Rabbi Shifrin: Matzah Means Life

If there is a single simple object that characterizes the history and faith of a people, it could just be the flat, unleavened bread of the Jews – called Matzo or Matzah – eaten at Passover, the holiday marking their deliverance from bondage in Egypt.

To foster understanding of this ritual food and its significance, the Chabad of northeast Queens is conducting a “” in its Early Learning Center at 212-12 26th Ave. in Bayside.

Until April 8, groups from other synagogues, day, private and public schools can attend these sessions, where little kids get to convert raw stalks of wheat into the staple that helped the Jews survive three millennia ago.

“This is more than religious, it’s a cultural lesson for children,” explained Rabbi Eli Shifrin, before starting a new class on Sunday.

First mentioned in the book of Exodus, Matzah is made from only flour and water – no salt, sweetener or anything resembling yeast.

In fact, because wild yeasts abound in the air, Jewish law insists that from the moment the flour and water are brought together until the baked Matzah is drawn from the oven, no more than 18 minutes can elapse.

“When our forefathers left Egypt, they were in such a hurry that there was no time to wait for the dough to rise,” Rabbi Shifrin explained to this group of Jewish children, resplendent in their new paper baker’s hats.

“They therefore ate Matzah – unleavened bread,” he continued.

But this is not to be just any Matzah. It’s “Shmura” or watched Matzah, to be eaten during the first two of the eight-days of Passover.

From the harvesting of the wheat care is taken that no water touches it. Pure water is drawn from a well or stream just before use, taking care that no grain has touched it.

For the class, Rabbi Shifrin distributed whole stalks of wheat, and demonstrated how to break the head from the stalk; remove the “whiskers;” crumble out and thresh the grain from the chaff.

Each apprentice baker got a chance to grind their grain down to flour in a hand mill, and after a demonstration of drawing water (done as far away as possible from where the grain was prepared) and mixing, they got to roll out and perforate their own little Matzah.

All of these steps were accompanied by loving explanations from the Rabbi, interspersed with a little commentary for the proud parents watching and recording.

But when the time came for the actual baking, the Rabbi did the work, as the oven was both too high for the kids to reach – and far too hot to let them near.

“It’s at least 500 degrees by this time of day,” he said, noting that in the professional bakeries, the ovens are so hot the Matzah is baked on both sides “in seconds.”

As the proud – and dusty – bakers got their official sticker and Matzah and went off to do a craft in the next room, Rabbi Shifrin filled in some background.

“Some people actually sand down their rolling pins after each batch to make sure no leavening can take place,” he said, conceding that more than 18 minutes might elapse between sandings.

The 18-minute rule may not be mere coincidence. The word “Chai” meaning “life,” is formed from the 8th and 10th letters of the Hebrew alphabet. “For those fleeing Egypt into the desert, Matzah also meant life,” Rabbi Shifrin observed.