Motzei Matzah

From Halachipedia
Three handmade Matzahs

How to make the Brachot

  1. One should take the Matzahs the whole one on bottom the broken one in middle and another whole one on top and make the Bracha of HaMotzei. Then one should drop the bottom matzah which is whole and make the Bracha of Al Achilat Matzah. [1]
  2. Then one should break off a piece from the top and middle Matzahs to have a Kezayit from each. [2]

Leaning while eating the Matzah

  1. The matzah should be eaten while leaning. [3]

Dipping the Matzah in salt

  1. The Sephardic minhag is to dip the matzah in salt and the Ashkenazic minhag is not to dip the matzah in salt. [4]

Measuring a Kezayit

  1. Most permit measuring the required amounts for the Mitzvah of eating Matzah. [5]Some are strict to require one to measure before Shabbat. [6]

How much Matzah should one have?

See Shuirim (Measurements) page

For someone who is unable

  1. For someone who can't eat the appropriate amount of Matzah according to Ashkenazim, should have at least 17 cc (which is 9 rows on a machine matzah). [7]
  2. For someone who it’s difficult to eat that much Matzah one may dip the matzah in water for a second and then eat it. [8]

How to eat it

  1. Since our Matzahs are thin and hard to eat 2 Kezayitim in Kedi Achilat Pras one should eat then one after another. [9]

Ownership over the Matzah

  1. The minhag is that one doesn’t need to acquire the Matzahs from the homeowner however the pious maintain this practice. [10]

Soft Matzahs

  1. Some say that even for Ashkenazim it's permissible to have soft Matzahs and for those that it's difficult to eat hard matzah it's preferable to eat Soft Matzah. [11]

Machine Matzah

  1. Many poskim permit using machine matzah which was made with intent to be used for the mitzvah of Matzah. [12]

Egg Matzah

  1. According to Ashkenazim one should not eat egg matzah on Pesach unless one is ill or weak. However, according to Sephardim it's permissible to eat but one can not eat it for the mitzvah of Matzah at the Seder, however it's praiseworthy to avoid it. [13]

References

  1. S”A 475:1, Mishna Brurah 475:2
  2. S”A 475:1
  3. S”A 475:1
  4. S”A and Rama 475:1, Mishna Brurah 475:4 explains that Ashkenazim don’t dip the matzah in salt so that the matzah can be seen as poor man’s bread.
  5. Shemirat Shabbat KeHilchata 29:40 (also in Halichot Shlomo 9:7), Petach Dvir 306:7
  6. Natai Gavriel (vol 2, 90:30) quoting S”A HaRav
  7. Halichot Shlomo (pg 214 note 55)
  8. Halichot Shlomo (pg 282 note 274), Chaye Adam 129:2
  9. Halichot Shlomo 9:41
  10. Halichot Shlomo 9:4
  11. Rav Hershel Schachter YUTorah.org between minutes 58 and 66
  12. Rav Schachter on OU Pre-Pesach Webcast 5770 between minutes 75:15 and 81:00
  13. Daily Halacha by Rabbi Mansour