Healing Power of Matzah

לחם עוני אמרו חז"ל שעונין עליו דברים.

“Bread of affliction”—our Sages said that one ‘answers upon it’ matters.

The Sefat Emet explains that the matzah is called ‘bread of affliction’ because it is a vessel for speech—its essence is revealed through the words we speak over it during the Seder.

כי בנ"י זכו לזה הלחם מיכלא דאסוותא ע"י עינוי וגלות מצרים.

For the Children of Israel merited this bread, the ‘food of healing,’ through the affliction and exile of Egypt.

The matzah is not merely a memory of suffering but a spiritual nourishment attained through enduring and transcending the trials of Egypt; it becomes a healing food.

וכמו כן עתה בכל פסח ע"י הסיפור וזכירת יצ"מ זוכין לאותו הלחם:

And so too now, every Passover, through the telling and remembering of the Exodus, we merit that same bread.

By recounting the story of the Exodus, we draw down anew the spiritual quality of the original matzah—its healing and elevating power.

Summary: Matzah is a ‘bread of affliction’ because it is activated through speech. Israel first gained its healing power through the hardships of Egypt, and each Passover we regain that power through retelling the story.