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What is the hand-made Matzah Shmura and why is it so important?
The Matzah, as we know, is bread that was not allowed to rise. The whole duration of its preparation, from the moment the flour gets in touch with the water, until the moment the Matzah comes out from the oven, needs to be under 18 minutes.
The Matzah Shmura (in Hebrew “watched”) is called like this because from the very beginning, the flour is carefully supervised, even before the wheat is harvested, to ensure it does not come into contact with water, and become chametz.
What is better? Hand-made Matzah or machine-made Matzah? In Judaism, a big importance is given to the intention with which we do things. When the Matzah is made by hand, the person making it has in mind that s/he is doing it for the purpose of the Mitzvah of Matzah, something a little difficult to accomplish with a machine…
Many people make sure to eat Matzah Shmura during the whole Pesach, or at least for the Seder, since there is a special Mitzvah to eat Matzah on the first night of Pesach. This is why Chabad distributes hand-made Matzah Shmura to everyone, so that each Jew can fulfill the Mitzvah in the best possible way.
Shabbat Shalom,
Arie from the Yeshiva