִי שֶׁעָשָׂה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ אֶת כָּל הַנִּסִּים הָאֵלּוּ, הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵרוּת, מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה, וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיוֹם טוֹב, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה. וְנֹאמַר לְפָנָיו, הַלְלוּיָהּ:

(5) ... In each and every generation a person must view themselves as though they personally left Egypt, as it is stated: “And you shall tell your child on that day, saying: It is because of this which the Eternal did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, glorify, extol, exalt, honor, bless, revere, and laud [lekales] the One who performed for our ancestors and for us all these miracles: God took us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to a Festival, from darkness to a great light, and from enslavement to redemption. And we will say before God: Halleluya.

There's More to Eating Matzah than Remembering we were Slaves

by Ayalon Eliach in Ha'aretz 2016

Leaven therefore symbolizes that acceptance is conditioned on change or transformation; whereas matzah represents the acceptance of things in their current state.

Both Passover and the Tabernacle stress the value of unconditional acceptance. The Israelites were not freed from Egypt because they were pious and fasted for three days, like the Jews in the Purim story (Esther 4:16), or because they took initiative to change the status quo, like the Maccabees of the Hanukkah story. Rather, the Torah says, it was because God simply loved them as they were: a small, enslaved nation (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

Similarly, the Tabernacle was not a place for only perfectly-transformed, “leavened” Israelites to feel close to God’s presence. Instead, it was a sanctuary for anyone to experience spiritual and emotional solace.

In both situations, matzah reminded the Israelites not that they were perfect, but that they were worthy of unconditional acceptance and love. We too should remember when eating matzah not only that we were once slaves in Egypt, but that we, like those slaves, are worthy of acceptance in our “unleavened” state.

וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמָּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃ עַ֣ד מִֽמָּחֳרַ֤ת הַשַּׁבָּת֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ת תִּסְפְּר֖וּ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים י֑וֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֛ם מִנְחָ֥ה חֲדָשָׁ֖ה לַיהוָֽה׃ מִמּוֹשְׁבֹ֨תֵיכֶ֜ם תָּבִ֣יאּוּ ׀ לֶ֣חֶם תְּנוּפָ֗ה שְׁ֚תַּיִם שְׁנֵ֣י עֶשְׂרֹנִ֔ים סֹ֣לֶת תִּהְיֶ֔ינָה חָמֵ֖ץ תֵּאָפֶ֑ינָה בִּכּוּרִ֖ים לַֽיהוָֽה׃
And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the LORD. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering; each shall be made of two-tenths of a measure of choice flour, baked after leavening, as first fruits to the LORD.