677. Why Matza Is Called “Bread of Poverty”

Let us explain the matter of Hametz [leaven] and Matza [unleavened bread], why Matza is called “bread of poverty,” and why the Omer is made of barley, which is food for beasts, and the two loaves of bread, from wheat, which is food for man.

To understand the verse, “On Passover, he is judged on the crops, and on the Atzeret [eighth of the assembly], on the fruits of the tree.” According to the RASHI interpretation of Rabbi Yehuda, according to him, the tree from which Adam HaRishon ate was wheat (Rosh Hashanah 16).

Concerning circumcision and removing: The circumcision is the removal of the foreskin, and the removal is the division between Mitzva [commandment] and Torah. “A candle is a Mitzva, and the Torah is light.”

The removal of the will to receive is called “Turn away from evil.” Through Mitzvot [commandments] and good deeds and assistance from the Creator, we are rewarded with removal of the foreskin. Afterward, we are rewarded with the Torah, called “man is the tree of the field.” Also, a beast is called BON, Malchut, as in “His wealth will be only for the Creator.”