Parshas Tzav 5786 - Matzah and Chametz

In this week’s parsha, the Torah describes the Korban Todah—the thanksgiving offering. Rashi explains that this offering was brought by someone who survived a life-threatening situation, such as safely crossing the sea, traveling through a desert, being released from captivity, or recovering from serious illness.

The offering included both meat and forty loaves of bread. Interestingly, the Torah tells us that these loaves were divided into three parts matzah and one part chametz (Vayikra 7:12–13). The Gemara (Menachos 76b) clarifies that this meant thirty loaves of matzah and ten loaves of chametz.

This structure raises two striking questions.

First, why include chametz at all? Chametz often symbolizes the physical and material aspects of life, while matzah—lechem oni, the “bread of affliction”—represents humility and spiritual dependence on Hashem. If this offering expresses gratitude for Divine salvation, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for it to consist entirely of matzah? Indeed, almost all other grain offerings are exclusively matzah.

Second, the Gemara teaches that the same quantity of flour used for the thirty matzah loaves was used for the ten chametz loaves. Why should the smaller number of chametz loaves receive an equal share? This seems disproportionate.

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, zt”l offers a profound explanation. The Korban Todah specifically commemorates salvation from physical danger. Therefore, it is appropriate that the offering includes chametz, symbolizing the physical dimension of life that was preserved. By bringing chametz, a person acknowledges that even his material well-being comes directly from Hashem.

The predominance of matzah, which represents devotion to Hashem, conveys a deeper truth: that ultimately, we are dependent on Hashem, which we fully realized after Hashem saved us from danger. Consequently, “every little grain” of our physical lives should be rooted in spiritual awareness and service of Hashem.

This focus on spirituality might require diminishing one’s enjoyment of the physical world. To counter this, the Torah assigns equal resources—the same measure of flour—to both the matzah and the chametz. This teaches that a life centered on serving Hashem does not reduce one’s sense of richness or joy. On the contrary, when one lives with spiritual purpose, that sense of fulfillment permeates and elevates even the physical aspects of life. As Hirsch says, when we devote our renewed existence to serving Hashem, then “our happiness and joy in living becomes real and true, and our life full and rich.”

As we approach the holiday of Pesach and remove chametz from our possessions, we reflect on the fact that everything we have—both spiritual and material—is a gift from Hashem. Like the person who brings the Todah offering to Hashem for saving his life and finds renewed meaning in serving Hashem, we celebrate that Hashem freed us from Egyptian bondage to enable us to feel true happiness by following His Torah.