Spies and Challah

(14th c Spain)

The mitzvah of challah-taking was not applicable in the wilderness, but this commandment became applicable as soon as they entered the land. The reason the Torah had to use the words “from the bread of the land,” is that in the wilderness they ate the bread of heaven which was holy, and therefore God commanded [challah-taking] so that when they will come to the land and will eat bread of the land, it will be sanctified through the mitzvah of challah-taking.

(16th c Italy)

After the sin of the spies, challah-taking became a necessity for their individual homes to enjoy God’s blessing. As it is said (Ezekiel 44:30):“You shall give the first of the yield of your baking to the priest, that a blessing may rest upon your home.” This practice had already been displayed when Elijah, assisting the impoverished widow, commanded her to first give to him a small cake of the little flour she had left, as God had said that in such a case the jar of flour in her house would not become empty during the remainder of the famine. (Kings I 17,13-14)

(early midrash, ~5th c CE)

"In the beginning of God's creating..." ...

Rabbi Bannai said: The world and its contents were only created in the merit of the Torah, as it says (Proverbs 3:19): "God founded the world with wisdom etc." Rabbi Berachiyah said: In the merit of Moses, as it says (Deuteronomy 33:21): "He saw a first part for himself." Rabbi Hunna said in the name of Rabbi Matanah: The world was created in the merit of three things: challah, tithes, and first fruits. The verse "In the beginning God created" refers to challah, as it says (Numbers 15:20): "The beginning of your doughs." It also refers to tithes, as it says (Deuteronomy 18:4): "The beginning of your grains." It also refers to first fruits, as it says (Exodus 23:19): "The beginning of the fruits of the land."

(9) only you must not rebel against the LORD. Have no fear then of the people of the country, for they are our prey [lechem]: their protection has departed from them, but the LORD is with us. Have no fear of them!”

We learned in the mishna that over bread one recites: Who brings forth bread from the earth. The Sages taught in a baraita:

What does one who eats bread recite before eating? Who brings forth [hamotzi] bread from the earth. Rabbi Neḥemya says that the blessing is phrased: Who brought forth [motzi] bread from the earth. Rava said: Everyone agrees that the term motzi means brought, in the past tense, as it is written: “God who brought them forth [motziam] from Egypt is for them like the horns of the wild ox” (Numbers 23:22).

When do they disagree? With regard to the term hamotzi, as the Rabbis hold that hamotzi means that God brought forth, in the past tense, as it is written: “Who brought forth [hamotzi] for you water from a rock of flint” (Deuteronomy 8:15), which depicts a past event.

Rabbi Neḥemya holds that the term hamotzi means that God brings forth in the present tense, as it is stated in Moses’ prophecy to the Jewish people in Egypt: “And you will know that I am the Lord your God who is bringing you forth [hamotzi] from under the burdens of Egypt” (Exodus 6:7). Since, in that context, hamotzi is used with regard to an event transpiring in the present or possibly even one that will transpire in the future, it is inappropriate to include this term in a blessing referencing the past.

And the Rabbis, how do they respond to that proof? The Sages interpret that verse to mean that the Holy one, Blessed be He, said to Israel as follows: When I bring you forth, I will perform something for you that you will know that I am the one who brought you forth from Egypt, as it is written: “And you will know that I am the Lord your God who brought you forth [hamotzi]”; in this verse, too, hamotzi refers to the past.