Covering the Challos
Question: Must the challos that will be used for lechem mishneh on Friday night be placed on the table before kiddush is recited, or may they be brought to the table after kiddush?
Discussion: According to the basic halachah, there is no need for the challos to be on the table during kiddush. As a matter of fact, it may be preferable that they not be there during kiddush at all. This is based on the Talmud’s statement[i] that one should cover the food on the table before reciting kiddush on Friday night. Why? The basic explanation given by the Rishonim[ii] is Yikra deShabata, the “honor of Shabbos.” It is considered a far greater honor to Shabbos if kiddush is recited first, and only afterward the Shabbos food is brought to the table in honor of Shabbos – which has just been sanctified by reciting kiddush. By covering the challos during kiddush and uncovering them once kiddush is over, we act as if the challos were not really there during kiddush and were actually “brought to the table” after kiddush was recited.
Question: Why, then, do most people bring the challos to the table before kiddush?
Discussion: Based on the above, it would seem that instead of placing the challos on the table and then “hiding” them, it would be best not to bring them at all to the table until after kiddush is recited. Indeed, that is the opinion of some Poskim,[iii] and some families observe that custom.[iv] But most homes follow the practice of placing the challos on the table before kiddush and keeping them covered [at least] until after kiddush is recited. While the exact source for this custom is not clear,[v] there are a number of possible explanations as to its origin:
- To honor the Shabbos by having challos on the table throughout the entire night of Shabbos, even when it is not mealtime.[vi]
- To allow the table to be moved after the Shabbos candles have burnt out.[vii] By placing challos on the table before Shabbos begins, the table becomes a bosis (a base) to the challos as well as to the candles and it may therefore be moved.[viii]
- To properly fulfill Shulchan Aruch’s ruling of “preparing the Shabbos table” in anticipation of Shabbos.[ix] Since challos are a main part of the meal, the table is not considered “prepared” unless the challos are on it.[x]
- According to Kabbalistic teachings, placing the challos on the table enhances the table’s holiness.[xi]
Question: Based on the aforementioned, should other Shabbos foods be brought to the table before or after kiddush?
Discussion: Since we have established that for the sake of yikra deShabata we cover the challos to make it appear as if they are not on the table, it follows that all other Shabbos foods should only be brought to the table after kiddush is recited.[xii] Indeed, there are many people who are careful to do so.[xiii] But this concept applies only on Friday night; on Shabbos morning, yikra deShabata does not apply.[xiv] It therefore makes no difference when the Shabbos food is placed on the table on Shabbos morning.
Question: If yikra deShabata does not apply to Shabbos morning, why, then, do we cover the challos during the Shabbos morning kiddush?
Discussion: Although yikra deShabata does not apply on Shabbos morning, there are other explanations given by the Rishonim for the Talmudic statement mentioned earlier that food on the table must be covered during kiddush on Friday night. These reasons apply to Shabbos morning as well as to Friday night:
- So as to “hide the shame” of the challos. Normally, hamotzi is the first blessing to be recited and bread is the first food eaten at a meal. When kiddush is recited, the wine “usurps” the place of the bread.[xv]
- So as to remember the miracle of the Manna which fell from Heaven covered in layers of dew.[xvi]
Question: When cakes or pastries are being served at a Shabbos morning kiddush, do they need to be covered as well?
Discussion: Two of the three reasons mentioned earlier do not apply in this case. Yikra deShabata does not apply on Shabbos morning at all, and remembrance of the Manna applies only to lechem mishneh, not to mezonos items. But the other reason, the one regarding the “shame” of the challos, applies to mezonos as well, since ordinarily the blessing of borei minei mezonos is recited before the blessing of borei pri hagafen. Indeed, some Poskim rule that cakes and pastries should be covered during the recital of the morning kiddush.[xvii]
But not all Poskim agree. Some maintain that mezonos items do not need to be covered during kiddush because only challos – which can be used for kiddush and are being bypassed in favor of wine – are being “shamed.” Mezonos items, however, are generally not eligible to have Kiddush recited over them, so they cannot be “shamed” by the wine taking precedence over them.[xviii]
Question: May the challos be uncovered right after kiddush, or must they remain covered until after the hamotzi blessing is recited?
Discussion: Here, too, the answer depends on the exact reasoning behind the halachah. If the main purpose of covering the challos is yikra deShabata, then once kiddush is recited, there is no longer any reason to keep them covered; on the contrary, the challos should be immediately uncovered. Similarly, if the primary reason for the halachah is to “hide the shame” of the challos, then there is no longer any reason to keep them covered once borei pri hagafen has been said. But if the reason to cover the challos is to commemorate the miracle of the Manna, then it is appropriate to leave the challos covered until after hamotzi is recited, since that is when the mitzvah of lechem mishneh is fulfilled.[xix]
In practice, one should follow one’s family’s custom, as there are conflicting views and customs and all have valid sources. One who has no particular custom should follow the most common custom which is to cover the challos until after hamotzi both on Friday night and Shabbos morning.[xx] For the third Shabbos meal, the challos need not be covered at all.[xxi]
Question: May the challah cover be made from a see-through material? May the cover be perforated or made from a mesh-like material (which will make the challos visible)?
Discussion: Lechatchilah, no, since the challos can be seen. If no other cover is available, such covers may be used.[xxii]
[i] Pesachim 100a.
[ii] Rashbam and Tosafos, Pesachim 100b, citing She’iltos. This explanation is cited by Tur Orach Chaim 271:9; Magen Avraham 271:7 and Mishnah Berurah 271, note 15 as the primary reason for covering the challos during the Friday night kiddush. See also Sha’ar Hatziyun 271:48.
[iii] The Vilna Gaon, cited in Ma’aseh Rav 118. This was also the custom during Talmudic times, when each participant at a meal was served at his own individual table. Food was laid on the tables in advance, but the tables were not brought into the dining area until after kiddush.
[iv] As attested to by Aruch Hashulchan 271:22 (who objects to this custom).
[v] See Tosafos, Pesachim 100b, ד"ה שאין which states that in the era of the Tosafists it had already become customary for the challos to be brought to the table and then covered. Tosafos does not explain, however, why the challos could not be brought to the table after kiddush was recited.
[vi] See Taz, Orach Chaim 180:1 and Yoreh Deah 178:7, which states that it is customary to honor the Shabbos in this way. See Ba’er Heitev, Orach Chaim 180:2.
[vii] R’ Chayim of Volozhin, cited in Keser Rosh 92.
[viii] As explained in Mishnah Berurah 277, note 18.
[ix] Shulchan Aruch 262:1.
[x] Minchas Yitzchak 3:13-10.
[xi] Ben Ish Chai, Vayeira 17, cited in Kaf Hachayim 262:21.
[xii] See Toras Shabbos 271:8 and Pri Megadim (Eishel Avraham 271:7 and Mishbetzos Zahav 12) who suggest that all of the foods on the table should be covered in order for yikra deShabata to be fulfilled properly.
[xiii] See Misgeres Hashulchan 77:1.
[xiv] Keser Rosh 92; Sha’ar Hatziyun 271:49, citing Mordechai; Rav S.Z. Auerbach (cited in Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 47, note 125).
[xv] Tur, Orach Chaim 271, citing Yerushalmi.
[xvi] Tosafos, Pesachim 100b. Based on this reason, Shulchan Aruch rules that one should place a cloth underneath the challos as well to symbolize the bottom layer of dew. Many people use a challah board or tray for this purpose.
[xvii] Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 55:5; Teshuvos Levushei Mordechai, Orach Chaim I, 46. Even according to this view, however, only the person making kiddush (and others who are partaking of the wine) needs to cover the mezonos items. All other participants do not need to cover their mezonos, since they are not “shaming” the mezonos by listening to kiddush; Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 47, note 125); Shraga Hameir V, 41. The common custom follows this opinion. Igros Moshe, Orach Chaim V, 20:18, however, maintains that “shaming” the bread applies to those listening to kiddush as well.
[xviii] Eishel Avraham (Buczacz) Orach Chaim182; Ta’amei Haminhagim (Kuntreis Acharon) 365; Az Nidberu II, 8.
[xix] Mishnah Berurah 271, note 41, citing Chayei Adam. Pri Megadim (cited by Sha’ar Hatziyun 48), however, maintains that it is sufficient to cover the challos until after kiddush according to all of the reasons; his recommendation is that the challos should not be covered during hamotzi ,since a blessing should be made on an item which is visible, not hidden from sight.
[xx] See Aruch Hashulchan 271:22 and Nimukei Orchos Chayim, O.C. 271.
[xxi] Aruch Hashulchan 291:10 and 299:14; Shulchan Shlomo, addendum to vol. I, pg. 27. Cf. Kaf Hachayim 271:54 and Orchos Rabbeinu I, pg. 108.
[xxii] See Minchas Shabbos (Sheyarei Haminchah 77:8), Tikunim Umiluim 47, note 116 and Bris Olam, Kiddush 34.