Unleavened Bread

Bread that is free from leaven or other foreign elements. It is kneaded with water and without yeast or any other chemical effervescent substance, and is hastily prepared to prevent the dough from undergoing the process of spontaneous fermentation, which would make it "ḥameẓ" (leavened bread). The word is derived from the Hebrew root

The Use of Maẓẓah.

The maẓẓah offered at sacrifices was of various forms—"leḥem" (lit.= "bread"), "ḥallah" (= "loaf"), "raḳiḳ" (= "wafer"); the latter two were mixed or spread with oil (Exodus 29:2). Maẓẓot were required to be absolutely pure, as neither leaven nor honey was permitted in connection with sacrifices (Leviticus 2:11). The reason assigned is that maẓẓah is a symbol of purity, while leaven represents the evil impulse of the heart (Ber. 17a). Maẓẓah was partaken of with the lamb on Passover eve (Exodus 12:8) because the lamb was considered an offering to the Lord. The eating of maẓẓot during the seven days of the Passover festival is intended to recall the hurried departure from Egypt, which event must be commemorated (Exodus 12:14,17,39; Deuteronomy 16:4) on every anniversary.

A Symbol of Freedom.

The Zohar calls maẓẓah "naḥama 'illa'ah" (heavenly bread), an antidote to the Egyptian slavery and corruption and a symbol of freedom and idealism. Maẓẓah was to cure Israel and prepare him for the acceptance of the Torah (Zohar, Teẓawweh, p. 183b, Wilna, 1882).

Nevertheless, the eating of maẓẓah during Passover, unlike the prohibition against eating ḥameẓ, is not imperative; it is a voluntary act ("reshut"). That is, a Jew may abstain from eating both ḥameẓ and maẓẓah, except on the first eve, when the eating of maẓẓah is obligatory ("ḥobah"). This is deduced from the passage, "Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread" (Deuteronomy 16:8), though the other passages command that maẓẓot shall be eaten seven days (Pes. 120a). In accordance with this distinction, the maẓẓah of the first night is called "maẓẓat miẓwah" (= the "precept maẓẓah") or "maẓẓat shemirah" (= the "observance maẓẓah," based on Exodus 12:7); it must be specially prepared and preserved for Passover eve (Pes. 38b). The special care of the "shemirah" consists in watching the wheat during harvesting, milling, and baking, that it shall not become leavened, either by rain swelling the grains or dampening the flour, or by too much kneading and slow baking. The shemirah is used principally for the Seder nights, while the more pious use such maẓẓot every day of the Passover festival. The ordinary maẓẓah is prepared of "ḳemaḥ min ha-shuḳ" (flour purchased at the market), and the bakers are careful only during the process of kneading and baking. The ordinary maẓẓah may be used for the first night's meal, when eating maẓẓah is obligatory. Yet even the market flour must be made only of wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye (Pes. 2:5), rice and a species of millet being excepted (Pes. 35a).

Making Maẓẓot.(From a Passover Haggadah, Amsterdam, 1695.)

"Mayim She-Lanu."

On the theory that at night the sun underneath the earth warms the wells and rivers below and makes the water tepid (Pes. 94b), R. Judah ordered that the kneading for maẓẓah shall be done with "mayim she-lanu" (water that has "lodged" overnight at home and has been exposed to the cold night air). The aim is to have the water for kneading as cold as possible in order to prevent the fermentation of the dough (Shulḥan 'Aruk, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 455, 2). Although not necessarily againstthe Law, it is the custom to omit salt or seasoning from the maẓẓah (c. 455, 5).

The size of each mass of dough for maẓẓah may not exceed one-tenth of an ephah, equal to 43 15 medium-sized hens' eggs, and the time allowed for preparing it is the time required for a journey of a mile (= 2,000 cubits), that is, about twenty-seven minutes (c. 456, 1; 459, 2). However, a continuous kneading and frequent hand-washings in cold water may extend the time. According to R. Gamaliel, the preparation of the maẓẓah was performed by three women: one kneaded the dough, another formed the maẓẓah, and the third baked it (Pes. 3:4).

Size and Shape.

The thickness of the maẓẓah must not exceed the size of a closed fist, four fingers or four inches, which was the thickness of the show bread. A later custom was to make maẓẓah one finger thick ("Bet Hillel," Yoreh De'ah, No. 96). In modern times the maẓẓah is much thinner, varying from four to five maẓẓot to the inch, and is made in round form about twelve inches in diameter. In about 1875 maẓẓah-baking machinery was invented in England, and soon after introduced in America. Some rabbis opposed the innovation, claiming that the corners of the machine-made maẓẓah were trimmed round in a subsequent operation, thus prolonging the time and causing fermentation; as a result of their protest the form of the maẓẓah was changed to a square. Still, there are a great many, perhaps a majority, who use round, machine-made maẓẓot, while there are many pious ones who would use no other than hand-made maẓẓot. Eisenberg, at Kiev, Russia, recently invented a maẓẓah-machine capable of baking 15 poods (about 541 pounds) of dough in one or two hours ("Der Jud," 1902, No. 9).