Passover 5783

There is a debate in our home regarding matzah. Our middle son, Cory, now that he has moved back to New England, expects that we purchase only handmade shmurah matzah for our  Pesach Seder. Since he was a child, for Cory, the taste and texture of shmurah matzah is what makes the holiday come alive. Needless to say, he also finds it closest to the matzah that was baked as the Jews left Egypt, and it is not only for himself, but for his four-year-old son, that he wants him to experience what “real matzah” is.

I recall that as a student in Israel, we climbed to the top of “Jabal Musa” in the Sinai Desert to what might possibly be Mt. Sinai. At the end of the day, as we descended to the bottom of the mountain, we encountered a Bedouin waiting for our return. He had made a fire and on top of that fire sat a round metal pan on which there was a very thin round bread baking. It looked much like the shmurah matzah we eat today.  One difference - it was nice and soft, rather than hard and looked much like laffa, Israeli bread. We all commented that perhaps his bread was the authentic matzah of Passover, and wouldn’t that be a welcome difference to the hard and crunchy matzah that we are afflicted with on Pesach.

Lisa, on the other hand, prefers machine made matzah from Israel -  flat, square, uniform, and hard. During the week, she comments that it goes great with butter and raspberry jam.

I recently read an article from the Hadar Institute about the dispute. It seems that back in 1838 a man named Isaac Singer, who lived in France, (and was no relationship to the Isaac Singer of New York who invented the sewing machine) developed the matzah making machine. From its inception, there were warnings from some rabbis in Europe suggesting that machine made matzah should not be used. The rationale behind the prohibition seems to be related to the loss of parnasa, financial loss, to the individual bakers who hand produced matzah. In 1859, R. Shlomo Kluger of Brody wrote: “The reason for the prohibition [of machine matzah] appears to be, first and foremost, that it is not within the bounds of decency and ethical behavior to steal from the poor whose eyes are raised to this [opportunity]. From their assistance with baking matzot, [the money that they earn] gives them great assistance with the numerous expenses of Pesach…”

As Rabbi Yitzchak Bronstein points out in his article, most other rabbis negated that argument by suggesting that the price of the handmade matzah was so overpriced that the benefit of the cost of machine-made matzah overweighed the “theft” from the handmade matzah maker. And while one had to ensure the livelihood of the matzah baker for the benefit of the greater Jewish community, one had to accept machine made matzah.

In a similar fashion, the Talmud is quite specific in allowing us to sell our chametz rather than purchasing new pots and pans each year, because the pottery makers of the time hiked up the prices of new pots around the time of Passover. Since one was required to dispose of all chametz, they used the opportunity to overcharge which is prohibited by Talmudic law. When the pottery makers refused to reduce their prices, the rabbis of the Talmud instituted the concept of selling our chametz rather than requiring disposing and repurchasing of new utensils.  

Notice the question of machine vs handmade matzah has nothing to do with the taste, the texture, or the kashrut of the matzah. The question was related solely to the financial wherewithal of the baker.  In some ways, the same questions have arisen with regard to our modern technology. At what point do the needs of the local worker override the use of machines and technology? And, for that matter, at what point is it most important to bring manufacturing back to America? Additionally, at what point must we value paying a tad (or a lot) more for American made vs. Chinese made? Or living in a global economy, should we be considerate of the poor Chinese worker, who without the low paying job would not be able to put food on his or her table?

While the debate in my home will continue, we purchased both Yehuda machine made matzah as well as shmurah matzah from Israel. And while the debate will continue in our home, our sedarim will only feature handmade shmurah matzah. But I look forward to machine made matzah with butter and jam for my breakfasts. It has been a staple in our home for many years,   and no matter which matzah one uses, it is just wonderful that we have the opportunity to have the debate as we munch and crunch.

On behalf of my mishpacha , I wish you a Zissen Pesach.

Rabbi  K