[Avodah] The Beracha on Matzo

Akiva Miller via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Wed Nov 9 03:21:47 PST 2016


R' Yitzchok Levine posted from Daf Hayomi B'Halacha:

> On Pesach, the proper beracha is hamotzi according to all opinions,
> since matzo is the bread on those days. (??????? ??????? ????, 29)

I would like to request that the chevreh pay more attention to the language
that they are posting in. Hebrew is usually messed up in these emails, and
I have no idea what source they were referencing. Please try to include a
transliteration.

R' Micha Berger asked:

> What I do not understand is why Sepharadim would make a hamotzi on
> Pesach, "since matzo is the bread on those days." What about those
> Edot for whom crispy matzos never became a norm for Pesach? For them,
> Ashkenazi crackers are not the normal bread for Pesach. What am I
> missing?

My question goes farther. I ask this question even for those Edot -
including Ashkenazim - whose fear of chometz led to a lack of soft matzos,
and for whom crispy matzos *did* become the norm.

I question the whole logic of "since matzo is the bread on those days." Are
the definitions of Pas Habaah B'Kisnin so flexible that they would vary
from one part of the year to another? I do not see evidence of this
flexibility.

For example, if I see something in the supermarket labeled as being
"flatbread", does that define its bracha as Hamotzi? No, it does not.
Rather the halacha tells us that - because it is crispy and not soft - it
is normally eaten as a snack food, so its bracha is Mezonos. Further, the
concept of "normal circumstances" tells us that in an *unusual*
circumstance, where I *am* using it as the basis of my meal, then the
proper bracha is Hamotzi.

Why would this change for a similar product, where the box is not labeled
"flatbread", but instead it says "matzah". Does the label on the box define
its status, or is that the halacha's job?

If crispy matzah is Mezonos during the year, it is surely because
occasionally I might eat a piece of it as a snack. Let's say that I'm in
the mood for something that is crunchy but not salty, so my choices are
carrot sticks or matza. So I take a piece of matza, and say mezonos. Are
you saying I can't do that on Pesach? That if I want to snack on matzah,
and it happens to be Pesach, I have to wash and bench? Why?

Of course, if it is Pesach and I sit down to a meal, and I want bread at
the meal for whatever reason, I will use whatever matzah happens to be
available, and the bracha will be Hamotzi because I am kovea seudah on it.
Why should that affect the bracha for matza when it is a between-meal snack?

Akiva Miller
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