![A number of rabbis traveled from New York to Yuma to supervise the harvest of kosher wheat grown to make matzah. [filephoto]](http://www.vinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/yuma5.jpg "yuma5")
Kiryas Joel, NY – Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbe, has been using Arizona wheat exclusively for all Pesach needs. In recent months, a new sefer was introduced describing the deficiencies of Arizona wheat for Pesach use. Written by Rabbi Avrohom Laufer, Doroger Rav, sefer Ho’aishel Beramah, in three volumes, describes the traditions of which wheat to use, by our parents and grandparents. Arizona wheat, because of the lack of rain in wheat-growing areas may be thought of as ideal for matzah baking, since the likelihood of it becoming leaven seems unlikely. However, Rabbi Laufer focuses on irrigation systems that feed water to the wheat, and finds it unacceptable.
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The sefer has the haskamos (approbations) of leading Torah scholars such as: Rabbi Yisroel Chaim Menashe Friedman, Satmar Rosh Beth Din; Rabbi Sholom Pollack, Skverer Dayan; Rabbi Moshe Chaim Tirnauer, Montreal Satmar Dayan; Rabbi Yoel Morgenstein, Sharmasher Rav; Rabbi Noach Isaac Elbaum, Rav Beis Medrash Nachalas Dovid Queens; Rabbi Moshe Yitzchak Farkas, Flatbush Dayan; Rabbi Simcha Yisroel Blum, Kasho Rav; Rabbi Shlomo Gross, Boro Park Belzer Dayan; Rabbi Yaakov Zeida, Williamsburg Vishnitzer Dayan; Rabbi Wolf Ber Lerner, Montreal Belzer Dayan; Rabbi Yitzchok Mandel, Rosh Beth Din Chaker Halacha; Rabbi Yeshaya Binyamin Holczer, Shevet Levy Member Dayan; Rabbi Dovid Rosenberg, author of Minchas Dovid; Rabbi Chaim Yeshaya Shwimmer, Rosh Kollel Rema; and Rabbi Elimelech Yechezkel Shraga Gold, Rav Beis Medrash Shaar Chesed Monsey.
Approbation Renounced
In a full-page proclamation published in Der Yid, a Yiddish Chassidishe weekly, Rabbi Sholom Pollack, Skverer Dayan, indicates that he is pained that his letter of approbation against Arizona wheat was published. He claims he wrote the letter without having heard the arguments of the proponents of Arizona wheat. He further claims that the letter was not issued to be published.
After having studied the benefits of Arizona wheat, he is now convinced that it is indeed superior and that his original letter against Arizona wheat published without full authorization is now rendered null and void, as the dust of the earth.
I don’t understand what their problem is? In EY the eida and Rav Landau only take from places where it doesn’t rain.
In eight and one half months there will be a new book about the deficiencies of Arizona wheat that comes from lower notheast Arizona but not near tall mountains. And what about Kansas and all its parts and why not mention Nebraska. Luh mich oop shoyn!
Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum has enough chasidim that will buy the matzo.
There will yet be a shortage.
The readers of the Yid are not needed as his customers, he has the readers of the BLATT! And his hundreds of thousands of followers all over the world.
The retraction of Rabbi Pollak proves that all of this is just fighting between the chasidim……..and Reb Aron will prevail.
I don’t under stand how any ruv or any rabbi can sign a paper with out lisining to both sides I am sure that the other rabunim didn’t even try to find out the other side they just signed
*All for politic*
This is a typical machlokes in halocha, over the years since matan torah there were always machlokes in halocha between gedolim in halochos.
The reason why very many rabbonim support rabbi Laufer, because he sticks to tradition, and traditionally no wheat from Arizona was used in the matza in the past.
And that’s the reason why I would’nt consider Arizona wheat for my matza either, I’m happy to eat the same matza my father and grand father ate.
it’s untrue that rabbi a teitelbaum uses arizona wheat “exclusively,” for in his bakery they use regular wheat as well
I c’not understand how you comper avrum laufer to the satmar rebehe
Correction the full-page proclamation published in ‘The Blatt” last week this week is published another proclamation from Harav noach Issac Oelbaum Rav D”Khal Nachlas Yitzchok in Kew Gardens, Queens
First of all Rabbi Laufer is in the wheet bisiness he deals with a L.I. farmer. so he can’t have a say in halacha. he is a ‘negeiah b’duvor”. 2th this is a political issue, not a machloikes h’poskim.
Anon2, did you know that your grandfather and great grandfather didn’t eat matzah that the wheat has grown in the USA, so the whole concept of tradition doesn’t belong here, indeed the very first matzah’s were from egypt where they plant the same way as arizona.
The old Satmer Rebbe baal Diveri Yoel also a min. Of 2 years wheat from arizona, so why is this NOT the wheat what my father and grand father eat. So this is only politickes and NOT halacha.
This is not politics and not Halacha. This is about money and one Matzo flour seller trying to kill another Matozh sellers business by insinuating that yenems flour is chametz.
On whoms side is hashem?
On nobody’s. He doesn’t like machloykes shloy leshem shomyaim.
the only problem that there is, is that the reb aron said on the NY wheat that its not good and all the years that wheat was only a “bedieved” and the rabunim used all kinds “heteirim” to make it “just” kosher.
but, the same time his bakery in KY and in willi have over 70% of NY wheat and only 30% from arizona. and even worse: even the arizona matzas is mixed with the NY wheat which is much better and easier to work with. so basicly its a hyporicy.
for sure is: that a yid is not alowed to say on any wheat what erliche yiden r using, thats its chumetz. only the tzanzer ruv z”l cus he was as big as he was’ was alowed to say it on machine matzos. but today’s rabunim canot say it on any wheat.
yidden dont eat chumetz on pasech. pintel.
Rabbi Laufer was by Tzalimer Ruv about the Arizona Wheat. Tzalimer Ruv told him before he started to talk; Rabbi Laufer! You came here to say that it’s OOser so now lets see why! Tzalimer Ruv asked him. Tell me were YOU ever there? He said NO.
Tzalimer Ruv told him buy a ticket go to Arizona yourself and then write seforim about it. IF YOU Weren’t there yourself how can you have a saying in this. TZALIMER RUV WAS THERE A FEW TIMES HIMSELF and he is mekeiyim achiles matzo with ARIZONA Wheat.
I will use Gold Medal or Pillsbury flour for my matza. I dont care where they get the wheat from. Pick a state, they all grow wheat.
This machlokes is a legitimate difference of opinions of gedolei Torah. Elu v’elu divrei Elokim chaim! Chas ve’shalom, no rov is saying that arizona or ny wheat is chomets. The politics or the business negios is only after the Torah maskona, and not before. Machine vs. hand matzos, arizona vs. NY wheat, kugel vs. kigel, Sfard vs. Ashkenaz, etc., etc., are all honorable interpetations of halacha.
Since we are all Torah genius here, allow me to ask a very simple basic question. Howl long before Pesach do we stop eating matzos? A month, Rosh Chodesh Nisan, a week, from Shabbos or only Erev Pesach??? Every single one of us says the Hagadah out loud. Do we not say in Ma Nishtano clearly that ALL the other nights of Pesach, we eat Chometz AND matza ? And only that night of Pesach we eat ONLY matza? I’d very much like to hear an intelligent answer from a Chochom of the Ma Nishtana !!!!
This is tipshus. I don’t think we should use American wheat because it was never used for pesach until about 350 years ago.
whoever knows the people involve would know, that avaraham laufer is not to be trusted in anything. let alone halacha, he has a personal negia he is in this field, and the same thing goes to lulavim that he was involved, why don’t we ever hear about the posek laufer on other halachos? only when it comes to his own financial pocket he is here to publish books. he is famous for those who know him as a mean person a ganev (stole menuscripts from a certain godol and published in his own name) and a man that does not live with daas torah only with “Daas Money”.
I understand some people who don’t know him will try to say he is just like any other poisek, but for those who know who he is will know that I’m right!
this whole thing is infantile behaviour where the wheat is grown you can find fault in anything if thats what you look for all day and not busy with more important things these satmerers are always extreeme in everything they do because they are stuck in a time warp there are infinitly more important things to be busy with in our life if you want want you can find fault in breathing new york air this is so ridiculous
you people are retards
#34 oh yeah, stuck in time wrap? they dont have cars , electricity, fly planes.etc etc etc?? oh you mean in upholding the torah wihout letting hretic views infiltating ,you mean like reform , consevative etc..
Rabbi Laufer of Dorog is a great talmid chochom, and does not deal with wheat or matzos, it’s lie.
And he is entitled just as Rabbi Teitelbaum is to say his daas Torah! we live in democracy, not in Iran or soviet union, just because he is not a rabbi of a big cong. doesn’t mean he has to shut up when some Rabbi with chasidim thinks or says otherwise!
Keep it up Doroger rov.
As long as the strain of wheat is the same,
it shouldn’t make a difference where it is grown.
(Europe is huge, yet no-one ever said
to use wheat from Poland over wheat from Hungary)
The BIG question no one is asking here is why is the PRICE so expensive and why these “Rabbis”
allow us to be price-gouged every year!
A kosher rye bread costs $2 and that includes all costs such as labor, rent and other ingredients such as oil and eggs.
1 pound of Matzah at $20 is TEN times this amount.
This is Onaah plain and simple ands it is doubly evil since it hurts the poor the most!
If you look on the list of the Rabonim HuAusrim you’ll see that they voted on their party lines (not talking of those who reversed their decision)
#43 .. whats your problem, you can have machine matzoh as low as 3.75 a lb. regarding hand shemurah matzoh if you are ignorant what astronomical $$ goes int producing it , dont talk. start with the summer befor,you knw the has to be a constant mashgichim to watch when the wheat is harvested? they have to be there a while watch and so on until the final product can go on and on..yes there is tremendous amount of work and achreious that it should cost 10 times as much
As we see that the great majority of comments do see that the whole fight is on the party lines avrom laufer is a great succesfull bussiness man (imrei shefer) we respect his huge pesach chalukah BUT he is still not a posek he thought he could do again what he did with niklsburg
Did anyone think to ask the good senator from Arizona? Feel free to contact John McCain to get his opinion. I am sure that the people from the TWR (totally worthless rabbis) are interested in what he has to add to this new ailment afflicting the jews of NY. This is his contact for email, copy and paste in the address box.
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Please ask him to restrict the use of water in the growth of wheat plants. Genius idea ….isnt it?. I think we can we can solve the worlds drought issues.
Please post here if you sent him an email so we can see how our voice is heard.
I fail to understand the issue here. Did Rabbis Teitelbaum, Laufer, et al. miss the day in biology class when it was taught that WATER is necessary for a plant to grow? Let one of these “Rabbis” try and find me a wheat field that has not come into any contact with water.
#49 , #50 ..learn simon 453 hilchos pesach before you open your mout..#50 what ia a chritian doing on a frum jewish site spurting his hate on rabbis .your testament is full of such comments against the ‘rabbis’
What does it bother this laufer what the aronim are eating ?according to him they are from the sitra achra what does he care all of a sudden ?
“Rabbi Sholom Pollack, Skverer Dayan, indicates that he is pained that his letter of approbation against Arizona wheat was published. He claims he wrote the letter without having heard the arguments of the proponents of Arizona wheat. He further claims that the letter was not issued to be published.”
I don’t get it, why did he even write a letter of approbation if he didn’t hear the other side of the story? I hate to criticize a person that I presume to be a talmid chochom, but writing such a letter without knowing all side would seem to be intellectually dishonest. Also, if it wasn’t issued to be published, what was it issued for?
This “controversy” got me to thinking about rainfall in Egypt. RSRH writes that the Egyptians thought that they controlled their environment, because they depended upon the Nile River overflow and irrigation for water rather than rainfall. Hence they felt they were not subject to the elements.
With this in mind, I checked the amount of rainfall in Egypt and found
“Average rainfall is about 200 mm (nearly 7.9 inches) at northern coasts (near Alexandria), decreasing as you go south to about 50-100 mm in the Nile Delta region. Around Cairo it ranges between 10-30 mm, varying from year to year. Rainfall decreases sharply farther south. Rainfall season is mainly in winter between the months of November and January, and to a lesser extent February and March.”
Therefore, the wheat that was used to make the matzos that the B’nei Yisroel ate at their seder in Mitzraim definitely was watered by irrigation!
Furthermore, it turns out that many places in Arizona receive more rainfall than in Egypt. See http://alliance.la.asu.edu/maps/AZ_rain_web.pdf
Thus, if anything, the contention should be that one should not use wheat that was watered via rainfall, and all of our ancestors who did were not following the original tradition!!!! 🙂
Yitzchok Levine
Rabbi Laufer is not intrested in hearing the other side of the story. he is out here to say that it is asur. his son started using this wheat, it bothered him, he promised him he’ll show him that its chumetz. he won’t listen to anything. he’s set his mind u cant trust him. i know this first hand.