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Taking off Challah Bein Hashemashos on Erev Pesach

Question:

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer all the questions.

I am learning Orach Chaim siman 261 and I heard a question that perhaps you could help me with. The Mishna Berurah in sif katan daled says that in chutz l’aretz if one didn’t take off challah before shabbos, they could be take it off after Shabbos is over and eat the bread on Shabbos. However, the Mishna Berurah says that on Erev Pesach that falls out of Shabbos if one didn’t take off challah from matza before bein hashemashos, they could take off challah during bein hashemashos because it is impossible to eat the matza and to leave over some to take off challah. Why can’t one leave over a piece of the matza for challah like any other week? What is different about matzah that one can’t take off challah they eat it and that one could take off challah during bein hashemashos? The Mishna Berurah hinted at this in 260:13 that only on Erev Pesach one is obligated to ask is if Challah was taken off. Meaning that the eitzah of taking off challah after one eats wouldn’t apply to matza. What is the reasoning that matzah is different? Thanks

Answer:

This is a very good question. I think the answer is as follows. The M:B says that on Erev Shabbos which is going to be Erev Pesach, since it is not possible to leave over a piece of matzoh from each matzoh, therefore he may not separate it bein hashmashos. ( I am assuming because it will be too complicated, mistakes will be made, and he will end up eating tevel, therefore it may be done bein hashmashos. The question is why is matzoh different the regular challah or bread?

I would like to offer an explanation; look in M:B 457-4&6. When we bake matzoh for Pesach, that  we don’t want to make the dough large  because then it will be hard to knead and take too long, therefore we knead smaller batches. As a result, often the dough will not be the size of shiur of challah, or of questionable size. Therefore the way challah is taken is by waiting until after the batches are baked, and the way it is done, is by putting the matzoh together in one container called “tziruf sal”. This way we know for sure that there is a shiur of challah. The Mishna Berurah says that although putting them into one basket will make it obligated in taking off challah. However since it saw only combined with “tzirufsal” the challah must be taken from them when the challah is “mukaf” and next to what you are separating it from. (When it was kneaded as a full shiur of challah we may  separate challah even if it isn’t “min hamukaf”).  Therefore we will not be able to take off challah from any one piece for a different one because they are no longer together in the basket, (in addition to the fact that I don’t know which matzoh was from which batch of dough, and it is possible that one matzoh was from a batch that ha a shiur and the other wasn’t. Therefore we need to take challah from each matzoh.

In contrast, when one makes a whole dough that is the correct amount, then he may seperate the challah even when it isn’t next to the rest of the batch.

 

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