[Avodah] Egg Matzas Mitzvah

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

R' Joshua Meisner wrote:
> If matzah is baked with mei peiros and a kol she-hu of water,
> it would not be lechem oni but would be halachically matzah.

That's true. Theoretically, if one would bake it fast enough, before it
becomes chometz, it would be real matza. But because of the mei peiros, it
isn't plain matza, but it is "rich" matza - matza ashira, and thus
disqualified from Mitzvas Achilas Matza.

But as far as I know, no one makes such matza, because (there is a fear
that) the combination of both water and mei peiros will allow the dough to
become chometz much faster than usual. That's not the case with the stuff
on the shelves that's labeled "Egg Matza" or "Matza Ashira" - This has no
water at all, and its dough can never become chometz.

If so, then it seems to me that the term "Matza Ashira" is a misnomer. It
isn't matza at all, because it was incapable of becoming chometz. A better
term for it might be "Matza-style squares" (which is the term that the
industry has chosen for the potato and tapioca stuff).

I suspect that at some point in history, some educator felt that the logic
of "the fruit juice makes it rich bread" was more easily accepted by the
masses, and the logic of "it can't be chometz and therefore it isn't matza"
was too difficult for them. And from that point onwards, it was the go-to
explanation, despite the technical shortcomings.

Akiva Miller


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