Q & A HALACHA
Everyday Family Questions & Answers
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Page 1
CHALLAH
What is the minimum amount of flour required to take Challah?
- 2 lb. 10 oz of flour but you do NOT say the bracha
- Some Rabbis are of the opinion that you say the bracha if using 3 lb. 10.7 oz of flour
- Other Rabbis are of the opinion that you only say the bracha if using 4 lb 15.2 oz of flour or more
Measurements
- Whole wheat flour: 4 cups = 1 pound
- All purpose flour 3 3/4 cups = 1 pound
- Gluten Flour 3 1/4 cups = 1 pound
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I forgot to take 'Challah' from the challas I baked for Shabbas.
I realized it just before Kiddush.
Is there anything I should or could have done?
- If this happened in Israel, there is no recourse, the challas may not be eaten before 'Challah'
is taken. - Outside of Israel, however, the challas may be eaten on Shabbas as long as you set
aside a piece of challah which you will separate for purposes of 'Challah' after shabbas
is over. - The piece you set aside should be large enough so that after part of it is separated
as 'Challah' there would still be a piece remaining after the separation.
Shulchan Aruch Y.D 323♦♦♦♦♦
Why do I wash my hands before making Hamotzei on the Challah?
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A number of laws & customs were instituted in order to preserve some of the practices
that took place in the times of the Bais HaMikdash. - One of them was washing our hands before eating bread.
- It was decreed by the sages that we should always wash our hands before eating bread,
preserving the obligation of the Cohanim to wash their hands both before taking part
in the Temple service, as well as before they came in to contact with the primary tithe given (Teruma).
- These washings would otherwise be lost in the passing of time due to the absence of
the Bais HaMaikrash. - While in the times of the temple it was only the cohanim who were obligated to wash but
the practice was gradually extended over time to include all Jews, in order to ensure
that it be maintained. - An Additional reason that washing hands before bread was instituted by the sages, is to add cleanliness & holiness (Kedusha) to ourselves priot to eating. (M.B, 158:1).
How do we 'take' Challah?
- With you right hand, separate off dough the size of an egg or a ping pong ball.
- You can wrap the challah you've separated in aluminum foil& burn it with the flame from a gas stove top OR you may wrap it up in two separate layers & throw it in your garbage.
- Say the bracha in Hebrew, Transliteration or English.
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Why do we dip the Challah in salt?
- Two reasons can be found for the practice of dipping challah in salt before eating.
- The first is based on a ruling in the Talmud (Brachot 40a) that one must wait, before
making the bracha of hamotzei, until he has salt in front of him to put on his bread. - The reasons given for this ruling are based on the need to add flavor to the bread in
order to ensure that the first piece eaten will be full of taste. - This is understood to only be a necessity if the bread lacks flavor or one is accustomed
to eating bread with dips (Shulchan Aruch, OC 167:5). - The second reason, given by the Rama in his appendix to the Shulchan Aruch
(ad. loc) adds is that the tables in our home are comparable to the alter in the Temple & likewise our food to the sacrifices offered on it. - Therefore, in the same way that salt was added to the sacrifices, we add salt to our bread
at the start of a meal. - Salt was added to offerings as a representation of the covenant between Hashem & the
Jewish People, just as salt serves as a preservative to food, it signifies the everlasting
nature of the covenant. - Interestingly, the practice of dipping bread in salt is not exclusively reserved for Shabbasmeals, however, it has been universally adopted as part of the Shabbas ritual
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I made dough in two batches.
Must I separate Challah from each batch on its own
or can I separate Challah from one batch & exempt the second?
- One can separate Challah from 1 batch & exempt a second batch provided that the
following criteria are met:
1. The batch that you will separate from must be large enough to be obligated in Challah.
2. The second batch can be smaller (Shach 325:6)
3. The 2 batches of dough must be made from the same type of flour.
4. If one batch of dough is wheat & the other is oats, one must separate from each batch (Shulchan Aruch YD 324:2).
5. Even if they are both wheat flour, if they were grown in different years, one must separate from each batch by itself (Shulchan Aruch YD 324:8).
6. The 2 batches must be together in the same room (Shulchan Aruch YD 325:2)
7. If the two batches of dough are in separate containers, the containers should be touching
& uncovered (Beiur Ha’Gra 325:8).
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I made two batches of dough
& each is the size that would be obligated in Challah.
One was already baked into bread.
Can I separate Challah after bread is baked
& if so, may Challah from a batch of dough exempt bread?
- Yes,one may separate Challah from dough & exempt bread or separate Challah from
bread & exempt dough. - The Shach (YD326:3) writes that this is true even if the two batches of dough are very
different & the owner would be insistent that the two batches of dough should never touch. - It does not matter if one was made with high quality flour & one with low quality flour,
or if one had spices & one was plain. - Since both the bread & the dough each have the obligation of Challah, one may separate
from the bread to exempt the dough or from the dough to exempt the bread.
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Every Day Family Questions & Answers
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