Siman 453, Se'if 4 · Matzas Mitzvah: defining the term

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 453, se'if 4

"The wheat used for the matzah of the mitzvah: it is good to guard it from the time of harvesting so that no water falls on it, and at the very least from the time of grinding. In pressing circumstances one may take flour from the market."
(Shulchan Aruch)

Matzas Mitzvah: defining the term

• The matzah of the Seder night: "Matzas mitzvah" is the matzah eaten at the very beginning of the Seder night, the one over which we recite "al achilas matzah," whose measure is two k'zeisim. That is the matzah with which the mitzvah of eating matzah is fulfilled.
• The rest of the matzos at the meal: The matzos eaten later in the meal, with the soup and with the meat, are not a mitzvah, and there is no obligation to eat them.
• The afikoman: Some say the afikoman is also included in "matzas mitzvah," since there are differing opinions as to which matzah the mitzvah is fulfilled with.
• Not the entire matzah: Even with the matzah used for the mitzvah, the definition applies to the measure actually eaten, not to the whole loaf.

The matzos baked on Erev Pesach: being precise about the name

• The common usage: People call the matzos baked on Erev Pesach after midday "matzos mitzvah," and Hallel and various chapters of Tehillim are recited during the baking. There is a special hiddur in this, but strictly speaking their name is "matzah baked on Erev Pesach," and the title "matzas mitzvah" is given to them because of their purpose: they are the matzos taken for the matzas mitzvah at the Seder.
• The timing and the concern involved: This baking is done after midday, which is already the time when chametz is forbidden, and therefore some avoid it entirely because it is complicated. Nowadays there is a concern that the matzah may not be baked properly, and so some burn it at the end.
• A name taken from something secondary (first illustration): In Hebrew a garbage container is called a "pach," the word for sheet metal, because the first such containers were made of metal, even though "pach" is not a word for a vessel at all; in Scripture "pach" means a snare. Today, when the container is made of plastic, the name has stayed.
• A name taken from something secondary (second illustration): In Scripture "challah" is a shape of baked goods, as we find regarding the korbanos, "challos matzos and rekikei matzos," and likewise "ugah" indicates a round shape. Nevertheless, we call the Shabbos bread "challah."
• One explanation for the name "challah": During the week a person does not bake in his home the amount that obligates separating challah (two hundred and thirty egg volumes, roughly a kilo and a quarter according to those who are stringent and separate with a berachah), but for Shabbos a large quantity was baked, because of guests and lechem mishneh, and from that quantity challah was separated. So the Shabbos bread is named for the separation that was done from it.

The requirement of extra guarding (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 21)

"That is to say, the matzos eaten on the first two nights, and not for the whole night, but rather those matzos with which one fulfills the mitzvah of 'in the evening you shall eat matzos.' These require extra guarding, and it is not enough for us that there is no flaw in them by way of a concern of chimutz, for it is written 'and you shall guard the matzos,' meaning that one must guard them for the sake of the matzah."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 21)

• The main point: It is not enough to be careful that the dough should not become chametz. An additional, deliberate guarding is required, for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah, as it says "and you shall guard the matzos," and Chazal received that the verse is speaking about the matzos with which the mitzvah is fulfilled.
• The two nights: The law applies to the second Seder night outside of Eretz Yisrael as well, where a Seder is conducted and all the berachos are recited just as on the first night.

From what point does the guarding begin?

1. From the time of harvesting

"That is to say, he should guard from the time of harvesting onward that no water fall on them, for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah. But before the harvesting, while they were still attached to the ground, there is no concern even if rain fell on them. And some are stringent even while attached, if they dried out completely and no longer need the ground, that they can become chametz if rain falls on them; therefore the custom is to harvest the grain for shemurah while it is still somewhat moist."
(Mishnah Berurah)

• What this guarding means: It does not mean guarding against theft, but being careful that water not fall on the kernels.
• As long as the grain is attached: There is no concern even though rain falls on it, since whatever is attached to the ground has the status of the ground.
• Once it has been detached: Once the grain has been harvested, we must be concerned that if water falls on it, it will penetrate the kernel, and problems will arise at the time of grinding.
• The stringent view: Even while attached, if the grain has dried out completely and no longer draws from the ground, it can become chametz. Therefore the custom is to harvest the grain for shemurah while it is still slightly moist.

2. From the time of grinding

"Because at that point they are brought close to water."
(Mishnah Berurah)

• The reason for the concern: Grinding was done with water mills, so the kernels come close to water and there is a concern.
• Where they do not grind with water: Even today, when we do not grind with water mills, the matter of guarding from the time of grinding remains.

3. The situation today

• Matzah shemurah from the time of harvesting: Most producers make matzah that is shemurah from the time of harvesting, and this is marked on the packaging.
• Matzah shemurah from the time of grinding: Such a marking is not commonly found. With regular matzos, the flour is in any case kept away from water from the time of grinding, but whether there is a special guarding for this purpose has not been clarified.

Pressing circumstances: flour from the market

"One may take flour from the market, for we rely on those poskim who hold that the essential guarding is from the kneading onward, and before the kneading we do not require explicit guarding; rather, even in an unspecified case we do not presume a prohibition... here it is different, because it is a pressing circumstance."
(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 24)

• The basis of the leniency: Some poskim hold that the essential guarding begins from the kneading onward, and before the kneading no explicit guarding is needed; even in an ordinary, unspecified case we do not presume a prohibition.
• The reasoning behind it: Until the kneading the concern is smaller. At harvesting we are dealing with kernels, and even if water falls on them it is not an outright problem; all these laws are in the category of stringencies. At grinding the concern is greater, but even that was said mainly regarding water mills, and not where they ground with foot power or with animals.
• The scope of the leniency: This leniency applies only in a pressing circumstance, and in such a case one may buy ordinary flour in the market and bake even matzas mitzvah from it.
• Buying wheat: Wheat may be bought in the market even when it is not a pressing circumstance, since the guarding can still be carried out at the next stage.
• The practice today: People are stringent in this matter, though not everyone is. Some rely on the factories, and one who does not rely on them takes matzah shemurah.

Lesisah, moistening the wheat

"And even in a place where they moisten the wheat, presumably they do not soak it until it becomes chametz; rather they pour water over it, rinse it, and grind immediately. And even though the Mechaber ruled that one should not moisten..."
(Mishnah Berurah)

• What lesisah is: Moistening the wheat kernels themselves, not the flour, before grinding. They do not soak them until they become chametz; rather they pour water over them, rinse, and grind immediately.
• The Mechaber's ruling: The Mechaber ruled that one should not moisten.
• The practice today: They do not moisten in the way it was done in the past. Instead, water is dripped continuously onto the wheat as it tumbles along before grinding. There is a discussion about this among the poskim, some do follow this practice, and expertise in these halachos is required.
• The difference: The lesisah of the time of the Gemara was a one-time soaking, and there there is room for concern, whereas continuous dripping is more comparable to rain falling, except that the grain is already detached.

(By way of comparison alone, mention was made of the principle in the laws of kashrus: a vessel that is engaged in expelling does not absorb, since something engaged in one action does not take on another action.)

In passing · The berachos of the mitzvah and the second Seder night

1. The berachah does not hold up the mitzvah

• The halachah: One who ate the matzah on the Seder night without reciting "Hamotzi" or "al achilas matzah" has fulfilled the mitzvah of eating matzah. The berachah is a prelude to the mitzvah and does not hold it up.
• Lechatchilah: Certainly one should recite the berachah, but if he forgot, that does not invalidate the mitzvah.
• The exception: Birkas Hamazon, which is itself the mitzvah.

2. The second Seder night outside of Eretz Yisrael

• Its advantage: On the second Seder night everyone has already rested, people sit calmly, nobody falls asleep in the middle, and they linger over divrei Torah. Some have said that this is the one advantage of being outside of Eretz Yisrael.

In passing · Hand matzah and machine matzah

1. Background

• This is not a discussion in the Shulchan Aruch: In the time of the Shulchan Aruch there were no machines at all, and the discussion appears in the Acharonim and the commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch, such as the Sha'arei Teshuvah and the works of the poskim from the era of the Mishnah Berurah.
• The introduction of the machines: When machine matzos were introduced there was a major dispute as to whether this was acceptable or not.
• The reason for hand matzah: The desire to do as our forefathers did, as a remembrance of the Exodus. Even though today's hand matzah is not exactly like the matzah our forefathers ate, it is still made by hand and there is a remembrance in it.

2. "For the sake of matzas mitzvah"

• The requirement: One who makes matzah for the Seder night must state that he is making it for the sake of matzas mitzvah.
• The difficulty with a machine: A machine cannot say "for the sake of matzas mitzvah," so the operator says it each time before he presses the button.
• Those who prefer hand matzah: Some prefer hand matzah not only because of the remembrance, but because the declaration "for the sake of matzas mitzvah" is stronger when a person is actually performing the work, whereas with a machine he is not doing anything but pressing a button.

3. Arguments both ways regarding machine matzah

1. In favor of the machine: The timing is more precise, the operation is automatic, and there is no concern that a person will lose focus or fall asleep, even though the supervision is meticulous.
2. Against the machine: The process is complex, pieces of dough fly off and fall here and there, and there is a concern that nobody will notice them.
3. The question of eighteen minutes: In the large factories they do not stop the machines every eighteen minutes. However, from the time the flour is fed in and kneaded until it enters the oven, less than eighteen minutes elapses, so from that standpoint no stop is needed. At the oven stage there is no problem at all.
4. The problem of residue: The difficulty is that when new flour is fed in, one must check that no dough residue remains in the hopper. The producers claim that there is an automatic washing before each feeding, followed by air drying, and there is room to discuss whether the washing is always thorough.
5. "Chai rega'im" matzos: There are matzos marked as having been made within eighteen minutes, and for those they stop accordingly.
6. Hand matzah has its own concern: With hand matzah that is not perfectly flat, it is possible that the heat did not properly take hold in the middle and underneath, whereas machine matzah is far flatter and thinner.

4. The practical distinction and summary

• The Seder night as opposed to the rest of Pesach: The hiddurim explained here, including the declaration "for the sake of matzas mitzvah," pertain to the matzah of the Seder night. On the remaining days of Pesach there is no mitzvah to eat matzah, only a prohibition against eating chametz (aside from the view of the Gra).
• What follows from this: One who takes matzah shemurah during the rest of Pesach does so out of concern for chametz, not because of the mitzvah involved in it. One who relies on the machines functioning properly has no problem, and there is no obligation specifically to use shemurah; shemurah is simply safer.
• Additional considerations: The taste of the matzah can be a reason, but it is not the central one. There is also a commercial angle to the dispute, and we will not enter into it.
• Summary: There are valid points on both sides, and the debate continues to this very day. We are not deciding the halachah here, and each person should act according to his own understanding. One who knows that the machines are operating properly has no problem with them, but it does need to be checked.