An American Rebbe calls on NY Jews to eat Machine Matzah, Guest post by Zalman Alpert

Guest Post by Zalman Alpert, Judaica Reference Librarian at the Gottesman Library of Yeshiva University from 1982–2014

Several years ago my friend the late Rabbi Aaron Yakov Brandwein the Stretiner Rebbe of Boro Park
Z"L published a work by his relative Rabbi Isaac Langner the Stretiner Rebbe of the Lower East Side called Kan Zippor a Kabbalistic commentary on some kapitlech of Tehillim.

Rabbi Brandwein was a fascinating man who earned a living as a stock broker and was featured in the NY Times business section, including a picture with beard and peyoth. He also had an important collection of Judaica books and manuscripts. Past middle age, he opened a Beth Medrash and became a Rebbe His son leads the shul today. Rabbi Langner was an early Chasidic rebbe in the US and resided in the Lower East Side, on 115 Lewis Street and was well known among the Galician Jews there.

The book also includes an extensive biography of the Rebbe by my friend Rabbi Hershel Schwartz a master editor, writer and stylist as well as a serious talmid chacham. Rabbi Schwartz has penned important works such as a biographical study of Rabbi Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestir.

The Stretiner Rebbe

The Stretiner Rebbe, promoting the Machine Matzah

Title page of קן צפור 

As we all know the 19th century witnessed a major dispute over the innovation of machine matzo.
The Chassidic community vehemently opposed these matzo, with the opposition led by the Divre Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, many of the Galician rabbonim were also opposed led by Rabbi Shlomo Kluger.

On the other hand many of the Ashkenazi Hungarian rabbis were supportive including the Ksav Sofer, Rabbi Shmuel Binyamin Sofer.  Many German rabbis also supported the machine led by the Aruch leNer Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger.

I am unsure of the consensus opinion of the Litvishe rabbonim,but I doubt they were opposed, as a matter of fact the person who popularized machine matzo, Rabbi Ber Manischewitz of Cincinnati was allegedly a disciple of Rabbi Israel Salanter.

To this day the Perushim in Jerusalem eat machine matzo. Other groups that also do are The Breuers kehillah and a broad swath of the yeshiva community. Until the early 1980's the Vienner kehillAH Adas Yereim baked machine matzo. In the last 25 years the Ashkenazi Hungarian charedim have become neo-hasidic, even changing their nusach hatefilla and their Rav is now a Rebbe too.
Yet as far as I can tell no Rebbe has ever sanctioned machine matzo.

But Rabbi Schwartz records a unique event, in 1927, the certifying Rabbi of Goodmans machine matzo Co, Rabbi David Frankel of the Dukler Shul invited the Stretiner Rebbe to review the baking process there. The Rebbe did indeed do this, and although he was not involved in the hashgocha, he published a Kol Kore in the Yiddish Press calling upon NY Jews to purchase these matzos as everything there was kedeboei, in full conformance to Halacha.

Given the poverty of the Jewish Lower East Side and the unavailability and expense of hand Matzo, the Rebbe made sure that these Goodman's Matzo were under the hashgocha of a Chasidic Rav, related to the Kosyon and Zidichocv dynasties, and were in proper order.

Goodmans continued its Chasidic supervision to my childhood days, as the Rav Hamachsir was Rabbi Mendele Chodorov of the Bronx known as the Talner Vishnitzer Rebbe. Today Goodman's is part of the Manischewitz company, but interestingly, until several years ago Manischewitz was supervised by my good friend the Bostoner Rebbe of Lawrence, NY, Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz.
By now, most Charedim are in the hand matzo camp, but as mentioned, machine shmura is still baked and eaten.
I recall reading that the late Belzer Rav after arriving in Israel adjured his followers not to refer to machine matzo as chametz.
There is much more to be written on this subject and much has in fact been published a good article is by Dr Jonathan Sarna of Brandeis University.