Saturday, April 23, 2016

Matza shmura!

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Look what a wonderful gift I received yesterday on the Eve of Passover!


And expensive too!
Every box is sealed with a sticker bearing a serial number and rabbinical certification of authenticity and kashrut.
Normally only very observant Jews go above and beyond to invest in matza above and beyond the standard square white, uniform, factory-produced matzot.


The box held three hand-made shmura matzas specifically for use on the festive Pesach seder table.


The back of the box has a handy guide to the elements of the seder.
Especially stressed is the requirement for every Jewish man and woman to eat matza three times on this night of our "going out from Egypt," each time the required minimum is about 27 grams (or some ancient authorities say 15 grams), i.e. "kezait," ("like one olive").


So, very carefully (because if one matza breaks, it is not kosher for the seder), I tore off the outer cellophane, cut the strong sticker, took out the plastic bag from the strong box, unwrapped the waxed paper, and . . .


tada!  The three precious matzot shmurot!
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In Hebrew, shmura means guarded.
Every stage of the making of this once-a-year specialty is carefully guarded, from farm to packaging.
"The wheat is plucked after the kernels start to harden but before they sprout new shoots. Kosher supervisors monitor the grain even as it’s growing to make sure the wheat isn’t sprouting."

This quote is from an article in Haaretz called Why Does Shmura Matza for Passover Cost More than Filet Mignon?.
You will enjoy reading it, I'm sure!

To see the process: a 2-minute video
and/or an old-fashioned video starting from the wheat growing, 11 minutes.
 
Chag sameach, happy holiday!
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(For more information and photos please click on the matza and Passover labels here below:)
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(Linking to Our World Tuesday and ABC Wednesday.)
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21 comments:

  1. Nice, Dina! Happy Passover to you.

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  2. I am not a huge fan of matzah at any time, so I eat only the most pleasant matzah during the 8 daus of the chag - egg matzah. Alas the shmura stuff is, in my opinion, totally horrid.

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  3. Admittedly entirely outside of my experience, Dina! Have a good Passover.

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  4. Interesting!!! I didn't realize Matzah was such special process. Enjoy your special treat! Happy Passover!

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  5. hello beautiful Dina thankyou for sharing this tradition. Happy Passover to you! tradition is sacred isnt it even if it is not religious -in this case ofcourse it is-.because it is part of our story and we think it is valuable enough to pass on.
    have a beautiful day
    thanks for this prayer from the holy land.

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  6. Fascinating information Dina, goodness me you would not be wanting to drop that box with it's precious contents! Unfortunately I couldn't see the video on the link, would have loved to see how the Matzah is made.

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  7. Friends, thanks for all your very differing comments. :)

    PerthDailyPhoto, sorry. I added two (working) videos now to the text so you can see the interesting process of making matza shmura.

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  8. Happy Passover to you. I have not heard of this tradition so thank you for the explanation.

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  9. An interesting post and information.

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  10. Nice ceremonious unwrapping of the Matzah!
    Nice photos - enjoy your holiday!
    Have a Happy Week ahead!!
    Peace :)

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  11. Lucky you to receive such a gift.

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  12. What a nice gift you received . Enjoy! Dina

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  13. Interesting post and information, Dina !

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  14. That has to be one of the most carefully prepared foods on the face of the earth; a very special gift indeed. Chag sameach Dina!

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  15. What a wonderful gift!

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  16. how special that treatment is....

    Have a nice abc-wednesday-day / – week
    ♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)

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  17. I went to a Seder last week. It was LONG!

    ROG, ABCW

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  18. The special ones do look very good. Interesting video of how they are made, almost like pizza making with the big oven. Happy Passover!

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  19. I know my kids always loved matzas. I'm sorry I didn't get here soon enough to wish you a Happy Passover.

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