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| Handmade Matzo (Photo: Yoninah) |
Nevertheless, the Torah calls it such. With reference to the Exodus theme of Passover, Deuteronomy 16:3 (NIV) states: Do not eat it with bread made of yeast, but for seven days eat
unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because
you left Egypt in haste – so that all the days of your life
you may remember the time of your departure from
Egypt.
Matzo is also
looked upon as "poor man's bread" (aka lechem oni). Wikipedia explains that because leaven "puffs up," it sometimes symbolizes pride and arrogance. Eating
this unleavened "bread of affliction" can therefore serve as a reminder of humility.
In western countries, matzo
is usually "cracker-like in both appearance and taste." Most Sephardic and Ashkenazic groups use this type. Yemenite and Iraqi Jews instead "traditionally made a form of soft matza which may look like a Greek pita or like a tortilla."
Although as biblically compatible as hard matzo, the soft
kind doesn't keep very long unless frozen.
Matzo meal is
produced when matzot (plural of matzo) are ground into either a bread-crumb or powder consistency. Matzo balls (soup
dumplings) and matzo farfel (small pieces) are two well-known Ashkenazi dishes. However, some Ashkenazi Jews fear cooking with matzo during Passover because it might become leavened after coming into contact with water.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matzo
Copyright March 25, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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