Unleavened Lessons – Chabad Matzah Factory

Eating Matzah during Passover takes on a whole new meaning when children have a chance to experience making it, starting with wheat stalks fresh from the fields. Camp Silver Gan Israel-Hebrew Academy brings this extraordinary experience to Jewish children and their families in Long Beach and Orange County through The Matzah Bakery, a portable workshop presented at approximately twenty different schools, synagogues, and youth groups during the months of March and April. Over two thousand students and their parents, ranging in age from preschool to college Hillel, have already experienced the joy and beauty of this Passover ritual this year, through their participation in this hands-on program.

This program, which is offered by Chabad Centers and Hebrew Academies in approximately twenty cities across the United States, has been a successful community outreach activity in our area for over seven years. Rabbi Sender Engel, director of Camp Silver Gan Israel in Huntington Beach and part-time teacher at the Hebrew Academy, also in Huntington Beach, has directed the Matzah Bakery and other holiday factories for the past two years. He personally conducts all of the presentations. “We provide a unique and exciting opportunity to enhance students’ appreciation of the meaning and traditions of these special holidays,” states Rabbi Sender. His enthusiasm for what they do is evident as he describes the Matzah Bakery.

Dressed in baker’s hats, the children start by threshing and winnowing natural wheat stalks, separating the wheat from the chaff.
Then, they grind the wheat into flour in rustic, hand-driven millstones that have the authentic look and feel of years ago. Next, the children draw special water from an old fashioned well and begin mixing the flour and water into matzah dough.

Once the 18-minute clock starts, the children quickly mix and knead the dough. “According to Jewish tradition, the process must be swift enough so that the dough doesn’t rise,” explains Rabbi Sender. The dough is then rolled out and riddled with holes by special matzah perforators. The matzot are rushed to the “brick” oven in the hope of baking the entire batch in just 18 minutes.

While the matzah bakes, Rabbi Sender explains more about the meaning of Passover and encourages the children to ask questions and talk about their experience making matzah. At the end of the program, each child takes home a freshly baked matzah and his or her baker’s hat, as well as a Shmurah Matzah for the family seder table. The difference between a Shmurah Matzah and regular matzah is that the Shmurah Matzah is “guarded” to be sure that it does not become chametz. Being “guarded” means that it is kept under careful supervision at the real Matzah Bakery to be sure that it does not come into contact with any water or moisture. Many authorities maintain that one can fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah on the first night of Passover only by using Shmurah Matzah, although it is fine to eat regular matzah during the remaining days of Passover.

If your children are not going to have the opportunity to participate in this year’s Matzah Bakery at their synagogue, school, or youth group, everyone is welcome to attend the Matzah Bakery session being held at Camp Silver Gan Israel on Sunday, April 2, 2006, from 4 to 5 p.m. Camp Silver Gan Israel and the Hebrew Academy are located at 14401 Willow Lane in Huntington Beach.

In addition to the Matzah Bakery, Rabbi Sender has other established workshops that he and his team bring to the community. “All of our programs are designed to link Jewish learning to Jewish practice and family celebrations. The joy and beauty of these festivals and observances come alive for children as they actively participate in our workshops. Involving parents in the educational process further enhances the experience,” explains Rabbi Sender.

During the Shofar Factory, parents and children learn that a Shofar is not someone who drives a limousine. Rather, is a beautiful instrument that is the center of attention on Rosh Hashanah. “The purpose of the Shofar is to awaken the entire Jewish nation to repentance and to motivate people to make good resolutions for the coming year,” says Rabbi Sender. During the program, participants learn how other horns, such as deer antlers and bullhorns, while still being from Kosher animals, are not acceptable for the Shofar. They also learn about the fine art of Shofar making, as well as obtain hands-on experience in the creation of a Shofar from the actual raw horn of a ram.

Children don goggles and gloves to help with the drilling, sanding, shellacking, and finishing of a useable Shofar. Rabbi Sender then demonstrates the traditional blasts of the Shofar and shows how one acquires the skills to blow it. A video presentation about the High Holidays, and a slide show demonstrating the many different types of exotic horns rounds out the experience, offering valuable insights into the significance of the Shofar in the celebration of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In addition to bringing this workshop to the community, everyone is always welcome to the session held annually at The Hebrew Academy-Camp Silver Gan Israel.

New for the High Holidays this past year, in addition to the Shofar Factory, was the Honey Making Workshop, which presented a remarkable lesson in bees and honey-making through hands on experience.

Another well established factory has been the Chanukah Experience, which is designed to enhance students’ appreciation of the meaning and traditions of Hanukkah. The program demonstrates the process that the Maccabees used to refine olive oil for the Temple Menorah. Children and their parents have the opportunity to pit fresh olives and squeeze them with a hand press. Then, they strain the extract and spin it in a centrifuge that separates the pure oil, which is then ready for use. Other highlights of the workshop include fashioning a wick out of cotton to use with the oil when lighting the Menorah and making Chanukah candles in various colors, shapes, and sizes — including in the shape of a dreidel. Baking and decorating dreidel cookies and leaving with their own Menorahs they crafted out of various art supplies make this workshop almost as fun for the children as opening gifts on Chanukah!

Rabbi Sender is very pleased by the success of these programs. However, he is not one to rest on his laurels. His goal is to offer even more exciting and educational workshops to the community to help children get excited about our Jewish festivals and traditions and to learn what they mean. Plans for such additional workshops are already in the works!

At a Havdallah program, students will assemble their own Havdalah kit, starting with wicks that are dipped into a vat of hot wax. They will weave the thin-waxed wicks to create a twisted, colorful Havdalah candle.
They will also make a fragrance holder, using bits of cloves, foam balls, and cloth. Learning about the significance of Havdalah and how to recite and lead the Havdalah service complete the experience.

After Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Rabbi Sender hopes to visit with children in their school, synagogue, and community Sukkot, to teach them about the beauty of the “Four Species” and to explore the Torah source for each of these Mitzvot. He will help children become expert shoppers at an imaginary shuk (market place), where they will learn to feel the distinct texture of Etrogim from around the world and smell their sweet fragrance. They will also experience the smell and touch of the other three species: the Lulav (Palm Branch), Hadas (myrtle) and Arava (willow.)

Finally, lesson plans are already being finalized for the new Torah Factory, which will debut this Shavuot, in June of 2006. Geared for second to eighth graders, this new and innovative program will provide insight into the extraordinary complexity of creating a Torah, including its wooden, metal and cloth ornaments. Students will view a video demonstrating the process of making a Torah scroll, starting with the raw hide, all the way through tanning and sanding until the parchment is finished. They will learn how to mix the basic ingredients used to make ink for the sofer (scribe) and will have an opportunity to write their Hebrew name with a goose quill on a piece of finished parchment in the script used by the sofer. It is Rabbi Sender’s hope that children and their parents will leave this workshop, not only with a souvenir’s scribe kit, but also with an insight and understanding into the details of the text of the Torah scroll relevant to its writing.

All of the programs and workshops offered by Rabbi Sender and Camp Silver Gan Israel-Hebrew Academy are available for groups in addition to schools, synagogues and youth groups, including adult groups. Although there is no minimum number required, the presentations work best for groups of twenty-five or more people. The basic cost of the programs is $50; however, there is often a nominal materials fee. For additional information about any of the programs, contact Rabbi Sender Engel at Camp Silver Gan Israel, at (714) 898-0051. Rabbi Sender can also be emailed at sender@campsgi.com.