Matzah, because we ate… The Haggadah explains that the reason we eat Matzah is to remind us of the haste with which we left Egypt. Yet we were commanded to eat Matzah prior to our flight from Egypt. So how can we explain the eating of Matzah in this way? There are, however, two separate reasons and two separate Mitzvot in eating Matzah. We eat Matzah all week of Pesach as a way of reminding ourselves that we were slaves in Egypt. Matzah is Lechem Oni, the bread of affliction. We refrain from eating leavened bread and eat only Matzah for seven days to symbolize the fact that the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt for a very long time. The Biblical seven days symbolize the seven days of creation and the many days we were enslaved. On the eve of Passover when we tell the story of the Exodus the Matzah symbolizes the haste with which we left Egypt. Was leaving with haste really a sign of distinction? In Isaiah 52:12, “For you shall not go out with haste and nor go by flight for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel shall be your rearguard.” We are told that in the end of time redemption will come with haste but slowly and deliberately. So why is leaving Egypt with such haste considered to be a good thing? Rabbi Ashkenazi explained that the Israelites had to leave Egypt in haste because they were living in a place of impurity and God wished to get them out as quickly as possible so he could reveal himself to them. But in the end of time redemption will come more deliberately and slowly because Israel will not be in such dire danger. The haste with which we left Egypt was a sign of God’s impatience to quickly establish a new covenant with the people and protect them from impurity.