Why do Jews eat matza?

Answer 1

Matza or matzoh is unleavened bread traditionally eaten during the 8-day festival of Passover. Unleavened, means it wasn't allowed to ferment or rise the way loaves of bread normally would. This is because the Jews were given the opportunity to flee from slavery and didn't want to lose any time waiting for the dough to rise (Exodus ch.12).

Answer 2

The name Matzo (or Matzah, or whatever) comes from the type of flour that is used. For Jews, during the week of Passover, no leavened breads are supposed to be eaten. Which means no yeast, or leavening agents of any kind. Matzo is unleavened flour.

Answer 3

We eat matzah on Passover because the Torah commands it (Exodus ch.12). This is in commemoration of the matzah that the Israelites ate at the time of the Exodus (ibid). See also:

More about Passover

Answer 4

They are named in the Torah (Exodus ch.12). "Matzo" comes from a Hebrew root meaning squeezing or pressure, because the matzos are not allowed to leaven and swell.

Answer 5

bread

Answer 6

The name Matzah is a biblical Hebrew word, found in Exodus 12:8, Exodus 12:18, Deuteronomy 16:3 and Deuteronomy 16:8. The root from which this comes is matzaz, meaning slurped out or drained out, perhaps a reference to the fact that Matzah is typically baked to the point of being hard and dry. Matzah may be made with any of the classical bread grains, wheat, spelt, oats, barley or rye (or any mixture of them). The key thing that distinguishes it from other bread is that water and flour are mixed and then immediately cooked. Jewish tradition requires that the interval from the time of contact between flour and water to completion of baking be under 18 minutes. Matzah meal is not the flour used to bake matzah, it is the flour made by grinding up baked matzah. Baking carmelizes some of the starch (making brown spots) and this changes the flavor of the meal as compared with normal flour. Matzah meal is used by most Jews during Passover for dishes that would normally be made with flour, such as cakes, brownies or dumplings.

Answer 7

Matzo (Ashkenazic) or matzah (Sephardic) is the unleavened bread The Bible commands Jews to eat during Passover. The word is biblical Hebrew, Exodus 12:8, 12:18, Deuteronomy 16:3, 16:8. There are competing theories about why it is called that. One theory is that the name comes from the root of natzah, to hasten, in which case, the m prefix makes the word mean "from haste," which is to say, this is bread made in haste, without time to rise. Another theory is that the name comes from matzatz, to slurp or to dry out, which is to say, eating matzah "dries out your mouth."