Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul.

The class begins on Pesachim 37a by revisiting the dispute between Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel over pat ava, and introducing a new interpretation that pat ava means a large quantity of bread rather than thick bread. Rav Minyami bar Rava quotes a tradition in which a rabbi privately asks his own rabbi about this term, and the answer reframes the entire halachic discussion. The class then explores the concern of chametz in thick dough, explaining how heat accelerates fermentation and why modern matza is rolled paper-thin, touching on the minhag of gebrakhts along the way. The discussion moves to why Bet Shammai's ban on pat ava applies to all holidays, not just Pesach, ultimately concluding that the issue is tirha — excessive labor on Yom Tov — rather than a chametz concern. The class closes with the Talmudic account of Baitos ben Zonin's question about shaped matza molds, and Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok's childhood memory of seeing shaped matza in Rabban Gamliel's home.

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(0:00) Pat Ava: Thick or a Lot of Bread?

(1:08) Rav Minyami's Question to His Rabbi

(2:01) Pat Ava Means a Lot of Bread

(3:28) No Upper Limit on Matza Thickness

(5:08) Why Thick Dough Risks Becoming Chametz

(6:05) Sourdough Starters and Se'or Explained

(9:06) The Streitz Matza Factory Story

(12:29) Gebrakhts: A Minhag Explained

(14:19) Back to the Bet Shammai/Hillel Dispute

(16:58) Why Does Bet Shammai Ban Pat Ava?

(18:56) Tirha: The Real Reason for the Ban

(20:06) Fulfilling Matza with Different Bread Types

(21:14) Why Shaped Matza Is Banned on Pesach

(22:47) Baitos Ben Zonin's Question to the Sages

(24:49) Rabbi Elazar Bar Tzadok's Childhood Memory

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