Bread of Poverty: Faith, Freedom, and Inner Wholeness

“This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and celebrate Passover. This year we are here; next year in the Land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free people.” (From the Passover Haggadah)

The Kedushat Levi brings the words of our Sages in tractate Bava Batra (10), that the title “children” is directly connected to doing God’s will and maintaining strong faith in Him. When the Jewish people act according to God’s will, they express a deep relationship with their Father in Heaven, and therefore they are called “children.” However, when they do not act properly, and when fulfilling God’s will is lacking, they are called “servants.”

At first glance, it is difficult to understand — if the Jewish people do not fulfill God’s will, are they not considered wicked?

“Be wholehearted with the Lord your God”

The Kedushat Levi explains that the Jewish people are not inherently evil; rather, the issue lies in a lack of understanding. It is not necessarily an act of wickedness, but a deficiency in faith.

As hinted in the verse (Devarim 18:13), “Be wholehearted with the Lord your God,” meaning that a person becomes whole and lacking nothing when he lives in connection with God. When however a person does not believe this, he feels deficient, because he is not aligned with God’s will to bestow goodness upon us.

“This is the Bread of Affliction”

This is also hinted at in the words “Ha Lachma Anya”—“This is the bread of affliction.” The Kedushat Levi explains that Israel in Egypt existed in a state of spiritual lack. The “poor bread” symbolizes incompleteness, reflecting the people’s spiritual condition at that time.

Our Sages (Pesachim 116) teach that the phrase lechem oni — bread of affliction, implies a broken piece, because a poor person eats from a fragment. The word prusah (a piece) hints at deficiency and incompleteness.