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Chabad.org » Mitzvahs & Traditions » Mitzvah Minutes » Holiday » Matzah
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Matzah

The Edible Mitzvah

Matzah is more than a food, it's the way we relive the Exodus. It's also the only mitzvah we have today that we actually eat and digest. According to kabbalah, matzah you eat on the first night of Passover strengthens the faith of the soul, and matzah eaten on the second night heals it. So make sure you…

Get the Real Thing

Because not all matzah is created equal. There's…

Year-round matzah

The ultimate matzah is made by hand in a bakery where everyone yells out, "For the sake of the mitzvah of matzah!"Looks like matzah, tastes like matzah and has the same ingredients as matzah—but it wasn't made for Passover, and so no one made sure that it didn't rise. Not kosher for Passover under any conditions.

"Rich" matzah

Matzah made with fruit juice, eggs or some other extra ingredients. May have been made for Passover, but shouldn’t be used for the seder. May be used during the rest of Passover by the ill, or those who (for health reasons) simply cannot stomach plain matzah.

Shmurah matzah

Matzah made from flour that was guarded from any moisture from the time of harvest (or at least milling) until it arrives in your mouth, all for the sake of the mitzvah. Almost the ultimate matzah, except for one detail…

Hand-made Shmurah matzah

For the Seder, you want matzah that was made specifically for the mitzvah of eating matzah at the Seder—and we haven't yet invented machines that can have that in mind. The ultimate matzah is made by hand in a bakery where everyone yells out, "For the sake of the mitzvah of matzah!" before kneading, rolling or baking the dough. Your local Chabad Center might have some. Or click here to buy online.

Get the Details

  • The only time you have to eat matzah is on the two seder nights (in Israel, just the first night).
  • For those folks with wheat allergies, gluten intolerance or celiac disease, read this article.
  • Matzah is forbidden food on the day before Passover. Many have the custom to refrain for an entire month before Passover.
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Illustrations by Yehuda Lang. To view more artwork by this artist, click here.

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Mar 28, 2011
Eating Matzah
I am so happy I subscribed to your page and newsletter. Since I got Fibromyalgia & Irritable bowel syndrome along with it I have not been able to eat matzah, except at Seder. I am going to try the "rich" matzah. Thank you so much.
Posted By Amy G., Glen-Oaks, NY/USA

Posted: Mar 28, 2011
Edible mitzvah
Thank you for the article. It was a really sweet reminder of why we eat matzah. I loved the reason we eat it on the first night. Here is too everyone having elevated themselves, and who strengthens the faith of the soul, on the first night, and heals it on the second night.
Posted By suzi, orlando, fl



 


Holiday
Chanukah Observances
The Menorah
Tu B'Shevat
Prep Up to Purim
Purim
Passover Preparations
Chametz Search and Destroy
Matzah
Seder Preparations
The Seder
Counting the Omer
Last Days of Passover
Omer Mourning Observances
Shavuot
Tisha B’Av
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