Matzah is the most important item in the Seder, and eating it fulfills the central mitzvah of Passover. But matzah is also bread -- albeit of the decidedly unleavened sort. Tonight it fulfills the role of the two whole loaves that are
the mainstay of every Shabbat and festival meal. That's why we have three
matzahs on our Seder plate -- so that in addition to the "piece" of matzah over
which we tell the story of the Exodus, we'll have two whole matzahs over which
to pronounce the "Hamotzi" blessing, praising and thanking G-d "Who brings bread from the earth."
Grab all three matzahs—the top one, the broken middle one and the bottom one—and pick them up a little.
Say the blessing: "Blessed be You, L-rd our G-d, King of the World, Who brings bread out of the earth"
Hold on… more techie instructions to follow in the next step.
We feel an affinity with the food we eat: We too are a miracle out of the earth.
We and the bread share a common journey. The bread begins as a seed buried beneath the ground. And then, a miracle occurs: As it decomposes and loses its original form, it comes alive, begins to grow sprout and grow. As spring arrives, it pushes its way above the earth to find the sun, and then bears its fruits for the world.
We too began buried in Egypt, all but losing our identity. But that furnace of oppression became for us a firing kiln, a baker’s oven, the womb from whence we were born in the month of spring. In our liberation from there, we brought our fruits of freedom to the world.
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