Dov Behr Manischewitz (1856 or 1857 or 1858 in Salant – March 8, 1914, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio), also known as Dov Ber, Dov Baer, Dov Bear, Dave Behr, and David Behr, and born Dov Behr Abramson, was a Lithuanian-American

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and businessman, known for his innovations in the manufacture of

matzah Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashk. matzos) is an Unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (lea ...

, and for his creation of the company bearing his name.

Early life

Manischewitz was born and raised in Salant, and studied under Rabbi Israel Salanter in Memel, where he trained as a shochet. In 1885, he emigrated to the United States, using the identification documents of a dead man named "Manischewitz". Although he stated that he emigrated because he had been hired as a shochet by the Jewish community of Cincinnati, other reasons have been suggested, including that it was in response to the then-imminent expulsion of Jews from Memel, or that it was in order to avoid compulsory military service.

Professional life

In Cincinnati, Manischewitz initially worked as a shochet and peddler; since matzah was not available, he made his own in his basement – originally for his circle of acquaintances, but later for Jews throughout the city. Eventually his merchandise was successful enough that he undertook

mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...

, and shifted to new, mechanized methods, including

gas stove A gas stove is a Kitchen stove, stove that is fuelled by flammable gas such as natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or syngas. Before the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuels, such as coal or wood. The first gas sto ...

s and the

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...

-based "traveling carrier bake-oven", which he patented. These methods were initially controversial, and questions were raised as to whether machine-made food complied with

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

; however, Manischewitz argued his case with American rabbinical authorities, who decided in his favor (historian Zalman Alpert has noted that both Manischewitz and the American rabbinical authorities were of the

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

tradition). His matzah business was successful enough that in 1913, he was able to move to the upscale Cincinnati neighborhood of Walnut Hills. As well, he sponsored the creation of the Manischewitz

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

in what was then

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

; decades later, his sons argued in court that their continued funding of the yeshiva was a business expense, as its graduates would help to spread the idea that machine-made matzah could still be kosher. Manischewitz died in 1914, and is buried in Beth Hamedrash Hagodol cemetery, Covedale.

References

External links

Dov Behr Manischewitz
at Find a Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Manischewitz, Dov Behr 1858 births 1914 deaths American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Rabbis from Cincinnati People from Salantai 19th-century American businesspeople