Hmmm….wonder what they’re doing were my thoughts as I peered through the barred windows of a building on Rivington Street.
him: “Wanna try a matzo?”
me: “Matzo? Sure! Do you mind if I take a photo?”
him: “Oh, come on in and help yourself. Wanna another matzo?”
And so…welcome to the matzo baking process. Conveyor belts churn. Matzo comes spitting out just like the candy factory scene in I love Lucy. Several men, with much more skill than Lucy and Ethel, are stationed to retrieve it and brake it into sheets as it continues along the way through the packing line. Welcome to Streit’s Matzos, the Kosher Grocery and maker of matzo! If you aren’t familiar, it’s an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday.
Amazing to think that Streit’s has occupied the same four buildings on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan for more than eighty years. Today they remain the only family-owned and operated matzo company in America. It was great to read that the Kickstarter process was used for funding a documentary to be completed in the fall of this year. (The video clip within Kickstarter is soooo good!)
This is what I LOVE about this city…you’re just walking and exploring a hood…and the next thing you know…you’re inside a matzo factory. Priceless.
This week the prompt for Bella’s 52 Photos Project was “in my hand” and I just couldn’t think of a better representation than the family business of Streit’s!
Well leave it to you to just wonder upon something this cool frissy… Counting hours until I can get in on some of this fun with you…XXOO Soon!
Oh, that’s interesting! I always love seeing how things are made. I would never have guessed, from the top photo, that’s what they were making.
Matzo – definitely matzo!!! What fun to stumble upon this!
This southern girl has never had matzo! So much fun to know about and what gorgeous light in your images!
What a fun adventure into the world of Matzo.
Lucky you. What a neat adventure.
interesting discovery. am sure it’s worth to find.
Great post and great shots! I really love the second one – love the depth of field.
The second picture for sure ,what a great picture! What an amazing place to discover and even to be invited to have a closer look! Am so much looking forward to go to NY again.
I watched the short documentary video from beginning to end and thought about Astrid at her machine at work. She will LOVE this…and will moan about how the Streit work ethic has not perservered in this day and age. (sigh) I LOVE how you stumble upon these things. You have a rare gift…of being one of those people everyone wants to invite in!
Lucky you! A wonderful story of about how taking pictures literally can open doors … great pictures!
It was almost like being there beside you. I have some experience of factories and this bought back some memories. Lovely stuff
I thought they were tiles at first. You have captured a real story here in pictures and words. Congrats
Love how you just stumble on all these great things in our wonderful city (and I still consider it my city, even if I live hours and hours away). Your pictures did such a beautiful job capturing this wonderful find.
מצה in Hebrew and Matse in Dutch. To us it is incredible great that you are able to make so many connections and that you meet so many different people. Great pictures.
What a fabulous post! And the video—just as you said, soooo good! Anthony Zapata is a classic!
Terrfic! I like ’em no matter how you say it:)
Robyn, this is so thoughtful, a great take on the prompt. Thank you for sharing.
Wow! Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment. This was a real treat in so many ways!
I learned it as MA-tzaw as a kid, but later relearned it with the Israeli pronunciation of ma-TZAH.
The Hebrew is מצה, so no way is there an “o” sound at the end.
I would say any of the spellings that end in “a” or “ah” are ok – transliteration isn’t a science 😉
But in any event, you created a delightful photo essay here – thanks. Also, the trailer looks great – I’ll try to find the documentary now.