Matzo or
matzah is an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long
PassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
holiday, when eating
chametzChametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...
—bread and other food which is made with leavened grain—is forbidden according to Jewish law. Currently, the most ubiquitous type of Matzo is the traditional
AshkenazicAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
type, which is hard like a
crackerA cracker is a baked good commonly made from grain flour dough and typically made in quantity in various hand-sized or smaller shapes. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, and/or cheese, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking...
. However, some
Mizrahi JewsMizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
have traditionally prepared Matzo as a soft and pliable type of flat bread, and these "soft matzos" have recently regained some popularity. Matzo is eaten by Jews as an obligation during the
Passover SederThe Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
meal; during the rest of the holiday its consumption is optional.
Torah-related sources
Matzah is mentioned in the
TorahTorah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
several times in relation to
The ExodusThe Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
from
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
:
Meaning
There are numerous explanations behind the symbolism of matzah. One is historical: Passover is a commemoration of the exodus from
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The biblical narrative relates that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste they could not wait for their bread dough to rise; the bread, when baked, was matzah. (Exodus 12:39). The other reason for eating matza is symbolic: On the one hand, matza symbolizes redemption and freedom, but it is also
lechem oni, "poor man's bread." Thus it serves as a reminder to be humble, and to not forget what life was like in servitude. Also, leaven symbolizes corruption and pride as leaven "puffs up". Eating the "bread of affliction" is both a lesson in humility and an act that enhances the appreciation of freedom.
Another explanation is that matza has been used to replace the pesach, or the traditional Passover offering that was made before the destruction of the Temple. During the Seder the third time the matza is eaten it is preceded with the
SefardicSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
rite, "zekher l’korban pesach hane’ekhal al hasova". This means "remembrance of the Passover offering, eaten while full". This last piece of the matza eaten is called
afikomanAfikoman is a half-piece of matzo which is broken in the early stages of the Passover Seder and set aside to be eaten as a dessert after the meal.Based on the Mishnah in Pesahim 119a, the afikoman is a substitute for the Korban Pesach, which was...
and many explain it as a symbol of salvation in the future.
The Passover Seder meal is full of symbols of salvation, including the opening of the door for Elijah and the closing line, “Next year in
Jerusalem,” but the use of matzah is the oldest symbol of salvation in the Seder.
Ingredients, five species of chametz, and preparation
| Matzo (Plain) Nutrition Facts |
|
The precise detailed religious requirements for matzah are not universally agreed upon; for example there is disagreement over what grains may be used, whether matzah which is wetted after being baked then becomes chametz or not, and so on. Some strictly observant Jews insist that grain for matzah must be supervised since harvesting—shmurah matzah.
At the
Passover sederThe Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
, it is customary to eat matzah made of flour and water only; matzah containing
eggEggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s,
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, or fruit juice in addition to water is not acceptable for use at the seder, although acceptable during the remaining days of the holiday. However, most strictly Orthodox
Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
will not eat this kind of matzah during Passover.
Biblically, five specific species of grain become
chametzChametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...
after wetting. The actual species are not known with certainty, although they would necessarily have been crops that grew in the middle east in Biblical times. When the Bible was translated into European languages, the names of food grains common in Europe were used, some of which were not grown in ancient Israel:
- Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, חיטה
- Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, שעורה
- Spelt
Spelt is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the...
, כוסמין
- Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
, שיפון, and
- Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
s (according to RashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
) (or two row barley according to Rambam's interpretation of MishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
Kil'ayim 1:1; YerushalmiThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
Challah 1:1), שיבולת שועל
As more accurate historic and botanical evidence comes to light, some scholars today propose that only the 'five grain species' native to the Land of Israel can become chametz. They are:
- חיטה - Chittah – durum wheat (T. durum),
- שעורה - Se’orah – barley - 2 row (Hordeum vulgare), and
- כוסמין - Kusmin - emmer
Emmer wheat , also known as farro especially in Italy, is a low yielding, awned wheat. It was one of the first crops domesticated in the Near East...
wheat (T. dicoccon),
- שיפון - Shiphon - einkorn wheat
thumbnail|150px|left|Wild einkorn, Karadag, central TurkeyEinkorn wheat can refer either to the wild species of wheat, Triticum boeoticum , or to the domesticated form, Triticum monococcum...
(T. monococcum),
- שיבולת שועל - Shibbolet – barley – 6 row (Hordeum vulgare)
Bread wheat, spelt, rye and oats did not grow in the Land of Israel in the biblical period, but evolved later in the northern Fertile Crescent and Europe. All grains in the genus of
Triticum, such as bread wheat (T. aestivum) or spelt (T. spelta), are forbidden.
OatThe common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
-grain is practically
glutenGluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye...
-free and belongs to a different
tribeIn biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...
from wheat, spelt, rye and barley.
MilletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
and
teffEragrostis tef, known as teff, taf , or khak shir , is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa....
are borderline; it takes a few days for them to rise. However, despite this historical information, many authorities clearly say things such as "Chometz: fermented grains (wheat, oats, barley, rye and spelt) are all proscribed on Passover".
Concerning Identification of שיבולת שועל "oats" see חמשת מיני דגן
(Clarification: In modern Hebrew כסמת is used for
buckwheatBuckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
, which is not a grain at all.)
Matzah dough is quickly mixed and rolled out without an autolyse step as used for leavened breads. Most forms are pricked with a fork or a similar tool to keep the finished product from puffing like a
tortillaIn Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
, and the resulting flat piece of dough is cooked at high heat until it develops dark spots, then set aside to cool and, if sufficiently thin, to harden to crispness. Dough made from the five grains is considered to begin the leavening process 18 minutes from the time it gets wet; sooner if eggs, fruit juice, or milk is added to the dough. The entire process of making matzah takes only a few minutes in efficient modern matzah bakeries. Noodles are now made from Passover flour and eggs, as used for egg matzah, then baked under Rabbinical supervision.
After baking, matzah may be ground into fine or coarser crumbs, known as
matzah meal, used to make matza balls and added to other foods, such as
gefilte fishGefilte fish is a poached fish mince stuffed into the fish skin.More common since the Second World War are the Polish patties similar to quenelles or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp or pike...
, instead of flour. Kosher for Passover cakes and cookies are made with matzah meal or a finer variety called "cake meal", which gives them a denser texture than ordinary baked foods made with flour. Very coarse matzo meal is known as
matzo farfel.
Common and less usual varieties
There are two major forms of matza, with several subcategories. In many western countries the most common form is the hard form of matza which is cracker-like in both appearance and taste, used in all Ashkenazic and most Sephardic communities.
Although most people have a clear idea of matza as similar to crackers, there is no requirement that matzah be crisp for any purpose, including the seder.
YemeniteYemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
s, and Iraqi Jews traditionally made a form of soft matza which may look like Greek
pitaPita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...
or like a
tortillaIn Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
. Soft matza is made only by hand, and generally with
shmurah flour, as described below, like traditional "
Shmurah Matza". A problem with this matzah before the introduction of freezing is that it did not keep for more than a day or two, being subject to staling like any soft bread, not a problem with hard matzah. However, soft matzah freezes well, and is more practical than it was.
Besides their shape, handmade and machine-made matza are distinctively different. Handmade hard matzo is dense and chewy, while machine-made matza is lighter and crispy. Shmurah matza is generally available only around
PassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, and is more expensive. Hard
shmura matzah is often a round hand-made matzah about a foot in diameter; machine-made hard matzah is usually square and much smaller.
Flavored varieties of matzah are produced commercially, such as
poppyA poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
seed- or
onionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
-flavored. Oat and spelt matzah with kosher certification are produced, an are suitable for people who cannot eat wheat. Organic wheat matzah is also available.
ChocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
-covered matzah is a favorite among children, although some consider it "enriched matza" and will not eat it during the Passover holiday. A quite different flat confection of chocolate and nuts that resembles matzah is sometimes called "chocolate matzah".
Matzah contains typically 111 calories per 1-ounce/28g (USDA Nutrient Database), about the same as
ryeRye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
crispbread.
Shmurah matzah
Shmura ("guarded") matzah (
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
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, and that it is suitable for eating on the first night of Passover. (
Shmura wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made matzah, while non-
shmura wheat is only used for machine-made matzah. It is possible to hand-bake matzah in
shmura style from non-shmurah flour—this is a matter of style, it is not actually in any way
shmura—but such matzah has rarely been produced since the introduction of machine-made matza.)
Many Haredi or ultra-orthodox Jews are extremely scrupulous about the supervision of their matzah, as eating leavened products during Passover is liable to the extremely grave divine punishment of
KarethIn Judaism, Kareth is a divine punishment for transgressing Jewish law.It is the punishment for serious crimes that were not brought to justice by a human court...
(or a
sin-offeringA sin offering is a biblical sacrifice offered to achieve atonement for the committing of an unintentional sin.-Etymology:The Hebrew noun hatta'at "sin" comes from the verb hata' "to sin." The first use is in the sentence "sin lies at your door" to Cain in Genesis 4. The noun hata'at can mean...
if unintentional); consequently many have the custom of baking their own matzo, or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. Ultra-Orthodox Shmurah matzah is typically expensive, generally between $18–$22 per pound in the US, 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 HalberstamChaim Halberstam of Sanz , known as the Divrei Chaim after his magnum opus on halakha, was a famous Hasidic Rebbe and the founder of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty....
of
SanzThe Sanz Hasidic dynasty was founded by Rabbi Chaim Halberstam Rabbi of Nowy Sącz , author of Divrei Chaim and a son-in-law of Rabbi Boruch Frankel Thumim , Rabbi of Lipník nad Bečvou , author of Boruch Taam.-Founder of dynasty:The Divrei Chaim was a disciple of Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz, who was...
, who ruled that machine-made matzoth were
chametz. According to that opinion, hand-made non-
shmurah matzot may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However, today such matzah are generally not made.
However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made matzah may be used, with preference to the use of
shmurah flour, in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, who actually ruled that machine-made matzah may be preferable to hand made in some cases.
Passover challah from shmurah matzah
The commentators to the
Shulchan AruchThe Shulchan Aruch also known as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most authoritative legal code of Judaism. It was authored in Safed, Israel, by Yosef Karo in 1563 and published in Venice two years later...
record that it is the custom of some of Diaspora Jewry to be scrupulous in giving Challah from the dough used for baking "Matzot Mitzvah" (the Shmurah Matzah eaten during
PassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
) to a Kohen child to eat.
"Egg" and other unconventional matzos
"Egg
(sometimes enriched
) matzah" are matzot usually made with fruit
juiceJuice is the liquid that is naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue.Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree...
, often
grapeA grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
or
appleThe apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
juice instead of water, but not necessarily with eggs themselves. There is a custom among some Ashkenazic Jews not to eat them during Passover, except for the elderly, infirm, or children, who cannot digest plain matzah; these matzot are considered to be kosher for Passover if prepared otherwise properly.
The issue of whether egg matzah is allowed for Passover comes down to whether there is a difference between the various liquids that can be used. Water facilitates
fermentationFermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
of grain flour, but the question is whether fruit juice, eggs, honey, oil or milk are also deemed to do so. The
TalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
(Pesachim 35a.) states that liquid food extracts do not cause flour to leaven the way that water does. According to this view, flour mixed with other liquids would not need to be treated with the same care as flour mixed with water. However, other Talmudic commentaries (
TosafotThe Tosafot or Tosafos are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes...
) 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, whether or not made according to the laws applying to matzot. As a result, Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Code of Jewish Law, (Orach Chaim 462:4.) granted blanket permission for the use of any matzah made from non-water-based dough, including egg matzah, on Passover. Many egg matzah boxes no longer include the message, “Ashkenazi custom is that egg matzah is only allowed for children, elderly and the infirm during Passover.” Even amongst those who consider that enriched matza may not be
eaten during Passover, it is permissible to
retain it in the home.
Another view is that, since the Hebrew term for egg matzah is
matzah ashirah , it cannot be used to fulfill the requirement of eating matzah at the
Passover SederThe Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
. This is because such matzah would be considered "rich", while the matzo eaten at the Seder is called "poor man's bread" (Hebrew: ) (
Deut. 16:3The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
)
A basic principle of whether a given dough can be used for mitzva matzo is that doughs that do not have the potential of becoming chametz by simply sitting for 18 minutes cannot be made into mitzva matzo. Thus, a dough made from juice, etc., is of doubtful validity as mitzva matzo and may be used for the mitzva only in cases of illness or age.
Those who contend that Ashkenazi Jews should not eat egg matzah on Passover cite
RemaMoses Isserles, also spelled Moshe Isserlis, , was an eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha , entitled ha-Mapah , an inline commentary on the Shulkhan Aruch...
(Orach Chaim ibid., 4) ruling that the custom among the Ashkenazim is to refrain from eating egg matzah on Passover, unless it is necessary for children or the elderly who would have difficulty eating regular matzah. Commenting on Rabbi Yosef Karo's permission to use egg matzah, the Rema responded "…in our communities, we do not knead (matzah) 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 matzah on Passover also include chocolate covered matzah, grape flavoured matzah and the many other varieties available.
Although according to Jewish law once matzah is baked it cannot become chametz, some Jews consider that moistened matzo becomes unkosher if it rises. Many dishes using matzo, sometimes with water, are made, such as matzo pizza, matzo brei, matzo with cream cheese and jam, matzo with butter and sugar, etc. Some kosher restaurants serve these matzo variations during passover, as well as the rest of the year when chametz considerations do not apply.
World War II "Victory Matzo"
At the end of World War II, the
National Jewish Welfare BoardThe National Jewish Welfare Board was formed on April 9, 1917, three days after the United States declared war on Germany. The organization was charged with recruiting and training rabbis for military service, as well as providing support materials to these newly commissioned chaplains...
had a matzo factory (according to the American Jewish Historical Society, it was probably the Manischewitz matzo factory in New Jersey) produce matzo in the form of a giant "V" for "Victory," for shipment to military bases overseas and in the U.S., for Passover seders for Jewish military personnel.
Matzah cookery
Matzot are used not only by themselves but in several roles in Passover cuisine where they can substitute for flour or pasta. In English-speaking countries, where Ashkenazic culture dominates, matzo balls and matzo
farfelFarfel are small pellet-shaped pasta. Farfel is most prevalent in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. It consists of an egg noodle dough which may be cut or grated for use in soups, or served as a side dish...
are widely used in soups and as pasta, as well as matzah meal being used in baked goods such as cakes.
Matzah breiMatzah brei , sometimes spelled matzah brie or matzo brei, is a dish of Ashkenazi Jewish origin made from matzo fried with eggs.Numerous recipes exist for this dish...
is another popular dish of
AshkenaziAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
JewishJewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
origins made from matzo fried with
eggEggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s.
Sephardim use matzah (soaked in water or stock) as a substitute for
phylloPhyllo, filo, or fillo dough is paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough used for making pastries in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine.-History:An early, thick form of phyllo appears to be of Central Asian Turkic origin...
or
lasagnaLasagna is a wide and flat type of pasta and possibly one of the oldest shapes. As with most other pasta shapes, the word is generally used in its plural form lasagne in Italy and the U.K. Traditionally, the dough was prepared in Southern Italy with semolina and water and in the northern regions,...
pasta to make pies known as
mina (or, in Italian,
scacchi).
Matzo meal pancakes, made from fried matzo meal (powder ground matzah), egg, and milk, are eaten when wheatflour pancakes and bread are forbidden.
Some Ashkenazim do not cook with matzah, believing that mixing it with water may allow leavening; the mixture is called "gebrochts" by Ashkenazic Jews.
Christian beliefs
According to Western Christian belief, matzah was the bread used by
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in the
Last SupperThe Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
as there he was celebrating Passover; Communion wafers used by Roman Catholics (as well as some Protestant sects) for the
EucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
are flat. Some Orthodox Christians use leavened bread, as in the east there is the tradition that leavened bread was on the table of the Last Supper. However, in the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchThe Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church churches, unleavened bread is used for communion (called
qddus qurban in the lithurgical language Ge'ez). In
Koine GreekKoine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
matzah became known as , Greek for
unleavened breadA flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
. The term is no longer widely used in English but was used by the Catholic Church in the Douay-Rheims Bible.
Forms of the word
Spelling in English varies, as the word is a
transliterationTransliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
from Hebrew. Pronunciation also varies; there is no approved "correct" spelling and pronunciation. Spellings listed in the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary include matzo, matzah, matso, motsa, motso, maẓẓo, matza, matzho, matzoh, mazzah, motza, and mozza. The plural is given as matsot, matsoth, matzot, matzoth, (irreg.) matzoths, mazzot, and mazzoth; the regular English plural, added "s", is also used. Israelis and Sefaradim pronounce the second vowel like English "ah"; Ashkenazi pronunciation is like "oh". This is a general difference in pronunciation of this Hebrew vowel, and is reflected in the variant English transliterations. Various translations into English of the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
use different spellings, or translate the Hebrew into "unleavened bread" or "unleavened cakes" (azymes is found in some old translations). Yiddish usage, also found in English, is matse and matses.
AzymesAzymes is an archaic English word for the Jewish matzah, derived from the Greek word "ἄζυμος" for unfermented bread in Biblical times; the more accepted term in modern English is simply unleavened bread or matzah, but cognates of the Greek term are still used in many Romance languages Azymes is an...
is an
archaic EnglishEarly Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English...
word for matzah, derived from the Greek word "ἄζυμος" (
ázymos: "unleavened") for unfermented bread in Biblical times. This word is not used in modern English—the Hebrew word is transliterated instead—but cognates of it are still used in many Romance languages (Spanish
pan ácimo, French
pain azyme, Italian
azzimo, Romanian
azimă). It was the usual word for unleavened bread in the early
CatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
English Douay-Rheims Bible.
In English some
nouns are used for things that cannot be countedIn linguistics, a mass noun is a noun that refers to some entity as an undifferentiated unit rather than as something with discrete subsets. Non-count nouns are best identified by their syntactic properties, and especially in contrast with count nouns. The semantics of mass nouns are highly...
, and
some for things that canIn linguistics, a count noun is a common noun that can be modified by a numeral and that occurs in both singular and plural form, as well as co-occurring with quantificational determiners like every, each, several, etc. A mass noun has none of these properties...
. For example, we do not normally speak of "three breads", or "a kilo of loaf". All the forms of matzo are used in
both senses: "three matzos", "a kilo of matza".
See also
- Azymes
Azymes is an archaic English word for the Jewish matzah, derived from the Greek word "ἄζυμος" for unfermented bread in Biblical times; the more accepted term in modern English is simply unleavened bread or matzah, but cognates of the Greek term are still used in many Romance languages Azymes is an...
- Chametz
Chametz, also Chometz, and other spellings transliterated from , are leavened foods that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover...
- Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
- Gebrochts
- Matzah balls
Matzah balls are a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dumpling made from matzah meal.Some recipes may add a number of ingredients, such as stock and seasonings for taste, or seltzer or baking powder for fluffiness. Traditionally, the fat had been schmaltz , which imparts a distinctive flavor, but...
- Matzah brei
Matzah brei , sometimes spelled matzah brie or matzo brei, is a dish of Ashkenazi Jewish origin made from matzo fried with eggs.Numerous recipes exist for this dish...
External links