Get Ready, Get Set, Go....18 Minute Mitzva Time

After a hard day of Passover cleaning, I am about to go and watch a spectacle that I have enjoyed for the past few years - westbankpappa and a bunch of other men from our settlement bake their own matza for Pesach.

A few years ago a group got together and purchased small bakers ovens that are used exclusively for this purpose. Each year more and more people participate, so that they have reached the point where there are four rounds of baking, not counting the two hour special baking on the eve of Pesach itself.

The Rabbi of the yishuv supervises everything, of course, down to the smallest detail, including keeping track of the time. From the second the water is mixed with the flour his stopwatch is on, making sure that the baked matza is finished before 18 minutes are up. Someone usually brings a tape player, so that there is Jewish music in the background, and the kids watch avidly as their fathers perform this once-a-year mitzvah (Torah commandment). Boys 16 and up can participate, so my oldest son will be baking, too.

After working hard getting the house ready, I always enjoy putting my feet up and watching the men sweat a bit.

But the best part comes next week. Everyone enjoys the taste of pappa's special matza at the seder. It seems that everything, even matza, tastes better when it is "homemade".