You may think Pesach is now over. However, in a way it just started. How can that be? It all depends on how we relate to chametz.

There are many reasons chametz is forbidden on Pesach. One is that yeast works like negative character traits. That is, yeast makes dough puff up just like people can become arrogant and prideful. So we avoid chametz to stay away from those negative traits.

The question is, “If chametz represents so many bad traits then how can it be permitted the rest of the year?” Sometimes eating chametz is even a mitzvah, like having challah on Shabbat! One answer is that Pesach prepares us for the rest of the year. We avoid chametz on Pesach and that strengthens us spiritually to eat chametz afterward.

This week we’ll calculate how powerful Pesach is. Here is the math problem:

Find the ratio between the Shabbat challahs we eat during the year and the matzah we eat over Pesach.

Here are some estimates:

1. You eat two matzahs at each meal over Pesach.
2. You eat three meals a day for each of the eight days of Pesach.
3. During the year, you have a meal with two challot for each meal on Shabbat.
4. You eat three meals for 50 Shabbats during the year. (There are 52 weeks in a year, but two Shabbats can fall during Pesach so we would not eat challah then.)

Solution: If you have two matzahs for three meals a day for the eight days of Pesach, that is 2 x 3 x 8 = 48 matzahs. For Shabbat challahs, the calculation is 2 x 3 x 50 = 300 challahs. The ratio of challahs to matzahs is 300/48, which is 6.25. So matzah is over six times more powerful than challah.

Shabbat Shalom.

Ari Blinder is a math educator living in Highland Park. He is the owner of Math for the Masses, an innovative tutoring and consulting company. Please visit www.math4masses.com for fun activities and helpful worksheets. Ari can be reached at ari.m4m@gmail.com. Never think you are “not a math person.” You are very much one already, but no one has shown you how.