Mehudardika Matzah Chaburos
In meticulous machine matzah chaburos, they are meticulous that a person manually adds water to the flour “for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah”, they also ensure that when placing the dough into the machine that rolls it out that it is done manually “for the sake of the mitzvah of matzah”.
There was a matzah bakery in Kiryat Sefer that installed a special button onto the machine, which ensured that the machine only worked whilst the button was being pressed, and when it was released, the machine stopped, ensuring the entire process was lishmah. However, this caused many malfunctions, and the idea was quickly dropped. According to R’ Yisrael Yaakov Fisher, zt”l, such a mechanism didn’t add anything, because holding the button is not considered an action which makes the matzos lishmah, and all we look at is the intention that was happening when the machine was started.
Revolutionary Idea
Several years ago, some avreichim from the Ateres Shlomah kollel, led by Rav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin shlita, tried to promote a new revolutionary initiative in a matzah bakery in Bet Shemesh, and they built an advanced manual machine that operated directly with manpower, and required manpower to turn a wheel. This way, the matzos would be lishmah according to all opinions with all the chumros.
When it comes to tzitzis and tefillin most people wear tzitzis and tefillin that are made by manual machines that work in a similar manner, therefore, for matzos as well this method should solve all the issues. And just like reichaim shel yad matzos are ground with a wheel that is operated by hand, similarly, machine matzos which are made with a machine operated by hand should be considered 100% lishmah.
Back to Square One
At the time HaRav Shmuel HaLevi Wosner zt”I said that such a method doesn’t get out of machlokes, as the original machine matzos were also made in a similar manner, and then as well there were gedolei hador who held that such matzos were not considered lishmah.
