R. Gamliel says: Three women may knead (dough) together [each enough for a full oven, and need not fear that it will become chametz, even though one must wait until two have baked], and they bake in one oven, one after the other. And the sages say: Three women occupy themselves with the dough [i.e., Not so much leniency is to be exercised as to permit them to knead at the same time, but each occupies herself with her own dough]: one [the last one] kneads, one [the middle one] forms, and one [the third one, who kneaded first,] bakes. [So that each of the three is found to be occupying herself with her dough at the same time: one kneading her dough, one forming her dough, one baking her dough.] R. Akiva says: Not all women, and not all wood, and not all stoves are the same. ] R. Akiva refers to the statement of R. Gamliel, saying that it is not advisable to do as he says, for some women are lazy and the dough will become chametz if they take too much time, and some stoves do not heat so quickly, and some wood does not burn so quickly. Rather, the view of the sages should be followed — that they should be constantly occupied with the dough; for so long as they do so, it does not become chametz. And this is the halachah.] This is the rule: If [the dough in her hands] begins to rise, she should douse [her hands] in cold water [and form it so that it cools].
Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
שלש נשים לשות כאחת – Each one [all together] in a full oven, and there is no fermentation, even though [that one of them] is waiting until the other two make it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
Introduction
This mishnah deals with how people should bake matzot on Pesah to avoid them becoming chametz. The mishnah reflects a reality in which several women shared one oven for baking bread/matzah.
We should note that today no one bakes matzah on Pesah. All matzah is baked before Pesah in order to avoid the risk of the dough becoming chametz.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
וחכ"א – one does not have to be so liberal that they would kneading all together, but three women are engaged, each one on her piece of dough.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
Rabban Gamaliel says: three women may knead at the same time and bake in one oven, one after the other. Rabban Gamaliel says that three women may knead dough simultaneously and then use the same oven, even though the dough of one woman will have to wait while the dough of the other two women is baking. Rabban Gamaliel does not think that the dough will turn into chametz in this short amount of time.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
אחת לשה – the concluding one kneads while her middle neighbor forms the dough and smoothens its surfaces while the third one that kneads first bakes. It is found that all three of them are engaged at the same time – each one with her own dough, one kneads hers, another forms the dough and smoothens its surfaces and one bakes hers.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
But the sages say: three women may be engaged with the dough at the same time: one kneads, one shapes and one bakes. The sages disagree and think that if one batch of dough has to wait while the other two bake, it is likely that it will turn into chametz. What the women should do is set up an assembly line, one woman will knead, one woman will shape the dough and one woman will bake. If they time it correctly then no one will have to wait to bake their bread.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
לא כל הנשים – Rabbi Akiva [is reacting] to the words of Rabban Gamaliel when he returns and says that it is inappropriate to follow his words. Because there are lazy women which will cause fermenting with such a delay, and there is an oven that does not get hot in a hurry and there is wood that is not burned quickly, but rather, according to the words of the Sages, it is appropriate to follow – to engage at all times with the dough , for all the time that they are engaged with the dough, it does not come to fermentation. And such is the Halakha.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
Rabbi Akiba says: not all women and not all kinds of wood and not all ovens are alike. Rabbi Akiva says it is impossible to a hard and fast rule since some women prepare bread faster than others, some wood makes ovens hotter than others and some ovens cook faster than others.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
זה הכלל תפח – the dough that is in her hands that she sees that it wants to swell.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim
This is the general principle: if it [the dough] rises, she should slap it with [hands dipped in] cold water. Some commentators explain that this section is a continuation of Rabbi Akiva’s statement but I believe that it is an independent statement. All of the rabbis agree that if the woman begins to see signs of the dough turning into chametz what she should do is slap it with cold water to arrest the fermentation process.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
תלטוש – her hand in cold water and form the dough and smoothen its surface and it will become cold.
