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(ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם כִּ֣י תָבֹ֗אוּ אֶל־אֶ֙רֶץ֙ מוֹשְׁבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶֽם׃
(2) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you to settle in,
(יז) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יח) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם בְּבֹֽאֲכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֛י מֵבִ֥יא אֶתְכֶ֖ם שָֽׁמָּה׃ (יט) וְהָיָ֕ה בַּאֲכׇלְכֶ֖ם מִלֶּ֣חֶם הָאָ֑רֶץ תָּרִ֥ימוּ תְרוּמָ֖ה לַה'׃ (כ) רֵאשִׁית֙ עֲרִסֹ֣תֵכֶ֔ם חַלָּ֖ה תָּרִ֣ימוּ תְרוּמָ֑ה כִּתְרוּמַ֣ת גֹּ֔רֶן כֵּ֖ן תָּרִ֥ימוּ אֹתָֽהּ׃ (כא) מֵרֵאשִׁית֙ עֲרִסֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם תִּתְּנ֥וּ לַה' תְּרוּמָ֑ה לְדֹרֹ֖תֵיכֶֽם׃ {ס}
(17) God spoke to Moses, saying: (18) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am taking you (19) and you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set some aside as a gift to God : (20 As the first yield of your baking, you shall set aside a loaf as a gift; you shall set it aside as a gift like the gift from the threshing floor. (21) You shall make a gift to God from the first yield of your baking, throughout the ages.
בבאכם אל הארץ. מְשֻׁנָּה בִּיאָה זוֹ מִכָּל בִּיאוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁבְּכֻלָּן נֶאֱמַר כִּי תָבֹא, כִּי תָבֹאוּ, לְפִיכָךְ כֻּלָּן לְמֵדוֹת זוֹ מִזּוֹ, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁפֵּרֵט לְךָ הַכָּתוּב בְּאַחַת מֵהֶן שֶׁאֵינָהּ אֶלָּא לְאַחַר יְרֻשָּׁה וִישִׁיבָה, אַף כֻּלָּן כֵּן, אֲבָל זוֹ נֶאֱמַר בָּהּ "בְּבֹאֲכֶם" — מִשֶּׁנִּכְנְסוּ בָהּ וְאָכְלוּ מִלַּחְמָהּ נִתְחַיְּבוּ בְחַלָּה (ספרי):
בבאכם אל הארץ WHEN YE COME (more lit., on your coming) INTO THE LAND — This statement about their “entering” into the land is expressed differently from all other statements about their “entering” made in the Torah, for in all other cases it is said, “When you come”, or “when ye come”, — and consequently in all these latter cases each may learn some particular from the other by way of a ג”ש. Therefore, since Scripture distinctly states in one instance of these (Deuteronomy 26:1) that the law there enjoined is applicable only after the full possession (ירושה) of, and definite settlement (ישיבה) in it, (“When thou comest to the land … and thou dost possess it (וירשת) and thou dwellest (וישבת) therein”, then thou shalt take of the first of all thy fruits etc.), all other cases where the phrase כי תבא or כי תבאו introduce a law are similar (i.e. the laws laid down in such instances were also to come in force only after ירושה and ישיבה). — In this case, however, it is stated בבאכם “on your coming”, implying that as soon as they had entered it (the Land) and ate of its bread they became subject to the law about “Challah” (Sifrei Bamidbar 110:1).
מצווה לתרום מהבצק שנועד להכנת לחם – תרומת חלה לכהן, והכהן ובני משפחתו יכינו ממנו לחמים ועוגות ויאכלום בטהרה, כדי שיוכלו למלא את שליחותם הרוחנית ללמד תורה לישראל. שנאמר (במדבר טו, יז-כא): "וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר, דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם: בְּבֹאֲכֶם אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מֵבִיא אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה. וְהָיָה בַּאֲכָלְכֶם מִלֶּחֶם הָאָרֶץ תָּרִימוּ תְרוּמָה לַה'. רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם חַלָּה תָּרִימוּ תְרוּמָה, כִּתְרוּמַת גֹּרֶן כֵּן תָּרִימוּ אֹתָהּ. מֵרֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵיכֶם תִּתְּנוּ לַה' תְּרוּמָה לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם".
It is a commandment to be donated from the dough that is kneaded into bread - a donation of Challah to the Cohen, and the Cohen and his family can prepare from it breads and cakes and eat in purity, in order to fulfill their spiritual mission to teach Torah to Israel as it is written (Numbers 15, 18-21): (18) Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am taking you (19) and you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set some aside as a gift to God : (20 As the first yield of your baking, you shall set aside a loaf as a gift; you shall set it aside as a gift like the gift from the threshing floor. (21) You shall make a gift to God from the first yield of your baking, throughout the ages.
אין חייבים בחלה מן התורה אלא בארץ ישראל בלבד שנאמר והיה באכלכם מלחם הארץ ובזמן שכל ישראל שם שנאמר בבואכם ביאת כולכם ולא ביאת מקצתכם לפיכך חלה בזמן הזה אפי' בימי עזרא בארץ ישראל אינה אלא מדבריהם:
We are not obligated in challah from the Torah other than in the land of Israel alone, as it is said: "and it shall be that when you eat from the bread of the land..." (Num. 15:19). And [it applies] at a time that all of Israel is there, as it is said: "when you [plural] come" (Num. 15:18) - the coming of all of you and the coming of some of you. Therefore, [the obligation of ] challah at this time - even in the days of Ezra in the land of Israel - is only from their [i.e. the Sages'] words [i.e. it is of Rabbinic force only].
(Bamidbar 15:15-17) "And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying: … upon your coming to the land whither I bring you there": R. Yishmael says: Scripture varied (linguistically) this "coming" from all the other "comings" in the Torah. For in all the other instances it is written "And it shall be, when you come to the land"; "And it shall be when the L-rd shall bring you" (all such expressions connoting permanent settlement), whereas here it is written "upon your coming" (connoting the moment of arrival), to teach that the mitzvah of challah (the Cohein's share of the dough) devolved upon them immediately upon their entering the land "whither I bring you there": From here you derive that produce grown outside the land which enters the land is subject to challah. It is from here (Eretz Yisrael) to there that R. Eliezer ruled it subject to challah, and R. Akiva exempts it. R. Yehudah says: Produce grown outside the land which entered the land — R. Eliezer exempts it, it being written (Ibid. 19) "and it shall be, when you eat of the bread of the land," and R. Akiva rules it subject to challah, it being written "there" (i.e., in Eretz Yisrael). What is the intent of "when you eat of the bread of the land"? From (Ibid 20) "the first of your dough," I would understand even other produce (as being subject to challah). You, therefore, reason: It is written here "bread" and elsewhere (Devarim 16:3) "bread." Just as "bread" there is of the five species: wheat, barley, rye, oats, and spelt, so, "bread" here. (Bamidbar, Ibid. 19) "that you shall separate an offering (terumah)": This speaks of the "great terumah" (taken from one's produce [viz. Devarim 18:4]) — But perhaps it speaks of the challah offering! — (This cannot be, for) (Bamidbar, Ibid. 20) "challah, you shall offer up an offering" already speaks of challah. How, then, is "you shall offer up an offering to the L-rd to be understood? As referring to the "great terumah," (which is taken before the challah is separated). (Devarim 18:4) "The first of your corn, your wine, and your oil … shall you give to him" (the Cohein). This is mandatory. You say that it is mandatory, but perhaps it is optional (i.e., if you separate it, you must give it to him, but you need not separate it.) It is, therefore, written "You shall separate terumah" — It is mandatory and not optional. I might think that flours, too, are subject to challah; it is, therefore, written "the first of your dough" — when it has become dough. [From here they ruled: One may eat a chance meal of started dough of wheat before it has been rolled out, or of barley before it had been well kneaded, (after which it becomes subject to challah). If one ate of it — of wheat flour, after it had been rolled out, or of barley flour after it had been well kneaded, (without taking challah) — he is liable to the death penalty. Once she had added the water, she must remove her challah, so long as there not remain there (in the kneading-trough) five quarter-kavs or more of flour that had not been mixed with water, (for if there did, they are subject to challah.)] For challah is not taken from (unprocessed) flour. If one had not taken challah from the dough, I might think he may not take it from the bread; it is, therefore, written (Bamidbar, Ibid. 19) "And it shall be when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall separate, etc." R. Akiva says: All (vis-à-vis the separation of challah) is contingent upon its forming a crust in the oven. (Ibid. 24) "As terumah of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it" (the challah). Just as with terumah, (the designated separation is) one (part) to a thousand, so, challah. And just as terumah of the threshing floor is "raised" (if it became intermixed) with one hundred and one times (its amount of non-terumah — which may then be eaten by non-Cohanim); and it creates a forbidden admixture for non-Cohanim if it fell into (only) a hundred of non-terumah; and it creates liability to the death penalty and to the one-fifth (chomesh) restitution penalty (viz. Vayikra 5:16) — so, with challah. These are the words of R. Yoshiyah. R. Yonathan "whispered" to him: You liken it to terumah of the threshing floor, (the percentage of) which is unspecified (in the Torah)? I will liken it to terumath ma'aser (Bamidbar 18:26), (the percentage of) which is explicit (in the Torah) — and one-tenth should be taken (as challah). He responded: It is written "As the terumah of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it." It is likened to terumah of the threshing floor, and not to terumath ma'aser.
חַלָּה f. (b. h.; חלל) 1) [rolled, rounded] cake.—Pl. חַלּוֹת. Ukts. III, 5 ח׳ חריע (Tosef. Maas. Sh. I, 13 חַלַּת (collect. noun), a. e., v. חֲרִיעַ.—Men. III, 6 שתי ח׳ the two loaves (offered on the Feast of Weeks, Lev. XXIII, 17).—B. Bath. V, 3; Ukts. III, 11 ח׳ דבש honey-combs; a. fr. —2) (with ref. to Num. XV, 20, sq.) Ḥallah, the priest’s share of the dough. Sabb. II, 6, v. זָהִיר. Ḥall. I, 1 חייבין בח׳ are subject to the law of Ḥallah.—Ib. II, 7 שעור הח׳ the quantity to be set aside for the priest. Ib. 8 מעיסה שלא הורמה חַלָּתָהּ Ms. M. (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) from a dough from which the priest’s share has not yet been taken; a. fr.—Pl. as ab. Pesik. Shimu, p. 118ᵃ שתי ח׳ two portions (one for being burnt, and one for the priest); Y. Erub. III, end, 21ᶜ; Cant. R. to I 6; a. e.—Trnsf. ḥallah, the sanctification of creation, man. Gen. R. s. 14, beg.; Yalk. Prov. 962, a. e. (ref. to Prov. XXIX, 4, ואיש תרומות) that is Adam שהיה גמר חַלָּתוֹ וכ׳ who was the final sanctification of the world; Gen. R. s. 17, end.—Ḥallah, name of a treatise of the Mishnah, Tosefta a. Talm. Y., of the Order of Z’raïm.
וַיִּיצֶר ה' אֱלֹקִים (בראשית ב, ז), כְּתִיב (משלי כט, ד): מֶלֶךְ בְּמִשְׁפָּט יַעֲמִיד אָרֶץ וגו', מֶלֶךְ זֶה מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, בְּמִשְׁפָּט יַעֲמִיד אָרֶץ, שֶׁבָּרָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם בַּדִּין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית א, א): בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים. (משלי כט, ד): וְאִישׁ תְּרוּמוֹת יֶהֶרְסֶנָּה, זֶה אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁהָיָה גְּמַר חַלָּתוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, וְנִקְרֵאת חַלָּה תְּרוּמָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר טו, כ): רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם וגו', אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן קְצַרְתָּה, כָּאִשָּׁה הַזֹּאת שֶׁהִיא מְשַׁקְשֶׁקֶת עִסָּתָהּ בַּמַּיִם וְהַגְבָּהַת חַלָּתָה מִבֵּנְתַיִם, כָּךְ בַּתְּחִלָּה וְאֵד יַעֲלֶה מִן הָאָרֶץ וגו', וְאַחַר כָּךְ וַיִּיצֶר ה' אֱלֹקִים וגו'.
I. THEN THE LORD GOD FORMED MAN, etc (II, 7). The king by justice establisheth the land, but a man of gifts (terumoth) overthroweth it (Prov. XXIX, 4).
The king refers to the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He; By justice establisheth the land' means that He
created the world on the basis of justice, as it is written: In the beginning Elohim (E.V. 'God of Justice') created (Gen. I, I); But the man of gifts overthroweth it refers to Adam,
who was the hallah, the completion of the world, while hallah is designated terumah, as it is written, Of the first of your
dough ye shall set apart hallah (E.V. a cake') for a gift terumah (Num. xv, 2o). R. Jose b. Kezarta said: Like a woman who mixes her dough with water and separates hallah from the very centre, even so, at first, There went
up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground, and then THE LORD GOD FORMED MAN OF
THE DUST OF THE GROUND.
חַיָּב אָדָם לֶאֱכל שָׁלֹשׁ סְעֻדּוֹת בְּשַׁבָּת אַחַת עַרְבִית וְאַחַת שַׁחֲרִית וְאַחַת בְּמִנְחָה. וְצָרִיךְ לְהִזָּהֵר בְּשָׁלֹשׁ סְעֻדּוֹת אֵלּוּ שֶׁלֹּא יִפְחֹת מֵהֶן כְּלָל. וַאֲפִלּוּ עָנִי הַמִּתְפַּרְנֵס מִן הַצְּדָקָה סוֹעֵד שָׁלֹשׁ סְעֻדּוֹת. וְאִם הָיָה חוֹלֶה מֵרֹב הָאֲכִילָה אוֹ שֶׁהָיָה מִתְעַנֶּה תָּמִיד פָּטוּר מִשָּׁלֹשׁ סְעֻדּוֹת. וְצָרִיךְ לִקְבֹּעַ כָּל סְעֻדָּה מִשְּׁלָשְׁתָּן עַל הַיַּיִן וְלִבְצֹעַ עַל שְׁתֵּי כִּכָּרוֹת. וְכֵן בְּיָמִים טוֹבִים:
One should eat three meals on the Sabbath: one in the evening, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. And he must be careful with these three meals, to not lessen from them at all. And even a poor person who is supported by charity must eat three meals. But if he was sick from an abundance of eating or was constantly fasting, he is exempt from three meals. And he is required to fix each meal of the three on wine and to break [bread] on two loaves. And likewise on holidays.
The Shabbos Bachur
The students at the yeshiva studied in pairs, and Avigdor chose Anshel for a partner. He helped her with the lessons. He was also an expert swimmer and offered to teach Anshel the breast stroke and how to tread water, but she always found excuses for not going down to the river. Avigdor suggested that they share lodgings, but Anshel found a place to sleep at the house of an elderly widow who was half blind. Tuesdays, Anshel ate at Alter Vishkower’s and Hadass waited on her. Avigdor always asked many questions: “How does Hadass look? Is she sad? Is she gay? Are they trying to marry her off? Does she ever mention my name?”
From Yentl, by Isaac Basheves Singer
Challah on Shabbat
In Numbers, “challah” actually refers to “a portion of the dough”—about the size of a large olive—produced in the preparation of bread. After the Israelites entered the Land of Israel, God commanded them to take this portion and give it to the priests, a practice unrelated to the tabernacle. After the destruction of the Second Temple, when one could no longer bring a portion of the dough to the priests, Jews instead burned a small piece of their challah to maintain the holy ritual. But in either case, there was no connection to Shabbat. The same is true of the word’s etymology: The Hebrew root, chet-lamed-lamed, or hallal, means “hollow,” “space” or “pierced.”
So when did the term “challah” become the symbol-laden braided loaf of the Shabbat table? The first known connection appears in the 15th century, when Rabbi Joseph bar Moshe recorded the practice of the leading German sage of that time, Rabbi Israel Isserlein, of welcoming Shabbat with “three fine challot kneaded with eggs, oil, and a little water.” During this time, German and Austrian Jews’ Shabbat loaves copied the braided look from a German bread called berchisbrod or Holle—which sounded a lot like “challah,” according to the late Gil Marks’ Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. In a rite dating back to pre-Christian times, the Germans braided their bread to resemble the matted hair of a Teutonic demon named Holle. The bread was then thrown into the fire to escape the fury of the demon.
Whatever its origins, braided Shabbat challah soon evolved into an expressive art among Ashkenazi Jews. Families invented unique shapes and embellished their challahs with symbolic flourishes, initially, according to Marks, to help them recognize their loaves as they emerged from their towns’ communal ovens. Other symbolic ornamentation, still practiced today, included two challahs with six braids for the Shabbat table, evoking the Temple’s 12 display breads. Adding eggs or saffron suggested the double portion of yellow manna that the Israelites in the desert watched fall from the sky on Friday, enough to last them through the Sabbath. Claudia Roden writes in The Book of Jewish Foods that some Jews sprinkled their challah with poppy or sesame seeds, an allusion to the falling manna. Sephardi Jews typically omitted eggs and sugar, preferring spices, honey, seeds and oil, among other ingredients. And Shabbat loaves made by Middle Eastern Jews took an altogether different approach: They were generally simple and sometimes even flat so they could be dipped into a rich array of stews.
Only in the 17th century did challah become a Shabbat staple for Jews throughout Europe. But what it was called still varied by region: Among German Jews it was berches or barches, while Eastern European Jews used the Yiddish term khale. Lithuanian and Latvian Jews used kitke (which may have meant “weave”), the word South African Jews, many of whom came from Lithuania, would adopt much later.
See: Jewish Word | Challah I can't believe it's not (just) bread! April 17, 2022, BY GEORGE E. JOHNSON, Jewish Word, Jewish World, Spring Issue 2020
דברי מוסר שינהג אדם בסעודה. ובו כב סעיפי':
....
שנים ממתינים זה את זה בקערה שכשהאחד מסלק ידו מן הקערה לשתות חבירו מפסיק מלאכול עד שיגמור השתיה אבל אם הם שלשה אין השני' פוסקין בשביל האחד:
Guidance of how to act at a meal. 22 paragraphs
Two individuals who are eating out of the same plate, if one pauses to take a drink, his friend should also pause until he has finished. However if there are three eating then the two do not have to pause for the other one.
אין מסתכלין בפני האוכל ולא במנתו שלא לביישו:
Don't look at someone eating and not at his portion in order not to embarrass him.
When you enter a home, everything that that Ba'al Ha'Bayit (home owner) says... do!
לא יהא אדם קפדן [פי' כעסן או רגזן] בסעודתו:
A person should not be stingy in the food he serves!
A person should not eat the last crumb (the size of an egg), and if he eats it... he is a glutton.
לא ישתה כוסו בבת אחת ואם שתה הרי זה גרגרן. שנים דרך ארץ שלשה הרי זה מגסי הרוח: הגה ומיהו כוס קטן מאד מותר לשתותו בבת אחת (ב"י) וכן גדול מאוד בשלשה או ארבעה פעמים (ד"ע):
You should not drink a cup in one gulp and if he does, he is a glutton. Two sips is normal and three sips is a boor.
