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Wrapped in Redemption: The Hillel Sandwich

There is a dispute in the Gemara as to how the korban pesach should be eaten. A verse in the Torah instructs us, "upon matzah and maror shall you eat it [the korban pesach]. Hillel understands this literally: "upon" implies, make a sandwich of all three - meat and bitter herbs wrapped in unleavened bread [note: fresh-baked matzah of old was thicker and softer than our present-day matzah. The Sephardi tradition maintains this form of matzah, which is more like a pittah than the matzah most of us are familiar with. It is unleavened - no yeast or sourdough leavening agent is added - but it is soft and pliable within the first few hours of its baking, longer by modern refrigeration]. The other Rabbis understood the word al ('upon") as "along with". Indeed, that usage is common in the Torah. Unlike Hillel, who insisted that the only way to fulfill the mitzvah of eating the korban pesach was in sandwich form, the Rabbis said that as long as matzah and maror were part of the meal, the requirement was fulfilled.

We are taught that matzah symbolizes ge'ulah, redemption, while marror symbolizes galut, exile and enslavement. Hillel insists that they both be consumed simultaneously. He thereby teaches us that exile and redemption are forever entwined in a ceaseless dynamic in which the incremental progress toward perfection is often masked by hopes repeatedly raised and dashed.

It was for this reason that, at the revelation of the Burning Bush, when Hashem revealed His identity to Moshe as "Eh-yeh Ahser Eh-yeh", understood by the Midrash as "I will be with them in this trouble and woe, as I will be with them in future troubles and woe", that Moshe responded to Hashem and said, "One trouble at a time is enough". The ability to see redemption through the veil of exile is reserved only for the likes of Moshe, Hillel, and those who aspire to be inspired by their example and teaching.

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