When setting forth the mitzvah of eating matzah on Pesach the Torah (Shemos 12:17) commands us to guard the matzos from leavening. As the Gemara (Pesachim 38 and 40a) explains, the mere knowledge that the matzos have not become chametz is not sufficient. Rather, one must actually watch the process whereby the matzos are made in order to ascertain that they have not become chametz. Furthermore, the Gemara (Pesachim ibid.) states that this guarding must be done with the intention of using the matzos for the mitzvah of eating matzah on the night of Pesach. Should one intend to use them for another purpose, such as to accompany the offering of a nazir, they may not be employed to fulfill one’s obligation of eating matzah at the Seder. This is the source of the term “shemurah-matzah”, namely, matzah that has been guarded from leavening, with the intention of using it on Pesach.
No comments:
Post a Comment