Passover in the Parsha - Parshat Tzav

(1) The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Command Aaron and his sons thus: This is the Torah of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it. (3) The priest shall dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar. (4) He shall then take off his vestments and put on other vestments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. (5) The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being. (6) A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out.

(7) And this is the Torah of the grain offering: Aaron’s sons shall present it before the Eternal, in front of the altar. (8) A handful of the choice flour and oil of the meal offering shall be taken from it, with all the frankincense that is on the meal offering, and this token portion shall be turned into smoke on the altar as a pleasing odor to the Eternal. (9) What is left of it shall be eaten by Aaron and his sons; it shall be eaten as matzot, in the holy place; they shall eat it in the enclosure of the Tent of Meeting. (10) It shall not be baked with hameitz; I have given it as their portion from My offerings by fire; it is the holy of holies, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.

(3) You shall not eat any hameitz with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat matzot, the bread of poverty—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live.

After Rabbi Alexandri prayed, he would say the following:

Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that our will is to perform Your will. But what prevents us? The yeast in the dough...

(4) These are the set times of the Eternal, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time: (5) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover offering to the Eternal, (6) and on the fifteenth day of that month the Eternal’s Feast of Matzot. You shall eat matzot for seven days. (7) On the first day you shall celebrate a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. (8) Seven days you shall make offerings by fire to the Eternal. The seventh day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations.

(9) The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: (10) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. (11) He shall elevate the sheaf before the Eternal for acceptance in your behalf; the priest shall elevate it on the day after the sabbath. (12) On the day that you elevate the sheaf, you shall offer as a burnt offering to the Eternal a lamb of the first year without blemish. (13) The meal offering with it shall be two-tenths of a measure of choice flour with oil mixed in, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Eternal; and the libation with it shall be of wine, a quarter of a hin. (14) Until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God, you shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears; it is a law for all time throughout the ages in all your settlements. (15) 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: (16) you must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Eternal. (17) 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 with hameitz, as first fruits to the Eternal.

(11) This is the ritual of the sacrifice of well-being that one may offer to the Eternal: (12) If he offers it for thanksgiving, he shall offer together with the sacrifice of thanksgiving matzot with oil mixed in, matzot spread with oil, and cakes of choice flour with oil mixed in, well soaked. (13) This offering, with cakes of leavened bread added, he shall offer along with his thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being. (14) Out of this he 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.

What differentiates this night from all other nights?

On all other nights we eat hameitz and matzah; on this night, only matsa?