The Bread of Our Affection the History Ofmatzoh Is Anything but Dry
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The Bread of Our Affection The History ofMatzoh is Anything But Dry t a Bedouin camp in the JOAN NATHAN are newly arrived Yemenite Jews in central Negev, south of Israel. At a recent seder in the Beer Sheva, women of But the eating and baking of Canadian Absorption Center in the Azzazma tribe grind matzoh, besides being central to Ashkelon diey prepared this bread A for their seder by making a paste wheat between two stones, mix the the history of Jewish food, has flour with salt and water, and roll always reflected the times and spir of flour and water, slapping It onto out the dough tinder practiced it of the Jews themselves. a griddle to cook, then flipping it to hands. Finally, they slap the rolled In Exodus, unleavened bread is a the odier side, instead of baking it dough onto a concave metal disk symbol of both affliction and the in an oven. similar to an inverted wok and journey to freedom. It is what the The earliest matzoh was probably bake it over coals on the ground. Hebrews eat, with bitter herbs, as made of barley, the word matzoh "Matzoh is desert bread," says they flee the Pharaoh (Exodus coming from the Old Babylonian Clinton Bailey, one of Israel's fore 12:8); it is made part of their ensu ma-as-sa-ar-lum, which means barley. most authorities on Bedouin cul ing celebrations of Passover It was the first grain harvested in die ture, as he observed die baking last (Exodus 12:15); and it becomes a Middle East, used many centuries November. "It was eaten by the sacrament in their priestly rituals before wheat which began in about Israelites before they went to (Exodus 29:2). This is a pure mat 4000 B.C.E. Later, however, only Egypt. It's the staple of the zoh, with no contamination of wheat came to be used, a practice Bedouin diet which they bake yeast, not unlike the wafer in the which continues today. three times a day. To the Bedouin Catholic church. Probably the only Until the twentiedi century, mat yeast is the sign of a settled peo Jews making a similar matzoh today zoh—in many guises throughout ple, of contamination in die city. "Matzoh became the central image of Passover because the Israelites, being nomads, left the settled area and went back to the desert. In the same way that Bedouins see themselves different ly, Hebrews in leaving the fleshpots of Egypt celebrate their return to freedom and dieir disengagement from slavery." What a far cry these simple beginnings may seem from our late-20th century celebrations of Passover, which begins April 14. Grocery stores are stocking up on wholewheat, egg, onion, salted, unsalted, even chocolate-covered, matzoh—not to mention kosher- for-Passover pizza crust, blueberry Matzoh baking in Tel Aviv. For matzoh to be kosher for Passover, no more than 18 min muffins and fudge brownies. utes may elapse from when water touches the flour until the dough goes into the oven. 30 MOMENT • APRIL 1995 the world—rwas round. In the rabbi of Gleiwitz in Middle Ages matzoh often had Prussia to inquire decorations on it, and in some whether it was lawful countries, such as Italy, it was to use machinery to almost an inch thick and did not manufacture matzoh. crumble. This thick ajlkomen, the The rabbi's response, hidden or "dessert" matzoh, published in the New became a symbol of good luck. Jews York Asmonean on Feb. of medieval Italy used matzoh as an 28, 1851, found "the amulet, hanging it in the house employment of throughout the year or carrying it machinery to be law in a pouch or wallet, a practice con ful. And it is permitted tinued by some Italian Jews to this to manufacture at one day. "In Pitigliano [matzoh] were time a larger quanüty This 1858 woodcut shows early machine matzoh baking in New York. about a quarter-inch thick," says than that specified for Edda Servi Machlin, author of The die manipulation by hand labor....By of Philadelphia, wrote his family Classic Cuisine of Ilalianjeius II (Giro the machine diere can be no dread that he was strolling through the Press). "They were generally oval- of leavening since that is guarded streets of a Virginia town and shaped, more like embroidered against in every respect...." noticed a little boy sitting on the doilies widi festoons all around." In Throughout the 1860s the steps of a house, eating matzoh. ancient times a woman in child Jewish press coast to coast ran mat When he asked the boy for a piece, birth would often bite into Üiis mat zoh ads. In 1864, for example, one the child fled indoors, shouting at zoh for good luck; today the lucky ad in San Francisco's Hebrew the top of his lungs, "Mother! person who finds it at the seder Observer stated, There's a damn Yankee Jew out wins a prize. Matzoth! The original pioneer side!" The boy's mother came out For most American Jews, howev Matzoth Baker)'...the undersigned immediately and invited the sol er, matzoh is thin, square and comes who arc the Orginal Matzoth Bakers dier to the seder.* in a package, another aberration of in this City and Stale most respect During this period editorials the 20di cenUiry. Making your own fully announce to their Co- appeared in the Jewish press matzoh was a tradition until Religionists that their arrangements encouraging northerners to forget machine-made matzoh was creat for manufacturing Matzoth are most their ill feelings towards the south ed. "When I lived in Hungary," says perfect...Mr. Adler is the Old Pioneer and provide their Jewish brethren Hazzan Max Wohlberg, 88, of and First Practical Baker in California there, many of whom had lost Washington, D.C., "we bought mat who undertook to furnish the above everything, with matzoh for the zoh flour from our slndmid brought article. We will strictly pay obedience seder. During the industrial revo it to the bakery. Togedier we baked to religious duties and invite our cus lution which coincided with the enough matzoh for our enure fami tomers for inspection. We call special end of the Civil War many auto ly. It was a mitzvah to do diis." Says attention to our stock of cakes, con mated food businesses sprang up, Servi Machlin: "Even when we were fectionery and goose grease Tor the including matzoh bakeries. in the woods escaping die Nazis and Holydays. The most successful of these was die fascists during World War II we The Civil War provided an started by an enterprising Ortho made and baked our own matzohs." opportunity for die expanded man dox Lithuanian Jew named Dov Unül die 1840s, American Jews ufacture of matzoh. In the early Behr Manischewitz. Arriving in bought matzoh direcdy from their 1800s, Augustus Goodman, the Cincinnati in 1886, he began as a synagogues, where special commit scion of matzoh bakers in Posen, part-time peddler and schochet tees shaped them by hand into Poland, settled in Washington, (ritual slaughterer) for the round or rectangular forms. As bak D.C., where, using his mother's Orthodox community, which had eries went into die matzoh business recipe, he became a baker for the paid passage for him and his fami in the mid-1800s, the debate over Union Army. In 1865 he moved to ly. A year later he started a small whedier machine-made matzoh was Philadelphia where he opened a matzoh bakery that eventually kosher became heated. Eventually, bakery which eventually became became B. Manischewitz Baking observant Jews wrote to the chief A. Goodman & Sons, Inc., a manu Company, the largest matzoh bak facturer of matzoh and noodles. ing company in the world. By the "AmrncanJewiy in tlw Civil War, Bertram Kom, continued on page 71 Philadelphia:Jewish Publication Society, 1951 One Union soldier, Myer Levy Matzoh can elapse from when water touches come in to bake their matzoh. As continued from page 31 the flour until when it goes into the Reuven Sirota shovels tfïe hand- oven," says Rabbi Tenenbaum. "After formed matzoh into the brick oven, time he died in 1914, Mr. Manischewitz 18 minutes it rises [ferments] and it is he recalls his native Uzbekistan, had invented a traveling oven which not fit for Passover matzoh." This where he baked matzoh until he came baked more than 50,000 pounds of mat shmurah matzoh, with a split second here in the 1970s. "Making matzoh is zoh a day. Today the Manischewitz separating it from flat bread or crack a mitzvah," he said. "In Uzbekistan I Company, located in Jersey City, New ers, more closely resembles die unleav had to make it in secret at 4 o'clock in Jersey, since 1932, produces 100,000- ened bread that was eaten by the Jews the morning. It was forbidden for plus pounds a day from October to when they were fleeing Egypt. Jews to celebrate Passover. For me, March under its own label, as well as Even today, at small bakeries like making matzoh openly represents die under diat of Goodman's and Horowitz Rabbi Tenenbaum's, entire families freedom of living in America." ® Margareten. In addition to the manufacture of matzoh, companies like Manischewitz packaged broken pieces into matzoh TEACH YOURSELF meal and created uses for the meal like "airy matzoh balls." For centuries left JUDAISM over matzot were made into crumbs with a large wooden mortar and pesde, much EXCITING "HOW TO" like the corn grinders used by die early JEWISH BOOKS AND TAPES American Indians.