Do You Want Bread?
Ilona Levinets
א י נ ע א מ ח ל א
ה Ha Lachma Anya
This is the Bread of Affliction
At the beginning of the Maggid section of the Haggadah, we lift the matzah and say:
“ Ha lachma anya— this is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.”
Before we tell the story of liberation, we begin with bread.
The Haggadah does not begin with triumph or power. It begins with memory— the memory of hunger, vulnerability, and displacement. And from that memory comes an invitation: if someone is hungry, we must open the door.
In my family, this teaching is not only liturgical. It is a story that has been passed down for generations.
My grandfather arrived in Georgia as a refugee child. His family were jewelers living near Odessa during a time of violence and uncertainty. In fear for their lives, their mother placed three children on a ship and gave them gold and jewels— everything she could carry— telling them she would meet them in three days in Istanbul.
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