_(Hebrew: matzah) Unleavened bread is eaten during PASSOVER. According to Exodus 12:39, the ancient Israelites took matzah rather than bread with them when they fled from Egypt because they did not have time to wait for the bread to rise. To commemorate this, matzah must be eaten on the first night of Passover. For the rest of the Passover season, no leaven may be consumed.
Reprinted
with permission from A
Concise Encyclopedia of Judaism,
by Dan Cohn-Sherbok. Oneworld Publications