There is so much to learn about spirituality from the observance of Passover and by eating matza, the simplest of foods.
A Symbol of Spirituality
It is because of its minimal ingredients that matza is called lechem oni. Lechem is bread in Hebrew, and oni means poor. Hence, matza is also known as “the poor man’s bread.”
Just as a poor, impoverished person has nothing other than the most absolute basics, so too, the bread of Passover is made of nothing but the absolute basics. This basic – flour and water only – content of matza symbolizes both a process of simplicity and refinement as well as spiritual freedom.
The Talmud teaches that the more a person is occupied with the physical world and the pursuit of material possessions, the more his mind is occupied with worldly matters, rather than spiritual ones. The poor person, on the other hand, has no possessions and is therefore only minimally occupied with the physical and material world. As such, it might just be that it is the poor people who are more focused on spirituality and spiritual growth.