Matzo - Common and Less Usual Varieties - Shmurah Matzah

Shmurah Matzah

Shmura ("guarded") matzah (Hebrew מַצָּה שְׁמוּרָה maṣṣā šəmūrā) is made from grain that has been under special supervision from the time it was harvested to ensure that no fermentation has occurred, and that it is suitable for eating on the first night of Passover. (Shmura wheat may be formed into either handmade or machine-made matzah, while non-shmura wheat is only used for machine-made matzah. It is possible to hand-bake matzah in shmura style from non-shmurah flour—this is a matter of style, it is not actually in any way shmura—but such matzah has rarely been produced since the introduction of machine-made matza.)

Many Haredi or ultra-orthodox Jews are extremely scrupulous about the supervision of their matzah, as eating leavened products during Passover is liable to the extremely grave divine punishment of Kareth (or a sin-offering if unintentional); consequently many have the custom of baking their own matzo, or at least participating in some stage of the baking process. Ultra-Orthodox Shmurah matzah is typically expensive, generally between $18–$22 per pound in the US, but sometimes costing up to $50 per pound for special varieties with particular stringencies.

Among many Hasidic Jews, only hand-made shmurah matzah may be used, in accord with the opinion of Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, who ruled that machine-made matzoth were chametz. According to that opinion, hand-made non-shmurah matzot may be used on the eighth day of Passover outside of the Holy Land. However, today such matzah are generally not made.

However the non-Hasidic Haredi community of Jerusalem follows the custom that machine-made matzah may be used, with preference to the use of shmurah flour, in accordance with the ruling of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, who actually ruled that machine-made matzah may be preferable to hand made in some cases.