Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Zefanya 3:12

And our Sages said (Tanchuma Noah 18) that they [the Generation of the Tower of Babel] declared, “He [God] has no right to choose the heavens for Himself…” Through this statement, our Sages revealed the extent to which the mindset of these “men of renown” reached — that even the Divine Presence was not considered significant in their eyes. For initially, their speech was earthbound, seeking greatness for themselves, but afterward they set their mouths against heaven itself, to challenge God’s kingship, as it were. And now, come and see how despicable this trait is — is it not the very thing that destroyed both Holy Temples and continues to delay the building of the Third Temple, until such time as He removes the arrogant ones from our midst, and there shall remain only a poor and humble people who will take refuge in the name of God and trust in the name of the Lord (Zephaniah 3:12).

The second approach is more correct and easier to understand, that the matzah symbolizes humility, like matzah dough that does not rise upward. The matzah of Passover proves this, as it is a symbol of freedom and redemption. This is because God only desired Israel because they diminish themselves, as they learned (Chullin 89a) from the verse Not because you were more numerous than all the peoples did the Lord desire you, for you are the fewest (Deuteronomy 7:7). For what does the Lord ask of you but to fear Him (Deuteronomy 10:12), as humility leads to fear of Heaven. The more humility is found among those below, the more the kingdom of Heaven is revealed and seen, for He is clothed in majesty and there is none besides Him. This is the reason for the Egyptian exile — to humble them in the crucible of affliction, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord (Zephaniah 3:12). Through humility, they were freed from earthly kingdoms and accepted the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, chametz must specifically be burned, for it is a customary practice that anyone who becomes arrogant is judged by fire, as it says in the Midrash on the verse This is the law of the burnt offering; it is the burnt offering [haolah] on its firewood. For one who wishes to rise up high [lealot], like the nature of chametz which rises upward [haolah], deserves to be judged by fire, whose nature is also to rise upward. Therefore, chametz is forbidden even in the smallest amount, because in all character traits a person needs to follow the middle path, except for pride, about which our Sages said (Sotah 5a), “Not any of it, not even a bit of it.” Thus, they forbade even the slightest amount of pride, just as the slightest amount of chametz is forbidden. Similarly, our Sages said (Avot 4:4), “Be exceedingly humble in spirit” before every person, which alludes to the extreme importance of this matter and the need to distance oneself from it completely.