[Avodah] More on Where did the wheat used to bake your matzos come from?

[Yitzchok Levine]

I sent out the following a few days ago.

>From 
http://www.vosizneias.com/29446/2009/03/26/kiryas-joel-ny-arizona-wheat-controversy/ 


Kiryas Joel, NY - Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbe, has been 
using Arizona wheat exclusively for all Pesach needs. In recent 
months, a new sefer was introduced describing the deficiencies of 
Arizona wheat for Pesach use. Written by Rabbi Avrohom Laufer, 
Doroger Rav, sefer Ho'aishel Beramah, in three volumes, describes the 
traditions of which wheat to use, by our parents and grandparents. 
Arizona wheat, because of the lack of rain in wheat-growing areas may 
be thought of as ideal for matzah baking, since the likelihood of it 
becoming leaven seems unlikely. However, Rabbi Laufer focuses on 
irrigation systems that feed water to the wheat, and finds it unacceptable.

This "controversy" got me to thinking about rainfall in Egypt. RSRH 
writes that the Egyptians thought that they controlled their 
environment, because they depended upon the Nile River overflow and 
irrigation for water rather than rainfall. Hence they felt they were 
not subject to the elements.

With this in mind, I checked the amount of rainfall in Egypt and found

"Average rainfall is about 200 mm (nearly 7.9 inches) at northern 
coasts (near Alexandria), decreasing as you go south to about 50-100 
mm in the Nile Delta region. Around Cairo it ranges between 10-30 mm, 
varying from year to year. Rainfall decreases sharply farther south. 
Rainfall season is mainly in winter between the months of November 
and January, and to a lesser extent February and March."

Therefore, the wheat that was used to make the matzos that the B'nei 
Yisroel ate at their seder in Mitzraim definitely was watered by irrigation!

Furthermore, it turns out that many places in Arizona receive more 
rainfall than in Egypt. See http://alliance.la.asu.edu/maps/AZ_rain_web.pdf

Thus, if anything, the contention should be that one should not use 
wheat that was watered via rainfall, and all of our anscestors who 
did were not following the original tradition!!!! >:-}

Yitzchok Levine 
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