Tzivos Hashem Resource Center

At Tzivos Hashem we use a grinding table with a millstone on each end. Have two or three helpers from the boys team and girls team hold down the table, since once the children start grinding, the table will probably move around. Line up the kids in a single line at their tables and allow them to relay one at a time and have a chance to turn the grinder three times each. You can allocate three to five minutes for this activity. For younger children, station a teacher to assist the children in taking just a single turn each. The resulting flour will be sifted and used in the actual matzah baking process to follow. Children over six, generally do not need help if the machine is properly adjusted.

Caution: always check that the table on which you mount the millstones is stable and that the legs are firmly braced.

Always make sure that the children turn the millstone clockwise, in the direction of the red arrow, located on top of the millstone. Continuous grinding in the counter clockwise direction will dull the stones. Always 'prime the millstone' as per instructions included in documentation, before beginning each presentation. Fill up the stone three quarters of the way.

Fill the stone with grain, loosen the brown knob on top and begin turning the stone clockwise until the wheat grain begins to be ground into flour. Gradually tighten the brown knob until only flour comes out of the sides and not broken pieces of grain.

Description: The grinding takes a lot of strength and teamwork. Team members encourage the "grinding team."   The children collect the accumulated wheat grain into original hand-driven millstones that really have the look and feel of 1000 years ago. Using the Millstones: Read the manual that comes with the grinder. (By the way, they don't need to be plugged in and use no batteries. Unfortunately, this is not meant to be a joke.) The idea is to show the kids how shmura matzah was made by hand in days of old. (In fact, some people still grind wheat for shmura matzah by hand since stone grinders do not generate heat as they grind like metal grinders do.