[Avodah] Pesach bread

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R"n Lisa Liel asked:

> I was talking to a woman in the grocery store on Friday, and she
> mentioned that she makes Pesach bread using matzah cake meal.
> Bagels, too, though she doesn't boil them because they fall apart
> when she tries.
>
> My question is, is this legit?  It sounds like the kind of thing
> gebroks avoidance was invented to prevent, ...

To me, it sounds like the kind of thing *kitniyos* avoidance was intended to prevent. *Very* frequently, the reason for avoiding kitniyos is the confusion between kitniyos flour and regular flour. Yet, I don't know *anyone* who says that kitniyos includes matzah meal.

In contrast, gebroks certainly does focus on matzah meal, but the reason for avoiding it always has something to do with it actually becoming chometz, never that people would confuse the matza meal (or the matzah cake meal) with regular flour. (And frankly, this surprises me, given the extremely similar appearance of cake meal and white flour. But I love my gebroks, and I'm not complaining.)

Going back to the main question, yes, it is totally legit, for those who do eat gebroks. And in fact, using such rolls on Erev Pesach was the topic of a VERY lengthy discussion on these pages back in 2001. Check the archives under the topic "Erev Pesach she'chal b'Shabbos Eitza for Ashkenazic Gebrokts Eaters", and "Matzah mehl Rolls on Erev Pesach", and similar titles.

Going through my notes, I see that listmember R' Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer cited Shemiras Shabbos K'Hilchasa vol. 2 chap. 56 note 50, who actually suggested using these rolls on Erev Pesach Shechal B'Shabbos, and writes: "U'ktzas Tzorich Iyun lamah ha'Acharonim ein mevi'im eitza zu v'yotzei yedei chovaso l'kil ha'dei'os." (If anyone wants to join the thread at that point, go to http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol07/v07n008.shtml#01)

When reviewing that thread, try not to get sidetracked by the many questions about whether or not such rolls would violate the issur of eating matza on Erev Pesach, because that is the ONLY reason to avoid them (for those who do eat gebroks). In other words, those who allow eating such rolls on Erev Pesach allow them even in the afternoon, and even as late in the afternoon as when hamotzi/mezonos/meal are allowed on any other Erev Yom Tov. And if so, it is entirely logical to say that they are allowed even on Pesach itself.

Akiva Miller

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