DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 962 KB)
Pesah- May One Eat Egg Masa on Pesah?

The Sages taught that when flour and water are mixed, the dough becomes Hametz after eighteen minutes if it is not baked. Therefore, Masa bakeries prepare their Masot for Pesah in seventeen-minute shifts. They ensure that only seventeen minutes pass from the moment the water is poured onto the flour until the baking is completed. After seventeen minutes pass, they discard the remaining dough, pour water over a new batch of flour, and begin the process again.

This applies, however, only to flour and water. When flour is mixed with fruit juice, the Sages teach, the mixture can never become Hametz. However, there is a disadvantage to using fruit juice for Masa, namely, that if even a single drop of water enters the mixture, the mixture becomes Hametz immediately. Thus, while using fruit juice – such as apple juice – is advantageous in that the dough can never become Hametz, it comes with the risk that a single drop of water can render the batter Hametz immediately.

Due to this risk, the custom among Ashkenazim is to generally forbid eating "egg Masa" – Masa prepared with fruit juice instead of water – during Pesah. Since it can become Hametz through a single drop of water, they avoid using egg Masa on Pesah. They make an exception for ill patients or elderly people who have difficulty eating ordinary Masa. As a general rule, however, Ashkenazim do not eat egg Masa during Pesah.

Sepharadim, by contrast, follow the view of Maran who permits eating egg Masa on Pesah, and not only for the sick and elderly. Of course, one must ensure to use only egg Masa with reliable kosher certification. As we have seen, egg Masa can very easily become Hametz, and it is therefore critical to purchase egg Masa that was prepared under strict supervision by a capable and reliable agency. Furthermore, there is a general rule regarding Pesah that it is always worthwhile to be stringent. The prohibition of Hametz is treated with particular stringency – as it is punishable by Karet (eternal excision from the Jewish people) – and it is thus generally deemed preferable to act stringently. Therefore, even though on the level of Halacha it is certainly permissible to eat egg Masa on Pesah, on the level of Humra (additional stringency), it is preferable to avoid egg Masa on Pesah.

It should also be noted that this discussion does not apply to Masa eaten for the Misva at the Seder on the first two nights of Pesah. The Misva of eating Masa at the Seder requires using "Lehem Oni" ("poor man’s bread"), which is defined as "Masa Shemura" baked with water. Therefore, although one may eat egg Masa during Pesah, on the first two nights of Pesah one must use specifically "Masa Shemura," and not egg Masa.

Summary: It is permissible for Sepharadim to eat egg Masa (Masa baked with fruit juice, instead of water) on Pesah, provided that it was baked under reliable and competent kosher supervision. Egg Masa may not be used for the Misva of Masa at the Seder on the first two nights of Pesah. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to be stringent and avoid eating egg Masa on Pesah, though strictly speaking it is permissible.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Can Eliyahu HaNavee Come On Shabbat?
Is It Permissible To Have A Seuda Inside A Bet Kennesset
Is It Permissible To Change Biblical Verses from Singular to Plural Form
Is It Required To Repeat The Beracha Of LiHitatef BiTzitzit If Removing The Talit For Just A Short While
Is It Required To Make The Beracha Of LiHitatef BiTzitzit Again If The 1st Talit Was Found To Be Pasul (Improper)
Is One Required To Stand For An Elderly Lady or Scholarly Woman
Is It Permissible To Simply Answer Amen and Rely On Another's Beracha Of LiHitatef BiTzitzit
Granting Precedence to a Jew When Hiring
Is It Permissible To Give A Non-Kosher Turkey To A Goy For Their Holiday
Yichud- 1) Must An Onen Follow The Laws of Yichud, 2) War and Yichud
Yichud- Is It Permissible For A Man To Be Alone With A Lady On An Express Elevator In A Skyscraper
Yichud- Is It Permissible to Be Alone with Mother, Father, Daughter, Son, Brother, or Sister
Tzineeut and The Proper and Improper Ways Of Socializing With Friends
How Could We Pray To G-d That Korbanot Be Accepted, When Today We Do Not Have Korbanot?
Some Laws Regarding Visiting or Seeing a Cemetery
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found