Maṣṣá
From Safon.org
Maṣṣá (also massa(h), matsáh, matza(h), matzo(h), Hebrew מַצָּה [ma'ṣ:a:]) is a Jewish food item made of plain flour and water, which is not allowed to ferment or rise before it is baked. The result is a flat, crunchy, cracker-like bread.
Maṣṣá is the traditional substitute for bread during Pesaḥ because of the prohibitive commandment of eating ḥaméṣ. Moreover, eating maṣṣá the night of the seder fulfills the positive commandment of eating maṣṣá at the Passover haggadá (some say {the Vilna Gaon} the positive commandment is applicable for the entire Passover week). Maṣṣá has a dual role in the Passover festival. First, when the Children of Israel were leaving Ancient Egypt, they had no time to wait until their bread rose, so they baked it before it had a chance to rise, and the result was maṣṣá (Exodus 12:39). Therefore it symbolizes redemption and freedom. Second, unleavened bread is considered poor man's bread (léḥem ngoní), symbolizing slavery because such was the type of bread fed to slaves. Thus, it serves as a reminder to be humbled and remember what it is like to be a poor slave, sparking an appreciation of freedom and avoid the puffed ego symbolized by leavened bread. For Passover, the ingredients for maṣṣá are limited to flour and water only, while other ingredients such as eggs or fruit juice may be added to maṣṣá that is produced and consumed during the rest of the year.
After it has been baked, maṣṣá may be ground into a more or less fine powder known as matzo meal, which can then be used to make matzo balls, gefilte fish, and many other dishes.
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[edit] Five grains
There are five grains that may not be used during Passover in any form except maṣṣá and dry roasting.
- Wheat,
- Barley,
- Spelt,
- Rye, and
- Two-rowed barley according to Rambam’s interpretation of Mishná Kiláyim 1:1; Talmud Yerushalmí Ḥallá 1:1).
Wheat and spelt (biblical spelt is now more correctly identified as emmer wheat) are both in the genus Triticum and anything else in the genus is likewise forbidden. Oat-grain is practically gluten-free and belongs to a different tribe than wheat, spelt, rye and barley. Millet and teff are borderline; it takes a few days for them to rise.
Dough made from the five grains is considered to start rising 18 minutes from the time it gets wet; if not put in the oven before then it can no longer become true maṣṣá.
Maṣṣá can be ground to form coarse (matzo farfel), medium, or fine matzo meal, used in Jewish cooking and as a substitute for flour in Passover cooking.
[edit] Common varieties
There are two major forms of maṣṣá, with several subcategories. In the United States, the most common form is the hard form of maṣṣá, which is cracker-like in both appearance and taste, which is used in all Ashkenazic and most Sephardic communities. Many Mizrahi, Yemenite Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Hispanic and Latin Sephardi Jews traditionally made a form of soft maṣṣá. In those communities, maṣṣá looks similar to pita while in others it can resemble a tortilla. However, it is made under proper supervision, just like the hard form of maṣṣá. The soft form of Maṣṣá is only made by hand, and generally with shemurá flour, as described below, like traditional "maṣṣót shemurót".
Among Ashkenazi maṣṣót, one can distinguish between what is called shmura matzo — a round maṣṣá about a foot in diameter — which is made by hand, and machine-made maṣṣá, which is usually square and much smaller. Shmura ("guarded") maṣṣá (Hebrew מַצָּה שְׁמוּרָה maṣṣā šəmūrā) is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that no fermentation has occurred. In addition, it is made with the intention of using it to fulfill the commandment of eating maṣṣá on the first night of Passover.
(The same shemura wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made maṣṣá, while non-shemura wheat is only fashioned into machine-made maṣṣá. Moreover, although it is possible to bake shemura-style maṣṣá from non-shemurah flour, such maṣṣá is rarely produced today, although before the invention of machine-made maṣṣá it was quite common.)
Besides their shape, handmade and machine-made maṣṣá taste distinctively different. Handmade maṣṣá is dense and chewy, while machine-made maṣṣá is lighter and crispy. Shmurah matzo is generally available only around Passover and is more expensive than its more commonly commercial cousin.
Various commercial brands of maṣṣá also come in flavored varieties, such as poppyseed- or onion-flavored. For those who cannot eat wheat, oat and spelt maṣṣót with kosher certification are produced. Please note that the certification of oat products as maṣṣá is NOT valid. It is also possible to find chocolate-covered maṣṣá, although this confection is often classified as maṣṣá ngashirá and is not generally used during the Passover holiday. Some confectionery companies also sell chocolate maṣṣá (not chocolate-covered maṣṣá) during the Passover holiday. This is made from molded chocolate into which broken almonds have been mixed, to simulate the appearance of maṣṣá. These are to maṣṣá as a chocolate cigar is to a cigar. Maṣṣá contains approximately 111 calories per 1-ounce/28g serving (USDA Nutrient Database). This compares with 109 calories for the same serving of rye crispbread. [1]
[edit] Supervision and Provisions
Many Haredi or ultra-orthodox Jews are extremely scrupulous about the supervision of their maṣṣá, as eating leavened products during Passover is liable to the biblical punishment of Kareth, thus many have the custom of baking their own maṣṣá, or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. Ultra-Orthodox Shmurah Matzah is typically expensive, generally between $10-$20 per pound, but sometimes costing up to $50 per pound for special varieties with particular stringencies.
Among many Hasidic Jews, only hand made shmurah matzah may be used, in accord with the opinion of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, who ruled that machine-made maṣṣót were chametz. According to that opinion, hand-made non-shmurah maṣṣót may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However, today such maṣṣót are generally not made.
However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made maṣṣót may be used, with preference to the use of shmurah flour, in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi Yoseph Chaim Sonnenfeld, who actually ruled that machine-made maṣṣót may be preferable to hand made in some cases.
[edit] Egg maṣṣá
Egg maṣṣá are maṣṣót that are usually made with fruit juice, often grape or apple juice instead of water. Some egg maṣṣót is made with actual eggs, however a lot does not. There is custom among some Ashkenazic Jews not eat them during Passover, except for the elderly, infirm, or children, who cannot digest plain maṣṣá, even though the box is stated to be kashér for Passover. Sephardi Jews never followed this custom. However, many leading scholars advocate not adhering to this custom.
The issue whether egg maṣṣá is allowed comes down to if there is a difference between the various possible liquids that make flour wet. Water triggers fermentation of grain flour, but the question is if fruit juice, eggs, honey, oil or milk do it as well. The Talmud (Pesachim 35a.) states that liquid food extracts do not cause flour to leaven the way that water does. For this reason flour mixed with other liquids would need to be treated with the same care as flour mixed with water according to this view. However, other Talmudic commentaries (Tosafot) say that such liquids only produce a leavening reaction within flour if they themselves have had water added to them and otherwise the dough they produce is completely permissible for consumption during Passover. As a result, Rebbí Yoséf Karo, author of the Code of Jewish Law, (Orach Chaim 462:4.) granted blanket permission for the use of egg maṣṣá (or any other maṣṣá made from non-water-based dough) on Passover.[1] Many egg maṣṣá boxes no longer include the message, “Ashkenazi custom is that egg matzah is only allowed for children, eldery and the infirm during Passover.”
Another view of this is that since the Hebrew term for egg maṣṣá is maṣṣá ngashirá (Hebrew: מצה עשירה), literally, "enriched matzah" or "rich matzah", Egg maṣṣá cannot be used to fulfill the requirement of eating maṣṣá at the haggadá. This is because such maṣṣót would be considered "rich", while the maṣṣá eaten at the Seder is called "poor man's bread" (Hebrew: לחם עוני) (Deut. 16:3)[2]
Those who contend that Ashkenazi Jews should not eat egg maṣṣá cite Rema (Orach Chaim ibid., 4) ruling that the custom among the Ashkenazim is to refrain from using Egg Maṣṣá on Passover at all, unless it is necessary for children or the elderly who would have difficulty eating regular Maṣṣá. Commenting on Rebbí Yoséf Karo's permission to use egg maṣṣá, the Rema responded "...in our communities, we do not knead (maṣṣá) dough with fruit juice... And one should not change from this unless in a time of emergency for the sake of a sick or old person who needs this" Those who follow this prohibition of eating egg maṣṣá on Passover also include chocolate covered maṣṣá, whole wheat maṣṣá, grape flavoured maṣṣá and the many other varieties available.
[edit] Maṣṣót during the year
Commercial maṣṣá is often available during the year, both in flavored and plain forms. It is used in cooking (e.g. matzo ball soup made from matzo meal) or eaten as a snack. During the year, Ashkenazim treat maṣṣá as bread, requiring washing before and full Birkàt hammazón afterwards. Sephardim normally treat it as a cracker and accord it the special status of bread only during Passover.
[edit] References
- Template:Cite book Up-to-date reference to cereals in the Biblical world
[edit] See also
- Kashrút (kashér (Sef.), kósher (Ashk.))
- Matzah balls
- Matzah brei
- Ḥaméṣ
- Gebrochts
[edit] Sources
- «Matzo» on the English Wikipedia
[edit] Links
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