385. You’ve Never Eaten Challah: The obligation to separate a portion of dough for a kohein

Many people think they eat challah on Shabbos but they don’t really. They eat “bread from which challah has been taken.” Challah is actually the name of a portion of dough that is removed and given as a gift to a kohein. The quantity of dough that is obligated in challah is an omer, which is 43.2 eggs’ worth in volume. (In our terms, this would be a quantity of dough made from slightly more than two and a half pounds of flour.) Challah applies to the same five species of grain that can be matzah or chometz on Pesach: wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt. The obligation of challah begins when water is added and the dough is kneaded. The Torah did not give a minimum quantity that must be given to a kohein; the Rabbis set a minimum at 1/24 of the dough, so that it should not be an insultingly insignificant gift. (A professional baker, who makes bread in large quantities, has a minimum of 1/48 of the dough.)

The basis for this mitzvah is that bread is the most fundamental form of sustenance. God enabled us to elevate the bread that we eat through this mitzvah. By separating challah and delivering it to a kohein, the bread becomes nourishment not only for the body but for the soul as well.

An additional aspect of this mitzvah is to support the kohanim, who spend their days ministering in the Temple. The terumah that was given to the kohanim was raw grain that had to be ground into flour. The challah was dough that was ready to be baked, requiring much less effort on the part of the kohanim, freeing them up for their duties all the more.

The Torah only requires challah to be taken in Israel, but the Sages made a rule to take challah outside the land of Israel so that the practice not be forgotten. (See Talmud Bechoros 27a.) Outside of Israel, the challah was not to be eaten by a kohein. Rather, the practice is to take an olive-sized portion of the dough and to burn it. (Nowadays, because of ritual impurity, challah is also burned inside Israel.)

This mitzvah applies to both men and women. It is discussed in the Mishnah in tractate Challah. This mitzvah is codified in the Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah 322. It is #133 of the 248 positive mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #57 of the 77 positive mitzvos that can be fulfilled today as listed in the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar.