Accidentally Mixing Challah Back Into the Dough

I separated a piece of dough to be challah, but it was accidentally mixed back with the rest of the dough. What should I do?

According to the Beis Yosef (Yoreh De’ah 323:1) there is a special leniency regarding challah of chutz la’aretz (outside of Israel). So long as the piece of challah that was mixed back with the rest of the dough was smaller or of equivalent size to the rest of the dough, the entire mixture is permitted. Sefardim who follow the ruling of Shulchan Aruch may eat this bread and would not need to do anything. Ashkenazim follow the ruling of Rama who writes that if the piece of challah gets mixed back with the other dough, it is nullified only if the rest of the dough is one hundred times the volume of the challah. Otherwise, the entire mixture becomes prohibited. However, there is a solution. One can be matir neder (undo the vow)—since declaring a piece of dough to be challah is tantamount to a neder (vow), it is possible to undo the dough’s designation as challah. In order to be matir neder, the one who separated the challah expresses regret about having made this vow before a bais din (a tribunal of men over the age of thirteen). Some poskim question how one can express regret at having taken challah, since they were required to do so. Rav Belsky, zt”l held that the best approach is to declare to the bais din that they regret having separated that particular piece of dough as challah and that they would not have designated that piece as challah had they known it would get mixed back in. One should speak to a rabbi about the exact method for being matir neder. Afterwards, one should separate a new piece of dough to be challah.

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.