R. Gamliel dice: Tres mujeres pueden amasar (masa) juntas [cada una lo suficiente para un horno lleno, y no deben temer que se convierta en jametz, a pesar de que uno debe esperar hasta que dos se hayan horneado], y hornean en un horno, una despues del otro. Y los sabios dicen: Tres mujeres se ocupan de la masa [es decir, no se debe ejercer tanta clemencia como para permitirles amasar al mismo tiempo, pero cada una se ocupa de su propia masa]: una [la última] amasa, una [la del medio] se forma, y una [la tercera, que amasó primero], hornea. [Para que se descubra que cada una de las tres se está ocupando con su masa al mismo tiempo: una amasando su masa, otra formando su masa, otra horneando su masa.] R. Akiva dice: No todas las mujeres, y no toda la madera , y no todas las estufas son iguales. ] R. Akiva se refiere a la declaración de R. Gamliel, diciendo que no es aconsejable hacer lo que dice, ya que algunas mujeres son flojas y la masa se convertirá en jametz si toman demasiado tiempo, y algunas estufas no se calientan tanto. rápidamente, y parte de la madera no se quema tan rápido. Más bien, se debe seguir la opinión de los sabios—que deberían estar constantemente ocupados con la masa; mientras lo hagan, no se convertirá en jametz. Y esta es la halajá.] Esta es la regla: si [la masa en sus manos] comienza a elevarse, debe mojar [sus manos] en agua fría [y formarla para que se enfríe].
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.
