Challah (
Hebrew: חלה, literally "Loaf") is the ninth tractate of ''
Seder Zeraim
Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first Masekhet, tractate which concerns the rules for prayer ...
'' ("Order of Seeds"). It discusses the laws of the
dough offering, known in Hebrew as ''challah''.
Like most of the tractates in Zeraim, it appears only in the
Mishnah, and does not appear in the
Babylonian Talmud, but rather in the
Talmud Yerushalmi and
Tosefta only.
The location of the tractate in Seder Zera'im
According to
Maimonides' introduction to the Mishnah, the tractate of Challah is arranged after the tractate of
Ma'aser Sheni, "because after we take out all of these gifts – which are '
terumah' and
maaser rishon
The first tithe (Hebrew: ''ma'aser rishon'' מעשר ראשון) is a positive commandment in the Torah requiring the giving of one tenth of agricultural produce to charity, after the giving of the standard ''terumah,'' to the Levite (or Kohen). ...
and
aasersheni – then we grind it and make it into flour and knead it, and then we become obligated in 'challah.'".
Maimonides' introduction to the Mishnah, part 15:25
/ref>
Contents
There are 38 mishnayot in Hallah. They are divided into four chapters as follows:
# חֲמִשָּׁה דְּבָרִים Five species (Nine mishnayot) - what dough is required for Challah
# פֵּרוֹת Produce (Eight mishnayot) - How to separate the challah.
# אוֹכְלִין One may snack (ten mishnayot) - Laws of embezzlement of challah
# שְׁתֵּי נָשִׁים Two women - (eleven mishnayos) - the combination of doughs, and the laws of giving to a priest.
Commentaries on the tractate
Unlike other tractates in the order of Zeraim, a number of essays were written on the tractate Challah. This is due to the fact that the mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...
of dough offering is also practiced outside of Israel and during exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
. In addition to the commentaries on the Mishnah and the Yerushalmi and the Rambam's rulings, the Ramban wrote Halachot (like the rulings of the Rif
The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterran ...
for the rest of the tractates), followed by Rashba and Rosh. A special place is given the Maharit Algazi
Yom Tov Algazi (known as the Maharit Algazi; 1727, Izmir – 1802, Jerusalem), the son of Israel Yaakov Algazi, was an Ottoman rabbi who studied under Rabbi Shalom Sharabi and authored major halakhic works. He succeeded Sharabi as head of Beit El ...
's commentary on the Hilchot Challah of the Ramban.
In addition, the Poskim such as the '' Tur'' and the '' Shulchan Aruch'' and their commentators have written about Hilchot Challah in Yoreh De'ah.
See also
* Challa (disambiguation page)
External links
Full text of the Mishnah for tractate Challah
on Sefaria
Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Calling itself "a living library of Jewish texts", Sefar ...
(Hebrew and English)
Notes
References
Challah
Land of Israel laws in Judaism
Positive Mitzvoth
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