Based on the explanations in the previous sections, it is necessary to understand why we say:וְצָרִיךְ לְהָבִין מַה שֶּׁאוֹמְרִים
“This matzah that we eat – what is its reason? Because the dough of our ancestors did not have the opportunity to rise.”מַצָּה זוֹ שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים עַל שׁוּם מָה עַל שׁוּם שֶׁלֹּא הִסְפִּיק בְּצֶקֶת שֶׁל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְהַחֲמִיץ,
The matzah that we eatהֲרֵי הַמַּצָּה שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים
(after the Giving of the Torah)(לְאַחֲרֵי מַתַּן תּוֹרָה)
incorporates the positive quality of man’s Divine service and the positive quality of the observance of the mitzvos,יֵשׁ בָּהּ מַעֲלַת הָעֲבוֹדָה וְהַמַּעֲלָה דְּקִיּוּם הַמִּצְוָה
[and more particularly – it involves the performance of a mitzvah after the Giving of the Torah],[וּבָזֶה גוּפָא – מִצְוָה שֶׁלְּאַחֲרֵי מַתַּן תּוֹרָה],
i.e., after the Divine decree separating the spiritual from the physical was nullified and thus, the performance of every mitzvah results in a connection to G‑d’s Essence.1
Why then do we say that the matzah we eat is “Because the dough… did not have the opportunity to rise,”וְהֵיאַךְ אוֹמְרִים דְּהַמַּצָּה שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים הוּא עַל שׁוּם שֶׁלֹּא הִסְפִּיק לְהַחֲמִיץ
(i.e., the reason it was matzah and not chametz was not a result of man’s efforts, but rather, as a matter of course,(דְּזֶה שֶׁהוּא מַצָּה וְלֹא חָמֵץ הוּא בָּא מִמֵּילָא,
because it did not have the opportunity to rise)?מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא הִסְפִּיק לְהַחֲמִיץ).
Our matzah has several positive qualities that the matzos eaten after the Exodus lacked: a) it is preceded by man’s Divine service over the course of the entire previous year; b) the fact that the dough does not rise comes about through man’s efforts; and c) partaking of the matzah is a mitzvah, an act of Divine service that binds man with G‑d’s Essence. True, the matzah eaten after the Exodus was suffused with the revelation of G‑dliness, but it lacked the positive qualities delineated previously. Thus, it is not comparable to the matzah we eat. Why then do say that our matzah resembles that matzah?
It is possible to resolve this question with the following explanation:וְיֵשׁ לוֹמַר הַבֵּאוּר בָּזֶה,
The mitzvah of relating the story of the Exodus from Egyptכִּי מִצְוַת סִפּוּר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם
is to retell – and relive – the Exodus from Egypt as it took place then.הִיא לְסַפֵּר הָעִנְיָן דִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיָ' אָז.
In the Haggadah,2 we say “In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he himself left Egypt.” The command is not merely to intellectually appreciate this concept, retelling past history, but also to experience Pesach as a present day happening, that each of us is leaving his own personal Mitzrayim, transcending his individual boundaries and constraints.
Moreover, (and indeed, this is of fundamental importance,)וְעוֹד (וְעִקָּר)
Since, “Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not taken our ancestors out of Egypt,כֵּיוָן שֶׁאִלּוּ לֹא הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם כו'
we would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt,”3מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרַיִם,
therefore, now as well, (particularly, on Pesach night,)לָכֵן גַּם עַכְשָׁו (וּבִפְרָט בְּלֵיל הַפֶּסַח)
even though it is after the Exodus from Egypt, and after the Giving of the Torah,אַף שֶׁנִּמְצָאִים כְּבָר לְאַחֲרֵי יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם וּלְאַחֲרֵי מַתַּן תּוֹרָה,
the situation that prevailed then is still a present-tense factor.יֵשׁ גַּם הַמַּעֲמָד וּמַצַּב שֶׁהָיָ' אָז.
Accordingly, (while relating the story of the Exodus in the Haggadah,) we say:וְלָכֵן אוֹמְרִים (בְּהַסִּפּוּר דִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם שֶׁבַּהַגָּדָה)
“This matzah that we eat… Because the dough of our ancestors did not have the opportunity to rise before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them.”מַצָּה זוֹ שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים כו' עַל שׁוּם שֶׁלֹּא הִסְפִּיק בְּצֶקֶת שֶׁל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְהַחֲמִיץ עַד שֶׁנִּגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּגְאָלָם,
The matzah that we eat before midnightדִּבְהַמַּצָּה שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים קֹדֶם חֲצוֹת
embodies, in addition to the positive quality of the matzah the Jews ate in Egypt before midnight –יֵשׁ בָּהּ נוֹסָף עַל מַעֲלַת הַמַּצָּה דְּקֹדֶם חֲצוֹת –
i.e., the positive quality of man’s Divine service on this lowly plane in the fulfillment of G‑d’s command,הַמַּעֲלָה דַּעֲבוֹדַת הַתַּחְתּוֹן בְּקִיּוּם צִוּוּי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא
(albeit, before the Giving of the Torah)4 –(כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיָ' לִפְנֵי מַתַּן תּוֹרָה),
it also includes the positive quality of the matzah eaten after midnight at which time there is –גַּם מַעֲלַת הַמַּצָּה שֶׁאַחֲרֵי חֲצוֹת –
the positive quality that “it did not have the opportunity to rise”הַמַּעֲלָה דְּלֹא הִסְפִּיק לְהַחֲמִיץ
(i.e., that inherently, it could not leaven)(שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לִהְיוֹת בָּהּ חִמּוּץ)
because of the revelation from Above.5מִצַּד הַגִּלּוּי דְּמִלְמַעְלָה.
In addition, the matzah that we eat also embodiesוְנוֹסָף לָזֶה, בְּהַמַּצָּה שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים יֵשׁ גַּם
the lofty level contributed by the Giving of the Torah, for the observance of the mitzvos after the Giving of the Torah brings about the fusion between G‑dliness and material existence.הָעִלּוּי דְּמִצַּד מַתַּן תּוֹרָה, קִיּוּם מִצְוָה שֶׁלְּאַחֲרֵי מַתַּן תּוֹרָה.
Moreover, it also embodies a reflection of the positive quality of eating matzah on the Seventh Day of Pesachוִיתֵירָה מִזּוֹ, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהּ גַּם מֵעֵין הַמַּעֲלָה דַּאֲכִילַת מַצָּה בִּשְׁבִיעִי שֶׁל פֶּסַח
which is left to man’s choice.שֶׁהִיא רְשׁוּת
I.e., in contrast to the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah which continues all seven days of the holiday, eating matzah is only commanded on the first night of Pesach. There is no mitzvah to eat matzah on the Seventh Day of Pesach.6
(Nevertheless, eating matzah at that time remains a positive spiritual act and, on a certain level, is even loftier than matzah eaten as an obligatory act),(שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה מֵחוֹבָה),
As explained in Chassidus,7 those activities associated with mitzvos that are defined as reshus, optional acts left to man’s choice, reflect a rung of G‑dliness that is so lofty, man cannot be commanded to draw it down.8
and thus reflects the positive quality that will characterize eating in the Ultimate Future, when the G‑dly source of all existence will be revealed and the essential G‑dliness invested in material existence will be manifest.9שֶׁהִיא מֵעֵין הָאֲכִילָה דְּלֶעָתִיד לָבֹא.

Summary

Based on the explanations in the previous sections, the statement, “This matzah that we eat – what is its reason? Because the dough of our ancestors did not have the opportunity to rise” is problematic. The matzah that we eat has several positive qualities lacking in the matzah eaten by our ancestors: a) it is preceded by man’s Divine service over the course of the entire previous year; b) the fact that the dough does not rise comes about through man’s efforts; and c) partaking of the matzah is a mitzvah. Why then do we say that our matzah resembles that matzah?
In resolution: The mitzvah of relating the story of the Exodus from Egypt is to retell – and relive – the Exodus from Egypt as it took place then; the Exodus becomes a present-tense happening.
Thus, the matzah we eat embodies several positive qualities: a) the matzah the Jews ate in Egypt before midnight; b) the positive quality of matzah (that inherently could not be leavened because of the revelation from Above; c) the lofty level contributed by the Giving of the Torah; and d) the positive quality of eating matzah on the Seventh Day of Pesach which is left to man’s choice.