mishpacha satmar matzoh bakery

8/7/2019 Mishpacha Satmar Matzoh Bakery

1/10

Keeping the tradition.The Beirach Moshe, ztz"l, follows in the footsteps of his uncle, the DivreiYael, ztz"l. and his son, Reb Zalman Leib of Satmar, still maintains everyhiddur the Rebbe established in his beloved bakery

56 M I S H P A C H A


2/10

"E very sin gle chum rah that can po ssiblyex ist in in dustria l matzo h p ro duc tio n, Iave

instituted in m y bakery," Rav Yoel Teitelbaumo f S at m ar o nce declared. In W illiam sb urg

today, that sam e bakery isstill in o pe ra tio n, a ndReb Yoe lish 's sp irit ise vid en t in th e p re cisio nand care invested in the 215,000 pounds of

m atzos it produces. In a rare conversation, thecommun ity secretary shares the storied historyof the bakery, painting a vibrant portrait of its

illustriousfounder

BY Meir WolfsonPHOT05 Sa tmar Arch ives


3/10

Baked to a Higher Standard

o anyone who has attended awedding inNewYork during the past few years, the streetnames inWilliamsburg are familiar enough:Bedford, Rodney,Lee, Hewes (orHeves, as it'spronounced here, with a Hungarian lilt).Butpassing through those streets at night while

scooting in and out ofthe neighborhood forawedding, youhardlyget a feel for the local color. During the day, everything looksdifferent. On a crisp, wintry morning, people amble about onfoot, a reflection ofthe simpler way oflife. At 10:30,tardy chil-dren contend with the freezing temperatures astheir mothersrush them offto school, encountering some work-bound menon their way.Surprisingly, what seemed to be an innocent interview aboutamatzoh bakery can onlycommence after several days ofclan-

destine, almost cloak-and-dagger maneuvering. Even now,while driving to an elusive address, it's not clear where we areheaded. "Go to 150Rodney street," were the instructions, "andyou'll meet with Reb YidaLazer Jacobowitz."The intense distaste for media exposure that was one ofthe

trademarks ofRavYoel Teitelbaum, the first Satmar Rav,hasnever leftthis community. In fact, while the minivans and SUVsthat line the streets are definitely not relics ofhis era, not muchelsehas changed since the Rebbe's days - and that is amatter ofchoice that locals are proud of.Still, media-shyness aside, com-munity members are friendly and full of Y idd is h e ch ein. Aswestop to ask for directions to the matzoh bakery at 150 Rodney,several people rush over to offerassistance. One fellowproceedsto list the addresses ofevery matzoh bakery inWilliamsburgto try to guide us to our destination. Confused, we ask for 150Rodney nonetheless, and are guided toward an aging structuredwarfed by the neighboring building, an imposing structurethat houses the Satmar Beis Medrash - one of the largest inthe world - where the founder ofthe chassidus, the DivreiYoel,ztz"l, and his successor, the Beirach Moshe, ztz"], davened, andnow under the leadership ofRav Zalman Leib Teitelbaum ofSatmar, shlita. The decidedly more modest building before us,I belatedly learn, isthe world headquarters ofSatmar.The young girl at the front desk shows surprise at the sightofthe "outsiders," but when she hears that we're there to meet

with Reb Yida Lazer Jacobowitz, she picks up her phone andmurmurs into it. Reb YidaLazer rushes out to greet us, quicklypulling us past all other officeworkers before we cause a stir.Once inside his office, Reb Yida Lazer relaxes and greets us.He's not curt, just cautious about the commotion ajournalistand photographer can cause.Welcome to the world ofSatmar, where everyone iswelcome

- but please don't take pictures.Much More than a Bakery Reb Yida Lazer Jaco-bowitz isthe secretary ofthe Satmar kehillah, ajob that doesn'tsound nearly as daunting as it is."Everything is run through the central office,"he explainsas he straightens mounds of papers on his desk. "From the


matzoh bakery to the chevra kadisha - it all goes through thisoffice.Wejust opened a new chelka [burial area] in the cem-etery in Kiryas Yoel[inMonroe, New York],and the spots aresold through us."Far from a paper pusher, Reb Yida Lazer proves to be an

encyclopedia ofanything Satmar. Events are filed away in hishead, with names and dates, and anything that doesn't roll offhis tongue isquickly retrieved from documents crammed intohis officecabinets. His demeanor is serious, asbehooves aper-son responsible for maintaining the smooth operation ofeveryaspect ofa community oftens ofthousands. And logistics are acrucial component inthe administration ofthe Satmar matzohbakery, which, wewere told, has some legendary stories behindit. The bakery was a project of Reb Yoelish himself, and in itsconstruction he wasn't just providing aYomTovnecessity; he


4/10

iI

II

wanted to engender a resurgence in dikduk (punctiliousness)inmitzvos that had been lost in the Holocaust."There's no mitzvah that chassidishe Yidden take such se-

rious steps to guard as that of matzoh," says Reb Yida Lazer."From the time that the matzos arrive in aperson's home untilthe Seder, he makes sure to keep them in a safe place, and hismind is always on them. The Rebbe wanted to make sure thatthe shemirah began in the bakery - and well before."Despite his relative youth, Reb Yida Lazer had the good

fortune to be privy to a firsthand account of those early days.When the Rebbe decided to start a matzoh bakery, he chargeda Holocaust survivor by the name ofReb Lipa Lowy,a"h,withthe task. Shortly before Reb Lipa passed away, he summonedReb Yida Lazer and recounted the early days of the matzohbakery, "l'maan yeidi dor acharon" - so that later generationswould know.Reb Lipa arrived from Europe in 5706 (1946), shortly after

World War II. He had relatives who owned a matzoh bakery,BeisOfehAnshei Ungarin, inWilliamsburg. Asmall operation,it had just one oven. Reb Lipa started working in that matzohbakery, and arranged for the Satmar kehillah tobake their mat-zos there. The owners of the bakery considered it such goodPR that in the advertisements they posted in the Morgen TagJournal, they mentioned that RavYoelish Teitelbaum and hiskehillah baked matzos there, as did the Sigheter kehillali underRavMoshe Teitelbaum (later to be the Beirach Moshe, RebYoe-lish's successor as Rebbe ofSatmar).Three years later, the Beis Ofeh went out ofbusiness, and for

two years, the kehillaii baked in the Puppa-Tzhelemer matzohbakery. In 5712(1952),the Rebbe summoned RebLipaLowy andinformed him about a small, unused matzoh bakery, which theRebbe wanted him to rent and use for the kehillah. The originalrental contract stated that nothing could be done inthe bakerywithout first consulting the Rebbe.

9 N is an 5 77 1 I Ap ri l 1 3 , 2 01 1

In 5716,ten years after that.initial round ofmatzoh produc-tion, the kehillali bought the first of what would eventuallyexpand to four buildings on Broadway Street that house thematzoh bakery. Ironically, when the non-Jew who owned thebuilding saw that a "congregation" was purchasing his property,hewas nervous thattheywouldn't havethe means to pay infull,and he almost broke the contract at the last minute. Reb LipaLowy took it upon himself to see the sale through. He alteredthe contract sothe buyer would be himself, taking personal re-sponsibility for the payment, later transferring ownership tothe kehillah. The Rebbe obligated every member ofthe kehillahto pay $5 to cover the purchase and startup costs. The bakerywas, and will always be, joint property of the entire kehillah,and the Rebbe considered it theft for anyone to cause harm tothe bakery in any way.One year, a certain wealthy man wanted to obtain tanur

rishon matzos (the first matzos baked in a "fresh" oven).Whenhe learned that there was noway he could get those matzos, hegot upset. He went to another matzoh bakery and bought histanur rishonmatzos there. When the Rebbe found out, he calledthe rosh kahal, Reb Sender Deutsch, a''h, and told him to writea letter stating that community members may only buy mat-zos in the kehillah's matzoh bakery. He instructed Reb Senderto bring him the letter before sending it out, and he added thefollowing lines: "The community's decision regarding matzosstands, and it isprohibited for any member of our community topurchase matzos in any other place,for [if he does] he robs thepublic, andfor several other reasons."Why would purchasing one's matzos elsewhere be tanta-

mount to gezel?"Because the Rebbe feltthat his steps in establishing chumros

in the bakerywere for the sake ofthe public," explains RebYidaLazer, "and that anyone who jeopardized that unity ofpurposewas robbing the community at large."Not Just Any Wheat In more than fiftyyears ofexis-tence, the Satmar matzoh bakery has never advertised, nor havecommunity leaders seen a reason to share its storied roots. Even

MISHPACHA 59


5/10

our interview was a one-time privilege, and the moti-vation was certainly not commerciaL There is no shortageof demand - if anything, they simply can't keep up."This is all k oc ho s he l o sa z uk ei n, the Rebbe, zy"a," RebYida

Lazer declares. "Atagathering this year discussing howwe couldhelp people cut their expenses, the Rebbe shlita declared thatone thing wewon't dois stray even an iota from what the Rebbe,zy"a, and his father the Beirach Moshe, ztz"], instituted, evenif it ismore costly to do things their way, because our successstems from the fact that we never budge from the rules theyestablished for us."LifeonAmerican soilmeant translating halachos inShulchan

Aruch for new realities, and the Rebbe insisted on translatingthem in away that would bring about the most scrupulous ob-servance ofmitzvos. "Every single chumrah that can possiblyexist in industrial matzoh production, I have instituted in mybakery," he would later declare. Even technicalities such as theareas in the United States from which wheat could be bought,how and when to cut it, store it, and transport it,were decidedby the Rebbe.The halachah states, for instance, that overripe wheat orker-

nelsthat have begun to split cannot beused for matzos, becauseatthat point, the wheat no longer needs tobe connected to theground, and rain will cause it to become chometz. The Rebbedetermined that because ofthis halachah, allwheat must becutin a five-week period between Sivan and Tammuz.Not every wheat field can be used to produce flour for mat-

zos,because there isa halachah that a davar charif(sharp food,such as onion and garlic) ground along with the flour renders itchometz . Even ifa farmer doesn't activelyplant these vegetables,

the wind can easily transport some into afield. TheRebbe wasn't willing to rely on any leniencies in this

area, insisting that if rabbanim detected the slightest scent ofonion or garlic in the wheat kernels or flour, they must discardthe entire lot.In order to avoidcutting down a large swath ofwheat only to

findthat there was onion or garlic in the field,he instituted thata large contingent ofrabbanim and trustworthy yungerleit, ledbya close talmid, RebElyaDuvid Tirnauer, a'h, would visit eachfield,crossing it diagonally in formation so they could check ev-ery inch. That remains the modus operandi today."Sending such a large group can cost us $40,000," saysReb

Yida Lazer, "and there are times when they make the trip,only to find something amiss and turn back without cuttinga single stalk."Andeven our system is not foolproof," he adds. "We've hadsituations inwhich an entire tractor-trailer full ofwheat arrivedfrom across the United States, and when they opened the doorsofthe trailer, the ra v detected the presence ofa da va r char ifWeimmediately sold offthe entire lot at a loss, for use during theyear, in keeping with the Rebbe's instructions."Another rule ofRebYoelwas that wheat be cut onlybetween

noon and five o'clock in the afternoon, to ensure that the sunhas already evaporated the morning dew. This can be hard toexplain to the non-Jewish field-owners, who suffer immenselyfrom another chumrah: no water is allowed onto the combineharvester during the cutting process, to ensure that allthe wheatremains absolutely dry. Considering the summer heat in statessuch as Indiana and Georgia inwhich wheat iscommonly cut,it can be quite difficult for a befuddled farmer to deal with the



6/10


7/10

-~

we're still in the heim in Satmar, where they hired me as rav.They don't yet understand that Ibuilt this community, and Imake the rules."Reb Lipa understood his instructions; he went straight to

the task, purchasing a large mill, parts ofwhich are still storedin the matzoh bakery. Years after Reb Lipa's tenure, when RebYeedle Rosenberg, a'h, was running the bakery, the old millstopped working properly. He wasn't sure whether he was al-lowed to do away with the old mill as long as it was still func-tioning to some extent, since it would cost the kehillah money.They called together a b eis d in to rule on the matter, but beforeit met, they went to discuss it with the Rebbe. When the Rebbeheard that the old mill wasn't working properly, he instructedReb Yeedle to purchase new equipment, obviating the need forthe be is d in 's decision."Today, all 700,000 pounds ofwheat are ground in the bakery

onBroadway,"RebYidaLeizer reports. "Much ofthe flour isusedin the matzoh bakery aswell,but some isbought byother Satmarmatzoh bakeries around theworld. There is also an ever-increas-ing demand for r eic ha yim s he ! y ad (hand-ground) matzos, and aseparate division in the bakery deals with that demand."Even after he had labored to establish procedures that met his

standards, the Rebbe kept a constant watch on the bakery. Hewould arrive unannounced at the matzoh bakery from time totime in order to ensure that everything was running accordingto his instructions."The Rebbe would walk out ofshul after Shacharis," RebYida

Lazer relates, "and b ec hv odo ub e'a tzm o he would stop a schoolbus that had just dropped offchildren in the Satrnar Cheder, andinstruct the driver to take him to the matzoh bakery sohe couldperform a spot inspection."The Beirach Moshe and Reb Zalman Leib of Satmar have

maintained this practice. "Last year," recalls Reb Yida Leizer,

L is ten ing . L earn ing .G iv ing your comm un ity.a voice,M on te fio re w elco m es co m m un ity lia iso nS olo m o n R os en be rg .Montefiore is a national ly-recognized leader inproviding world-class medical expertise and innovativetreatments. And to better bring that care to theJewish Orthodox community, we asked respectedprofessional and patient advocate Solomon Rosenbergto lead the way. His vast knowledge of the Montefioresystem will help you take full advantage of ourexcel lent amenities and services. His passion for yourculture and traditions will help us gain the insight weneed to be your trusted healthcare source.

Tolearn morel or for assistance scheduling anappointment, call Solomon Rosenberg directlyat 917-744-5005.

MontefioreInspired Medicine

www.montefiore.org
http://www.montefiore.org/http://www.montefiore.org/


8/10

"the Rebbe caused quite a stir, becauseinstead of summoning his driver, heleft his house on foot, walking quite adistance to the bakery, so that no onewould know that he was coming."Once, when Reb Yoelish arrived for

an inspection, he encountered a lockeddoor. All the workers were on the lowerfloor grinding wheat, and with the deaf-ening noise ofthe mill, they didn't hearthe Rebbe knocking. TheRebbe returnedhome, and that night he summoned thecommunity leaders and told them thathe needed his own key to the bakery. Heneeded to be ableto pop inwithout warn-ing to ensure that all of his standardswere being kept.Onone ofthe Rebbe's visits to the bak-

ery,workers were in middle ofcleaningthe reidler (the apparatus used to makeholes inmatzos),which isdonewith libun(scorching it until any morsels ofleftover dough or flourare burned away).Reb Lipa Lowy ; whowas a redhead, took theopportunity to ask the Rebbe how much Iibun was necessary."I want it be as red-hot as your beard," the Rebbe replied

with his characteristic humor - but he meant it. No cuttingcorners in his bakery.PureWater Every milestone that the bakery reached wasa source ofjoy for the Rebbe. During the first year of bakery'sexistence, every ra v or roshyeshivah who came tovisit the Rebbewas invited for a tour ofthe bakery.In the early years, the Satmar chassidim relied onnearby wells

to draw the mayim shelanu . (Halachically,water formatzos mustbe drawn from awell during twilight, and then left overnight- hence the moniker "shelanu," meaning "that has rested.") Itwas difficult for the workers to schlep barrels ofwater, and two


years after they bought the bakery, the Reb-be decided itwas time to digtheir own wellonthe bakery premises. The problem wasthat the waterways near Williamsburgall contain saltwater, and samples fromwells in farms that existed back then inthe vicinity had all tested positive forsalt content. When the Rebbe gavein-structions to start digging awell, RebLipaLowywas concerned that the in-vestment wouldbe fornaught, because

saltwater can't be used formatzos. But theRebbe told him to dig anyway."It doesn't take longto reach water inWilliams-

burg," explains Reb Yida Lazer, "In some partsof the neighborhood, the water level is so closeto the surface - just six feet beneath the groundin certain spots - that it is nearly impossible topour a proper foundation for a large building.This has caused us trouble when we try tobuildbuildings for yeshivos or chadarim,"Forthe purpose ofmayim she la nu , however,wa-

tery Williamsburg had its advantages. Digging began on a Fri-day morning. The Rebbe summoned Reb Lipa at midday, andasked him to try to see to it that samples were sent for testingearly enough that the results would comeback before Shabbos.The workers struck water several hours after they began to dig,and they quickly collected a sample and sent itout to a lab.Rightbefore Shabbos, asReb Lipa was about to walk out to shul, theresults came in: the water was pure!Reb Lipa ran to tell the Rebbe. "The Rebbe was overjoyed for

that entire Shabbos," he recounted, "because he would soonhave his own mayim shelanu"When the well had been completed, Reb Yoel Klein, whowas then the r as h k ahal ofSatrnar, went to inform the Rebbe.

The Rebbe grabbed his tilip (overcoat) and went straight to thematzoh bakery. He sent someone for the Shoproner Rav, one

I I


9/10


10/10

minutes ofgrinding, sothe Rebbe would have Reb ElyaDuvidbegin turning the mill, and he would place his hand beneathit to catch the flour as it emerged. After a few minutes, whenhe determined that pure flour was coming out, he.would takeover, and grind his wheat himself.OnErev Pesach, atthree o'clock in the afternoon, the Rebbe

would arrive in the bakery dressed in YomTov finery. Only aselect group ofhis closest chassidim were allowed to partici-pate in baking those matzos,

The feeling was surreal, recalled Yidden who were privi-leged to be part of that chaburah, the atmosphere chargedwith excitement. The Rebbe would first inspect the rollingpins to make sure that they had no dents that could catchsome dough, and then he would stand at the head of the tableand hand out the teiglach (pieces of dough) for his chaburahto roll out. He would take the last piece and roll it himself,and then hand it over to someone else to finish. Then hewould wash his hands, and announce, in a refrain that hadbecome famous, "Lumir gein tzim demfin oiven - Let's go tothe oven" (oiven can also mean from above, and the Rebbemay have been expressing the uplifted feelings they had onthis occasion).The most memorable part of that chaburah was the Rebbe's

Hallel. Assoon as he began to distribute the teiglach, he wouldbegin to sing Hallel, with each nuance, as if he was standingat the amud in beis medrash."Yidden told me," says Reb Yida Lazer, "that they felt an

indescribable feeling of yearning for closeness with the Ri-bono shel Olam during that Hallel."And even now, two generations removed, you detect that

yearning in the voice of this young secretary of the kehillah,who has been lucky enough to perceive that atmosphere fromthose who were up close. In fact, they are the subjects of hisparting words: "Ashrei eiyin ra'asah kol eilah" - fortunate isthe eye that has seen all this.

(D!JlllJ rr'n nux) n'llv'7 nnam ilJ"lI .. Typesetters (profess ional iziug innumerous texts on one page) (DJnII'Jl7 urt'zp nllY) ili'7Pil ..+ Translators and Transcribers (OOPD Jl 771J) "TID'lI. .(transcribe your audio rmrm into written format)

+ Nikud Punctuation specialists+ Graphic artists(layout and design for your cover and dedications)

+ Quality Printing and Binding

mam 'nll'VI ,"TIP'] .runnsn rum ..(D'llJ\'J71 I1J'lJ7) '!I'iI J.1~'l1 ..

(DJ1907 1nl'] 1171lJDil110911111)ilJ"JI ilO.9"Til..(OJ1907 nn-xnnn 11'19117yllJ') axsn nll 'l! ! . .

'"JI:l1 0 '1110 J lO ll li 1 1 J I : I' l! [email protected] .. tel. (73 2) 9'1 2-7 30 7
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

mishpacha satmar matzoh bakery

Documents