I would like to suggest to the author of the Letter to the Editor, “Why is Shmurah Matzah Different From All Other Matzah?” (April 8, 2021), an alternative, a perfectly Halachic acceptable solution.

As you may know, what the author refers to as “Shmurah Matzah” is a misnomer. The full name of the product is “Hand(made) Shmurah Matzah,” implying that there are potentially three more variants:

1. Hand(made) non-shmura matzah

2. Machine(made) shmura matzah

3. Machine(made) non-shmura matzah

If we rule out the two non-shmura matzah as not fit for the seder (and the first day) as is the custom (and the Halacha), we are left with two alternatives:

1. Hand (made) shmura matza (a.k.a an expensive bunch of shards,” and…

2. Machine (made) shmura matzah

I must attest that alternative #2 may not have triple hashgachas (and none of the hashgachas use Swahili), but the hashgachas that are used include very reliable ones such as KAJ, Kof-K, O-U and others that we will use for both Passover and everyday without even thinking about it. Moreover, the price premium is much lower than alternative #1 and, like machine (made) non-shmura matzah, they come in a convenient package and are not broken.

The insistence on handmade shmura matzah makes us double victims for the price and for the low quality manifested by the broken product. Now, I know that in the olden days making those matzahs was an important economic factor as there were poor women whose livelihood was dependent on making that product. I do not believe that this is the case anymore. If you do not use a machine matzah at all, then fine, it’s your choice. But, if you use machine (made) non-shmura matzah for the rest of Passover, the switch should be very simple.