Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 506 - The Laws [Governing] Kneading [Dough] on a Festival

Beitzah 29a. See also sec. 456:9, sec. 504:9, and sec. 517:9, where the Alter Rebbe mentions this prohibition.

The Alter Rebbe uses the term uvdin d’chol, which is used to refer to activities that are normally done on a weekday. We have translated this term as “a mundane act.” Activities are sometimes forbidden on Shabbos and festivals because they are classified as uvdin d’chol, i.e., mundane acts. See sec. 500:5, where the Alter Rebbe mentions this rationale for not weighing objects on a festival. See also sec. sec. 306:18 and sec. 323:1, where the Alter Rebbe explains that performing such acts are deprecating or demeaning to the Shabbos.

Beitzah, loc. cit.

Ibid.

See sec. 456:1-2, where the Alter Rebbe discusses this measurement. See also sec. 456:9.

Marei Mekomos VeTziyunim notes that this ruling seems to contradict the ruling in sec. 306:18, where the Alter Rebbe states that on Shabbos it is permitted to measure for the sake of a mitzvah. Marei Mekomos VeTziyunim posits that perhaps the reason for the seemingly contradictory rulings lies in the different situations presented in the main text here and in sec. 306:18. In sec. 306:18, the Alter Rebbe states that the reason for the restriction against measuring on Shabbos is rooted in the fact that such an activity is demeaning to the Shabbos, without mentioning the concept of commercial activity. Thus, it could be said that the Shabbos would not be demeaned by measuring to enable the performance of a mitzvah.

Here, by contrast, the Alter Rebbe states that the restriction was instituted because by measuring, it appears that the person is engaging in commercial activity, and that appearance might be created even when a mitzvah is involved.

See sec. 517:6, where the Alter Rebbe discusses the transgression of engaging in commercial activity on a festival, and cites the Scriptural source for the prohibition.

Beitzah, 29b.See also sec. 456:9.

Talmud Yerushalmi, Shabbos 3:3.

See sec. 311:14, where the Alter Rebbe states this principle when ruling that on Shabbos, it is permitted to take out produce stored in hay or straw for insulation.

The Alter Rebbe states this concept in several sources including sec. 311:14, sec. 313:17, and sec. 314:19.

Beitzah 29b.

In that source, the Alter Rebbe explains that the Sages instituted this prohibition because people generally perform this and similar activities with large amounts of produce at one time. The Sages were concerned that if a person was permitted to perform such an activity on a festival, he would become occupied with its performance and would not have the opportunity to rejoice appropriately on that day.

See Shabbos 73b, which explains that the forbidden melachos of sifting and selecting (borer) resemble each other.

See sec. 319:4, where the Alter Rebbe explains that the forbidden melachah of selecting involves only separating undesirable matter from food. See also subsection 4, below.

See sec. 319:13, 17. See also sec. 466:8. In these sources, the Alter Rebbe grants similar leniencies.

See sec. 510:2, 6. and the Kuntreis Acharon (note 1) to the present section.

In that Kuntreis Acharon, the Alter Rebbe focuses on his statement here, that sifting or selecting resembles a mundane act. The Alter Rebbe presents the approaches of various Rishonim and Acharonim with regard to the melachah of borer, “selecting.” Raavad (see Hilchos Shevisas Yom Tov 3:14) maintains that if a pebble or sliver of wood falls into flour on a festival, it is forbidden to remove itby hand (see subsection 4 below, where the Alter Rebbe rules in accordance with this view). All the authorities understand Raavad’s ruling as meaning that although one may not remove the foreign matter by hand, he may remove it by sifting the flour a second time.

Turei Zahav 506:3 comments on this ruling, explaining that Raavad rules this way only because in this instance, it is possible to remove the pebble or sliver of wood by sifting the flour a second time without performing any forbidden melachah (i.e., Turei Zahav maintains that no melachah is performed the second time flour is sifted). The implication of Turei Zahav’s statement is that, when there is no alternative, it is permitted to remove waste products from food by hand on a festival.

The Alter Rebbe notes that based on this understanding of Turei Zahav, the ruling of Maharil (Hilchos Yom Tov, quoted above in sec. 504:6) that it is forbidden to remove the somewhat larger crumbs of ground bread from among the crumbs that were finely ground and resemble flour is somewhat problematic, since it appears to imply that sifting – and therefore, also selecting – is forbidden on a festival. For this reason, the Alter Rebbe explains that the prohibition against sifting and selecting on a festival was only instituted in the instance presented in that subsection, because it was possible to grind the bread and sift the ground crumbs to remove the larger crumbs on the day before the festival. Indeed, Turei Zahav 510:3 seems to imply that the license granted to sift or select on a festival is only granted provided the flour had been sifted previously, and it could not have been sifted a second time, or the offensive substance removed, before the festival.

However, Magen Avraham 504:9 differs with the above, and maintains that the rulings of Raavad and Maharil should be understood simply – that sifting and selecting are melachos that are forbidden to be performed on a festival, although sifting flour a second time is permitted. The Alter Rebbe rules according to this view in this subsection. In this Kuntreis Acharon, the Alter Rebbe cites numerous Rishonim including Rabbeinu Nissim (Beitzah 12b) and Tosafos (Beitzah 3a) who follow this approach.

Nevertheless, there is somewhat of a difficulty with this approach because in Beitzah 14b, our Sages explicitly permitted selecting beans on a festival, even when the person selects the waste from the beans using a utensil such as a sieve (see sec. 510:3). However, Ramban (as quoted in Shitah Mekubetzes, Beitzah 14b) explains that selecting beans is considered meleches ochel nefesh, and is therefore permitted on a festival. Furthermore, unlike the sifting of flour, it is not common to select beans for many days in advance. Therefore, a restrictive decree was not instituted regarding selecting beans, as was the case for the selections of other foods (see footnote 10 above). The Alter Rebbe concludes that this is the approach that should be followed as halachah.

With this statement, the Alter Rebbe is teaching us that a person who picks out the offensive material from the food by hand, without using any utensil, is nonetheless liable.

See Talmud Yerushalmi, Bei­tzah 1:10.

See footnote 10 above. See also sec. 504:6. See also sec. 510:3.

Beitzah 37a. See also sec. 457:11, where the Alter Rebbe explains that it is also permitted to separate challah on a festival when several loaves, which each contain less flour than the measure from which it is required to separate challah, are gathered together in one container on the festival.

In the present era, it is not customary to give dough that has been separated as challah to a kohen. See sec. 457:18, where the Alter Rebbe addresses the issue of separating challah on a festival. See also sec. 457:21 where the Alter Rebbe writes:

>>”In these countries, it has already become customary not to give challah to a kohen to eat for the reason explained in Yoreh Deah, sec. 322.

Sec. 322 is not extant in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. See Rama (Yoreh Deah 322:5), who explains that since challah is not eaten in Eretz Yisrael in the present era, it should not be eaten in the Diaspora either. See also Pesachim 46a-b.

See footnote 51, below.

Beitzah 36b. See also sec. 524:1. See also sec. 260:5, where the Alter Rebbe states that challah should not be separated on Shabbos.

See sec. 339:7, where the Alter Rebbe states this prohibition (and the same rationale) regarding making such separations on Shabbos.

See sec. 495:5, where this concept is stated. See also subsection 13, below, which mentions this point.

In this ruling, the Alter Rebbe is referring to someone in Eretz Yisrael who bakes a fresh loaf of bread or other baked goods on a festival. However, a different rule applies to a person separating challah on a festival in the Diaspora. In sec. 260:5, the Alter Rebbe writes: “…challah from the Diaspora [need not be separated before one partakes of the bread. Instead,] according to the law, one may proceed and eat, leaving over a small amount from which [challah] could be separated [after Shabbos]. Nevertheless, as an initial preference, it is customary to separate it before eating, lest one forget later on, and thus consequently, the outcome will be that he will have eaten tevel retroactively.” See also subsection 6, below.

The license to leave over a portion of dough or bread and separate challah after eating some of the baked goods is based upon the principle of bereirah, retroactivity: i.e., retroactively, it is considered that the dough or baked goods separated as challah after the festival covers the baked goods that was already eaten.

The reason for the difference between the laws governing the separation of challah in Eretz Yisrael and its separation in the Diaspora revolves around the difference of opinion among the Sages (Beitzah 37b-38a) whether the principle of bereirah can be applied in questions of Jewish Law. Our Sages conclude that although the principle of bereirah should not be applied regarding questions of Scriptural Law, it may be applied regarding questions of Rabbinic Law. The obligation to separate challah in Eretz Yisrael sourced in Scriptural Law. Therefore, as the Alter Rebbe notes in this subsection, since a person may bake bread on a festival so that he could enjoy a fresh, warm loaf, he is also permitted to separate challah on the festival. However, the obligation to separate challah in the Diaspora is Rabbinic in origin (see footnote 38, below). Therefore, the principle of bereirah may be applied to dough or baked goods that have not had challah separated from them before the festival. Thus, in certain situations, people in the Diaspora are permitted to separate challah from a loaf or a batch of dough after the rest of the loaf or batch of dough has been eaten. Once challah is separated, retroactively, it is considered as if it had been separated initially, before any of the dough or loaf was eaten. See sec. 397:10, where the Alter Rebbe also discusses the principle of bereirah.

However, the dough that was separated should not be baked on a festival. See subsection 6, below.

See sec. 457:18 with regard to baking on Pesach dough to be designated as challah.

Beitzah 9a.

See sec. 495:5 and sec. 498:37, where the Alter Rebbe presents similar laws.

This section is not extant in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch. See the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yosef Caro, Orach Chayim 323:1. As Rama states in his gloss to that source, the person must leave over more dough than the required measure to be given as challah so that he will be separating challah from a portion of dough.

On an ordinary weekday, one could conduct himself in this manner (loc. cit.).

That portion could not be eaten on the festival because it is designated to have challah separated from it after the festival.

As explained in that source, sec. 503:5, and the Kuntreis Acharon (note 1) to sec. 503, in such an instance, baking the bread that the person will not eat on the festival is permitted because doing so improves and enhances the bread that he will eat on the festival.

Pesachim 48a. See also sec. 457:18, which mentions this concept with regard to separating challah from a batch of dough from which one desired to bake matzah on the night of the festival. See also sec. 507:18 and sec. 512:4.

Pesachim, loc. cit.

See subsection 12, below.

Thus, the person could separate challah from this portion of dough after the festival.

This is the rationale for the stringency required by the first opinion presented by the Alter Rebbe in the main text.

I.e., on the festival.

See sec. 498:22, where the Alter Rebbe rules regarding slaughtering an animal that one owns together with a non-Jew on a festival. In that source, the Alter Rebbe explains that since there is no way to eat any of the meat without slaughtering the entire animal, the Jew is permitted to do so even though the non-Jew will benefit as a result of the Jew’s activity on the festival. Similarly, in the instance presented in this subsection, since the person is not permitted to separate the challah from the rest of the dough, the only way he can partake of the bread is by baking the portion to be separated as challah as well. Therefore, these authorities maintain that the person should be permitted to bake all the dough on the festival.

In his Kuntreis Acharon (note 2), the Alter Rebbe refers to his statements in sec. 457:18 regarding this matter. In that source, the Alter Rebbe rules that on a festive day of Pesach, it is permitted to bake matzah, leave over some of this matzah, and then separate challah from the left over matzah after the festival. It should be noted that in sec. 457:18 the Alter Rebbe does not mention the stringency mentioned here.

According to Scriptural Law, the mitzvah to separate challah applies only in Eretz Yisrael (see Rambam, Hilchos Bikkurim 5:5).Although the Sages extended this obligation to the Diaspora as well, numerous stringencies are observed in Eretz Yisrael, that are not observed in the Diaspora.

Although the mitzvah to separate challah in the present era is also of Rabbinic origin in Eretz Yisrael (see Rambam, loc. cit.), some of the original stringencies still apply in Eretz Yisrael due to the Scriptural origin of the mitzvah. Among those stringencies is that in Eretz Yisrael, a person may not bake an entire batch of dough, partake of a portion of the baked goods on the festival, and separate challah from what remains of the baked goods after the festival. The rationale is that this leniency is based upon the principle of bereirah, retroactivity, which is not applied to questions of Scriptural Law (see footnote 22, above).

Although the option the Alter Rebbe proceeds to present is the only option in Eretz Yisrael, it is one of a few options that can be chosen in the Diaspora.

This ruling is based on Challah 2:4, which is cited by the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yosef Caro (Yoreh Deah 325:1).

In his Kuntreis Acharon (note 3), the Alter Rebbe focuses on this ruling. He begins by explaining – as he proceeds to state in the main text – that if the person wants to bake another batch of dough that contains the measure of flour from which challah is required to be separated, it is not necessary for the two batches of dough to be placed together in one container. However, if the person merely desires to knead a small batch of dough that does not contain this amount of flour, and then separate challah from that dough for both batches of dough, the two doughs must be placed together in the same container. See sec. 457:16, where the Alter Rebbe states similar concepts.

In this Kuntreis Acharon, the Alter Rebbe also discusses a ruling by Magen Avraham 506:16, that, on a festival, a person is permitted to first bake a coarse loaf of bread, and then bake a loaf of superior quality (see subsection 13 below). The Alter Rebbe questions this ruling, explaining that if the person needs both loaves, he is certainly permitted to bake both loaves, and a special ruling to that effect is not necessary. If, however, the person does not need both loaves, he is not permitted to act guilefully and bake the coarse loaf with the intent of using it after the festival, and then bake the superior loaf to use on the festival. The Alter Rebbe notes that Magen Avraham himself rules explicitly that one may not act guilefully when baking (see Magen Avraham 507:14). The Alter Rebbe also notes that other authorities agree with the approach presented in Magen Avraham 507:14. See sec 507:18. See also sec. 503:6. In these sources, the Alter Rebbe rules regarding employing a ruse when cooking on a festival.

The Alter Rebbe is referring to the option of baking a small loaf and separating challah from it for the dough kneaded on the day before the festival.

See also sec. 457:17, where the Alter Rebbe explains the rationale behind this ruling, i.e., on a festival, it is forbidden to burn sacred foods that became disqualified.

Shabbos 25a.

Ibid. See also sec. 495:1.

Shabbos, loc. cit. See also sec. 498:34. See also the Kuntreis Acharon (note 3) to sec. 446, where the Alter Rebbe mentions this concept.

See Yevamos 70a. Everyone in the present age is assumed to have contracted the ritual impurity associated with contact with a human corpse. True, there are many people who have not had contact with a human corpse. Nevertheless, this form of ritual impurity can also be contracted through indirect contact, including: a) being under the same roof as a human corpse (see Rambam, Hilchos Tumaas Meis 1:1, 10-11), and b) touching a person who came in contact with a human corpse (ibid., 5:1-10). Therefore, it is accepted as a given that all people today have contracted this form of ritual impurity. See sec. 94:1, sec. 158:3, sec. 159:20, sec. 386:8 and sec. 457:20, where this concept is mentioned.

One can only regain ritual purity after contracting this form of ritual impurity by having the ashes of the red heifer sprinkled on him. However, that rite will only be performed when the Beis HaMikdash is rebuilt. Therefore, it is assumed that everyone in the present age is ritually impure.

Beitzah 27b. See also sec. 457:18, where this concept is mentioned.

See also sec. 308:13, where the Alter Rebbe rules in a similar manner. One might wonder why the Alter Rebbe mentions a more stringent opinion in that source, but does not do so here. However, in contrast to the instance presented in sec. 308:13, the instance described here involves the observance of a mitzvah. Hence, in the instance presented here, the Alter Rebbe only mentions the more lenient view.

As mentioned in footnote 38 above, according to Scriptural Law, it is only a mitzvah to separate challah in Eretz Yisrael. Similarly, according to Scriptural Law, challah is governed by the same laws that apply to terumah. Hence, challah that was separated in Eretz Yisrael may only be eaten by a kohen when both the kohen and the challah have not contracted ritual impurity.

As mentioned in footnote 38 above, the obligation to separate challah in the Diaspora is Rabbinic in origin. Therefore, it became customary in some places in the Diaspora to act leniently. In these communities, rather than burn the dough separated as challah, it would sometimes be given to a kohen who was impure, provided his impurity did not come about because of a bodily discharge, i.e., he was not a zav (a person who experiences discharges similar to, but not identical with, those experienced by a person infected with gonorrhea; see Vayikra, ch. 15), nor did he fail to immerse in a mikveh after experiencing a seminal emission; see Bechoros 27a, and the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, sec. 457:20.

See Rama (Yoreh Deah 322:5), who explains that since challah is not eaten in Eretz Yisrael in the present era, it should not be eaten in the Diaspora either. See footnote 18, above. See also sec. 457:21, where the Alter Rebbe rules in accordance with Rama.

Beitzah 12b.

See sec. 495:8, where the Alter Rebbe explains that the rationale for this leniency is to maximize rejoicing on the festival.

Beitzah 22b.

Ibid. 21a. This prohibition also applies if one bakes just a portion of the dough or flour and divides it with the non-Jew.

As will be explained in sec. 512:1 (see the sources cited there), it is forbidden to perform a melachah on a festival for the benefit of a non-Jew.

As will be explained in sec. 507:18, for this reason, a Jew is permitted to bake an entire ovenful of bread on a festival even though he does not need all the bread baked on the festival, and is baking some of the bread for the weekdays after the festival. See also subsection 6 above, where the Alter Rebbe mentions this point.

See subsection 6, above, where a similar concept is mentioned. This concept is also used as the basis for a similar ruling in sec. 512:4.

Beitzah 21a.The fact that the flour or the dough could be divided before the festival is the primary reason for the Alter Rebbe’s stringent ruling here. As the Alter Rebbe explains in sec. 498:22, when a Jew owns an animal in partnership with a non-Jew, he is permitted to slaughter the animal on a festival and give the non-Jew his portion, because the Jew could not obtain his portion of the meat without slaughtering the entire animal, i.e., slaughtering the non-Jew’s portion of the animal as well.

In his Kuntreis Acharon (note 2) to that section, the Alter Rebbe expounds on the distinction between his ruling in sec. 498:22 and his ruling here, explaining that both slaughtering an animal and baking are permitted on a festival, because freshly slaughtered meat and freshly baked bread are tastier than meat and bread slaughtered or baked on the previous day (see sec. 495:5). Nevertheless, there is a difference between an animal that is jointly owned by a Jew and a non-Jew, and dough that is owned in partnership with a non-Jew. As mentioned in sec. 498:22, it is impossible to slaughter half an animal. Hence, for the Jew to derive benefit from his portion, he must also provide benefit for the non-Jew. It is, by contrast, possible to divide dough before it is baked. Therefore, if a Jew bakes the non-Jew’s portion of jointly owned dough, it is considered as if he is performing melachah on behalf of the non-Jew on the festival, which is forbidden.

See the stringent view presented in subsection 6, above. See also sec. 457:18 and sec. 512:4, where the Alter Rebbe rules according to the same principle.

The Alter Rebbe uses nested parentheses in his text. We replaced the outer set of parentheses with braces { }, to make it easier for the student of this text to recognize what is enclosed by the inner and outer sets of parentheses.

See subsection 5, above.

The Alter Rebbe mentions related concepts at the end of the Kuntreis Acharon (note 3) to this section. See footnote 40 above, where this note is presented. See also sec. 334:3, where the Alter Rebbe rules in a similar manner, albeit in an entirely different context.

See sec. 495:5, where the Alter Rebbe explains that as long as there is no difference in the quality of the food produced, any melachah that could be performed on the day before the festival should be performed on that day. In such an instance, it is only permitted to perform the melachah on the festival when one deviates from the ordinary manner in which the task is performed.

See Devarim 18:3, where the commandment to give these portions of meat to a kohen is mentioned. Sefer HaMitzvos (positive commandment 143) and Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 506) include this commandment as one of the 613 mitzvos of the Torah.

Rambam (Hilchos Bikkurim 9:1) rules, “This mitzvah is practiced at all times, whether at the time the Beis HaMikdash is standing or not, and in all places whether in Eretz Yisrael or in the Diaspora.” Although the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Yosef Caro (Yoreh Deah 61:21) quote Rambam’s view, they also present that of Rashi Chulin 136b, Shabbos 10b) and other Rishonim who maintain that this mitzvah is not practiced in the Diaspora. Both the Tur and Rav Yosef Caro conclude that one may follow the leniency of this latter view.

Nevertheless, Sefer HaChinuch, loc. cit., maintains that in the abstract, he agrees with Rambam, that this mitzvah should be observed in the present era when there is no Beis HaMikdash, but concludes by stating that, “we do not have the power to compel the butchers to observe it.”

See also Chasam Sofer (Yoreh Deah, responsum 301). In that source, Chasam Sofer writes that he would observe this mitzvah in the present era.

Beitzah 12b.

This reflects a contrast to the separation of challah, terumah, and the tithes, which are prohibited to be separated on Shabbos and festivals (see subsections 5 and 6, above, sec. 339:7, and sec. 524:1).

In contrast, it is forbidden to partake of produce before terumah and the tithes are separated from it. Therefore, it is forbidden to make those separations on Shabbos and festivals. See Rambam (loc. cit.:14), who presents this law. See also the rationale cited by the Alter Rebbe here.