-
"All these bags are from your Pesach grocery shopping?" asked
Bubby, wide-eyed.
"That's not all. I have another few bags in the trunk," panted
her daughter Dinah."And these are just the dry groceries. The meat
and dairy orders are separate."
"My, my. I remember when all you could buy for Pesach were. the
absolutebasics - sugar, oil, potato starch, and maybe some
macaroons," reminisced Bubby."Everything else - we made ourselves,
or did without."
"It's a new world," said Dinah. Now, you can buy virtually
everything Kosherfor Pesach."
"Everything but pizza and granola," laughed Bubby.
"You'd be surprised," countered Dinah, pulling a box out of one
of the bags."Look, a new product I found on the shelf -
Pesach-style Granola!"
"Now I've seen everything," sighed Bubby.
products to feed the hungry hordes.After all, can we expect our
pamperedgeneration to manage a full weekwithout the delicacies to
which theyare accustomed ...?
New Products, New BerachahDilemmas
The kosher food industry ingeneral, and the Kosher for
Pesachmarket in particular, does not reston its laurels for long.
Every newseason brings with it new, innovative
A newcomer to the Pesach marketthis year is a Kof-Kcertified
product
HALACHICALLY SPEAKINGWritten by
Rabbi Moishe Dovid LebovitsRecorder ofKOP-K PolicyRabbinic
Admini;trator
called "Matzolah" This product ismade with matzoh, sugar, and
nuts,baked to a tasty crispiness. For allthose who are hooked on
their dailybreakfast of crunchy granola, this willfill an important
void. The questionis: What berachah do we make onthis creative
concoction? Hamotzi?Mezonost Or do we just give up andsettle for
eating it in the course of ameal?
Crispy Dough Products
Before addressing the question ofwhat berachah to make on
Matzolah,we first need to clarifythe berachah formatzoh. "The
berachah for matzoh?!"you may ask in wonderment."Everyone knows
that on matzoh wesay 'hamotzi; It even says so in theHagaddah!"Not
so simple!
The first term we must define
FOOD FOR THO UGH T Z K 0 F - K I 27
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before we examine this issue is "pashaba b'kisninl' food which
is notbread but is in the bread family. Thereare three halachic
definitions for thisterm, but we will focus on the third,which is
most relevant to our topic:
Rav Hai Gaon, in the name ofthe Aruch, says that pashaba
b'kisnin is a doughthat has been baked ina manner that causes itto
become very hard.'Crackers and breadsticks"fall into this
category,"Although these items aremade from precisely thesame
ingredients as bread,due to their appearanceand texture, they are
noteaten as bread during ameal," and therefore, theberachah is
mezonosr
How About Matzoh?
minhag of most Sephardim is to saymezonos on matzoh all year
round,when they regard matzoh as no morethan a "big cracker;' and
hamotzi onlyon Pesach."
The Ashkenazic custom, on theother hand, is to recite hamotzi
on
say hamotzi on matzoh is becausethey do not consider matzoh to
be inthe category Rav Hai Gaon defined aspas haba b'kisnin+
An interesting question arises forSephardim regarding leftover
matzohafter Pesach. All week long, they
recited hamotzi on thesematzos. What berachahdo they say "the
morningafter"? Many poskimmaintain that the berachahfor Sephardim
indeedreverts to mezonos/' whileothers say that the din of ~hamotzi
remains as longas the Pesach matzohslast." On motza'ei
Pesach,however, everyone agreesthat even ~ Sephardi wouldsay
hamotzi on matzoh ifhe is kove'a seudah:"
Matzo granolabreakfastand nosh
According to theopinion of Rav Hai Gaon,matzoh falls into
thecategory of pas habab'kisnin since it is crispy,and therefore
the berachahfor matzoh would bemezonos. The reasonthe berachah
recitedon matzoh on Pesach is hamotzi,according to Rav Hai Gaon, is
becauseon Pesach, it is universally consideredthe substitute for
bread.' In fact the
AvailablePassoverandyear-round!
Matzolah is healthy, delicious and wholesome.Kosher for Passover
and year-round!
1. Refer to Shulchan Aruch 168:7.
2 .. See V'zos Haberachah, birurim 39.
3. Vsein Berachah p. 468; The Laws of Berachosp.238.
4. Refer to Kashrus Kurrents from the Star-K.
5. Magen Avraham 17; Machtzis Hashekel 27.Be'er Heiteiv 13; Pri
Megadim MZ. 8; EishelAvraham 17; Elya Rabbah 15; Mishnah Berurah36;
KafHachayim 62.
6. Beis Yosefl68; Darchei Moshe 2; Shulchan AruchI68:7; Levush
6; Aruch Hashulchan 25.
7. Ginas Veradirn (Gan Hamelech) 64;Maharsham 2:12; Binyan
Shalom pp. 230-232;
28 I Zl KOF-K PESACH 5773
• Sodium free. Good sourceof fiber. Cholesterol free
matzoh throughout the year," becausematzoh is used year-round
for a mealand is not considered a snack item."Some say the reason
the Ashkenazim
Shevet Halevi 1:205, p. 270.
8. Divrei Chachamim p. 70:174; Ohr L'zion2:12:3; Yalkut Yosef 3,
pp. 126-127:3; TeshuvosV'hanhagos 3:73.
9. Chelek Levi 152; Da'as Torah 168:10; PischeiHalachah 8:12;
Birchos Hanehenin pp. 100-101;V'ha'ish. Mordechai pp. 235-236;
Yechaven Da'as3:12; Teshuvos V'hanhagos 3:73; Avnei Yushfelt1:39:5;
Binyan Shalom pp. 230-231; Shevet Halevi7:27; Birchos Hashem O.c.
1:61; Rivevos Ephraim6:234; Shalmei Mo'ed p. 344; Chazon
Ovadiah(Berachos) p. 61.
10. Beis David 70; Az Nidberu 14:29:2; TeshuvosV'hanhagos 3:73;
Vsein Berachah p. 466.
Interestingly, theVilna Gaon would not eatmatzoh all year,
exceptfor Pesach, because hewas unsure of the correctberachah to
recite on it. IS
Bread in Disguise
Now that we havesummarized the berachahstatus of matzoh, the
next
issue we need to become familiarwith is the appropriate berachah
formatzoh which has changed its form.We will start with the more
familiarhalachah of bread which has beenaltered in status.
11. Eishel Avraham Butchatch 168; Tzitz Eliezer11:19;Minchas
Yitzchak 1:71; Binyan Shalom pp.230-232.
12. Machzik Berachah 158:5; Yechaveh Da'as3:12; Ohr L'ziori
ibid, fn 3; Halichos ShlomoMo'adim 2:10:20; Da'as Torah 168:7;
ChazonYeshayah (Berachos) p. 61.
13. Beis David 70, 83; Kaf Hachayim 158:43.
14. Ohr L'zion ibid; see also Shaarei Haberachahp.605.
15. Beis Avi 5:12.
1 I
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Halachah takes a number of factorsinto consideration in
determiningwhen bread loses its status as breadfor purposes ofthe
berachah:
-Size - Is the new product composedof pieces larger or smaller
than ak'zayis?
-Appearance - Does the new productretain the appearance of bread
or is itunrecognizable?
-Mode of preparation - Were thebread pieces cooked, fried, or
baked?Were they soaked in eggs or hotwater or combined with honey
orsugar?
-Intent - Was the bread originallyprepared with the intention of
usingit to create a snack product, such ascroutons?
Weighing in the Factors
A slice of bread which is toastedwhole, though it may acquire
adifferent taste and a new color, retainsthe status of bread and
the berachahof hamotzi'" That is a rather open-shut case, since it
fails the "change-of-status test" on all four counts: Thesize is
greater than a k'zayis, the toastretains the appearance of bread,
theslice has been baked (toasted) only,without any further
manipulation,and the item was originally bakedwith no other
intention than to serveas bread.
The halachic plot thickenswhen the bread is dealt' with
moreaggressively. Cooking bread productsor soaking them in a kli
rishon untilthey lose their original appearance,known . in halachah
as chavitzah,effectively changes the status ofthe item to a
mezonos, but this iscontingent on the pieces being smaller
16. Kaf Hachayim 168:66; Binyan Shalom p.229; Vsein Berachah p.
467:fn 17, quoting theopinion of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
zt"];see V'ha'ish. Mordechai, p 265.
than a k'zayis and the new productlosing the appearance of
bread.
The same applies if pieces ofbread are not cooked, but are
ratherstuck together with honey or soup.If the conglomerate is a
k'zayis, theberachah remains hamotzi, even ifit no longer has the
appearance ofbread." If the conglomerate does notamount to a
k'zayis, then the berachahis hamotzi only if the product retainsthe
appearance of bread. Otherwise,the product is mezonos." and even
ifone was kove'a seudah on these items,as long as there is less
than a k'zayis,there would be no obligation to washor bentch:"
Cook, Fry, or Bake
As we mentioned, if a bread item issmaller than a k'zayis and is
cooked,even if the bread appearance remains,the berachah is
mezonos, because it isconsidered a cooked dish, not a breadproduct.
20 The question is: What is .considered "cooked" for this
purpose?
In order for a bread item to beconsidered cooked, it must be
placedin a utensil on the fire" or which hasjust been removed from
the fire."Placing it in a kli sheini or pouringwater onto it from a
kli rishon is notsufficient to deem it cooked." Forexample,
knaidlach comprised ofmatzoh meal and a small amount ofwater,
cooked in liquid in a pot on thefire would be mezonos (and that
wouldcertainly be the case nowadays, when
17. Refer to Prishah 168:4.
18. See Berachos 37b; Rosh 6:10; Tur 168;Beis Yosef, Bach, SA
168:10; Levush 10; MagenAvraham 168:27; Mishnah Berurah 56.
19. Mishnah Berurah 168:57.
20. Ibid 168:49.
21. Magen Avraham 168:25; Mishnah Berurah52.
22. Ketzos Hashulchan 48:28.
23. Magen Avraham 168:25; Be'er Heiteiv22; Mishnah Berurah 51;
Pre Megadim EishelAvraham 25; Birchas Habayis 8:4.
the knaidlach recipe generally calls foroil and eggs as
well)."
The poskim debate whether fryingis considered cooking." Deep
fryingdefinitely is equivalent to cookingand would render the bread
item amezonos, if the piece is less than ak'zayis." Lightly fried
items remainhamotzi/' In the case of Frenchtoast for example, if
the pieces arelarger than a k'zayis, the berachahwould be hamotzi,
even though thebread has been mixed with eggs andmilk. If the
pieces are smaller, andthere is a significant amount of oilused for
frying, the berachah wouldbe mezonos." Similarly, matzoh brei,made
of small pieces of matzohsoaked in egg and then fried,
shouldostensibly be a mezonos. However,since the amount of oil used
forthis purpose is often just enough toprevent burning, it is
preferable to eatthis item after washing on somethingthat is
definitely hamotzi/"
When the bread product ismixed with other ingredients andthen
baked, rather than cooked,the resultant berachah situation ismore
complex. Even if the bread wasbroken into pieces smaller than
ak'zayis before being combined with
24. Taz 168:8; Shulchan Aruch Harav 12;Birchos Hanehenin 2:15;
Chayei Adam 54:12;Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 48:9; Mishnah Berurah94;
Aruch Hashulchan 24: Ketzos Hashulchan48:1O;Badei 30; Birchos
Habayis 8:13; V'zosHaberachali p. 26; V'haislt Mordechai pp.
258-259; Magen Avraham 28; Shaarei Haberachah16; fn 90.
25. See Mishnah Berurah 168:56; Shaar Hatziyun168:52; Shoneh
Halachos 168:32.
26. Birchos Hanehenin; Shulchan Aruch Harav2:12; V'zos
Haberachah p. 25.
27. Rema 168:14; Mishnah Berurah 69.
28. Vsein Berachah p. 471; V'zos Haberachahp.25.
29. Harav Yisrael Belsky shlita; see Chazon Ish26:9; Shevet
Halevi 7:27; Minchas Asher pp. 44-46; V'zos Haberachah p. 25,
V'ha'isn Mordechaipp. 259-261; Shalmei Moed p. 344; Avnei
Yushfeb1:39:2.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT ~ K 0 F - K I 29
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the other ingredients, baking it mayturn it back into a bread
item." Inthe case of challah kugel, it may besufficient to make it
taste very sweet,with an abundance of raisins, sugar,etc." Some say
that if the challah isnot cooked, it should be soaked fora half
hour before combining withother ingredients in order for it
todefinitely lose the appearance ofbread, and render the final
product anunquestionable mezonos/"
State Your Intentions
A popular bread item that toucheson almost all the factors we
have beendiscussing is croutons. These crispsquares are a common
enhancementfor soups and salads. But whatberachah do they
require?
. There are actually many types ofcroutons on the market. The
smallyellow croutons, for example, arenot made of pieces of bread,
andin addition, are deep fried. Hence,they definitely require a
berachah ofmezonos and are not relevant to ourdiscussion."
Other croutons, however, are madefrom actual bread. We have said
thatwhen a piece of bread smaller thana k'zayis is deep fried, its
berachahis mezonos even if it retains theappearance of bread.
Conversely, if itis baked or lightly fried (not immersedin oil) it
remains hamotzi.
There are two types of croutonson the market which are made
fromsmall, square pieces of bread. Theflavored types of croutons,
white ordark, are generally deep fried, and
30. SeeMinchas Asher pp. 48-51in depth.31. Harav Yisrael Belsky
shlita; opinion ofHarav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"! (VseinBerachah
p. 475:fn. 44, Teshuvos p. 10:10);seePnei Hashulchan p. 53.32.
Harav Yisrael Belskyshlita.33. See Pnei Hashulchan p. 50;
HaberachaliV'hilchosav p. 152:fn 13.
30 I ~ K 0 F - K PESACH 5773
therefore require a mezonos/" Theones that are larger (though
stillsmaller than a k'zayis) are baked,and accordingly, their
berachah ishamotzi." If croutons were fried inoil, but not enough
to deem themdeep fried, one should eat them onlyin a meal where he
has washed forbread, to avoid berachah problems."Many people
mistakenly pronounce amezonos on the larger type of croutonswhen
found in a salad, even thoughthey are definitely not deep fried,
andthis is incorrect; the berachah remainshamotzi.
. Someposkim maintain that ifwhenmaking the dough and baking
thebread, one has intention for the finalproduct to be pas haba
b'kisnin; i.e., acrouton or snack item, the berachah ismezonos.
Based on this view, there arethose who suggest that if croutons
arenot made from standard bread, butrather from dough specifically
baked
. for this purpose, the berachah wouldbe mezonos," Others
maintain that ifthe product looks like bread, intention.makes no
difference in determiningthe berachah and it is
unquestionablyhamotzi.
Back to Matzolah
Now that we have a panoramicview of the complex mezonos/
hamotziissue in regard to bread and matzohproducts, we can apply
each of ourinsights to the new kosher for Pesachgranola look-alike
called "Matzolah,"As we said, in manufacturing
34. Based on a discussion with a rabbinicalcoordinator at the OU
who explained themetzi'us: see Sha'areiHaberachah p. 684, fn
669.35. Laws ofBerachosp. 366;Sha'areiHaberachahp. 355:44; V'zos
Haberachah p. 122.Based on adiscussion with a rabbinical
coordinator at theOU,Old London and Savion are Hamotzi.36. V'zos
Haberachah p. 122; Sha'areiHaberachah p. 684, fn 669.37. Refer to
Sha'arei Haberachah p. 364; seeMekor Berachah 9.
Matzolah, whole matzoh is groundinto smaller pieces which are
smallerthan a k'zayis. This satisfies the first ofour four
determinant factors - size.
The ground matzoh is thenmixed with hot sugar and nuts andthe
combination baked in the oven.Here, the status is not so clear.
Doesthis process qualify as chavitzah andrender the product a
mezonos? Sincethe pieces are not cooked on the fireor even soaked
in a kli rishon, andthe product is still recognizable asmatzoh, one
may well argue that theberachah remains hamotzi. On theother hand,
others maintain that bygrinding the matzoh and adding thehot sugar,
the product loses its breadappearance, and since the pieces
aresmaller than a k'zayis, the berachahshould be mezonos .
Yet another halachic voicepoints out that the matzoh whichis
ground up to make Matzolah isoriginally baked for the purposeof
manufacturing this snack food.According to the lenient opinioncited
above, this would change theberachah to mezonos.
Count Your Blessings!
The shelves may be transformed bya dazzling array of new Pesach
items,but the classic halachic issues remainunchanged. Though our
lifestylemay differ widely from Bubby's time,halachah applies
equally to everygeneration and every menu, fromborscht to matzoh
bagels and all ~heway down to the newest addition -Matzolah,
Hamotzi or mezonos? A lightsnack or a "wash and bentch"
meal?Whatever halachah requires of us,we will do, and with each
carefullyrecited berachah, we will count ourblessings that we have
the Torah andthe Shulchan Aruch to guide our steps.A happy and
kosher Pesach to all!8 .
(