34 | APRIL 2 • 2020

W

e all know a
matzah when
we see one: a
thin, flat, square cracker,
punctuated with parallel
rows of holes. We know
how a matzah behaves, too.
Stored properly, a matzah
never gets stale, never gets
moldy, never bends (but
it does break). We know
matzah; our tribe has eaten
matzah since biblical times.
So, it may seem odd to ask,
“When did a matzah get
that way?”
Square: The matzah
got square when Isaac
Singer invented the matzah
machine in 1838 in France.
(Fun fact: T
his is a different
Isaac Singer from the one
who invented a sewing
machine in 1850 in New
York.)
Singer’
s matzah machine
made a rectangular product;
before that, matzah was
round. Some rabbis
immediately objected to
the machine-made matzah,
either because the baker
must intend to make a
matzah (and how can a
machine have intention?)
or because the machines
put people out of work.
But most of the Jewish
community in Europe
accepted it.
Thin: Everyone made thin
matzah — but how thin?

In the 16th century, Rabbi
Yosef Karo recommended
not to make it as thick as a
handbreadth. In subsequent
centuries, authorities
describe matzah as “thick
as a thumb” — still way
thicker than machine-made
matzah.
Hard and breakable: In
Talmudic times, the bakers
would stick the dough to
the wall of the oven and
flip it off the wall with a
peel when the matzah was
sufficiently baked.
Lasts forever: Because
machine-made matzah
never gets stale, it became
a valuable product in urban
Europe. Matzah bakers
could begin producing it
months in advance. In more
rural places, some people
made ultra-thin matzah
by hand, but others made
soft, thick matzah. They
had to make the softer,
thicker matzah right before
the holiday so it would not
spoil.
More than a century
has elapsed since many
communities last saw a
thick, soft matzah. Now that
we have freezers, though,
we can make soft, thick
matzah long in advance.

MAKING SOFT MATZAH
Matzah, whether thin or
thick, has a remarkably

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It doesn’
t have to be hard and square.

Make Your Own
(Soft?) Matzah

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34_DJN040220_PO Soft Matzah April2.indd 34
34_DJN040220_PO Soft Matzah April2.indd 34
3/30/20 1:49 PM
3/30/20 1:49 PM