Electric Machines that Perform the Entire Process
As time went on, with the introduction of electricity into the industrial world, it became possible for the entire matzah baking process to be carried out by machine. In light of these new advancements once again the poskim disputed whether it is enough that the matzos are simply guarded from not becoming chometz (שימור לשמה) or if there needs to be a positive act in the matzah baking process carried out lishmah.
Today, following the industrial revolution, all manual operations are able to be carried out via machine, and the situation has arisen that in large bakeries everything is done with automatic machines, without human intervention whatsoever, throughout the entire matzah baking process from the moment the water is added to the flour until the baking is complete. Since everything is done automatically with electricity, no human intervention is needed, and the only thing that needs manpower, is pressing a button at the beginning to start a process. The big question is, does pressing the button which starts off the entire process “l’shem matzos mitzvah” [for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah] help?
The Maharsham (Vol. 4, siman 129, see also Vol. 2, siman 16) firmly states that such a manner of baking is not considered “lishmah”, since all the person does is allow the electicricty to flow, and it is not considered his action at all.
The Maharasham adds a big chiddush and says: Even on the other days of Pesach when there is no obligation to eat matzos that were made lishmah, it is still forbidden to eat machine matzos lest one come to eat them on Seder night as well. Only if the beginning of the kneading was done with manpower, and the entry of the dough into the ‘valtzin’ (a dough processing and cutting machine) is done by hand, is there room to be lenient bedieved, and say:שכל הנעשה על דעת הראשונה נעשה, וסתמא לשמה – that everything that is subsequently done, is considered to have been done with the original intentions, and we can say that it automatically has a din of lishmah.
According to the Divrei Malkiel (Vol. 4, siman 2) an electric machine is considered lishmah, as all that needs to be done lishmah, is that the matzos are guarded against becoming chometz and no positive action is required.
R’ Shlomah Zalman Auerbach (Halichos Shlomah, Perek 7, Devar Halachah 16); R’ Yisrael Yaakov Fisher (Even Yisrael, Vol. 1, Hilchos Chometz U’Matzah 6:9) and R’ Tzvi Pesach Frank (Mikraei Kodesh Vol. 2, siman 3) all say, that even according to the Meiri (Pesachim 40a, d.h. beseikos) and Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah 10) who maintain that a Jew who is a gadol standing over a non-Jew or kotan watching that the dough doesn’t become chometz doesn’t help, that is because “a person is unable to guard something in the hands of his friend”, however, a machine is better as it is not considered being “in a friends hand”.
R' Shlomah Zalman adds, that although in his opinion a positive act of lishmah is required, the mere act of operating the machine by a person is enough to be considered lishmah, as the only reason the machine is working is because of him, and just like in Hilchos Shabbos and Hilchos Mazik we consider it his action, the same thing is by lishmah when it comes to matzos.
R’ Yisrael Yaakov Fisher zt”l (Even Yisrael, Vol. 1, Hilchos Chometz U’Matzah end of Perek 6) writes that even with today’s machines where everything is done automatically it is still considered lishmah, as the definition of lishmah is not “a human act” rather it means “guarding against becoming chometz”, and in the end of the day the person who runs the machine is guarding the matzos against becoming chometz, לשם מצות מצוה – for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah”, and when he has intention to run the machine לשם מצות מצוה, and continues to have such intention throughout the process, the matzos are considered lishmah. (See the picture below of R' Yisrael Yaakov Fisher’s seder plate where he had machine matzos, and he prepared lots of them enough for all his guests.)
