Q&A: The Merit of the Commandment of Separating Challah
The Merit of the Commandment of Separating Challah
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Regarding the last lecture in the Mysticism series: I heard you say that the very choice of separating challah rather than some other commandment as a segulah for finding a match shows that people think the commandment itself works, rather than the merit of the commandment. But you could say the same thing about reciting Psalms as a segulah for healing, and not some other commandment that people choose for that purpose. And there Maimonides explicitly permits it. Beyond that, it is well known that different commandments have different rewards; for example, the Torah writes regarding the commandment of honoring parents that its reward is long life. And the Sages write that because of three transgressions women die in childbirth (challah, niddah, and lighting the candle). So why shouldn't the public be able to think that through the commandment of challah people merit a proper match?
Best regards,
Answer
I explained that reciting Psalms is different, because it is a successful formulation for expressing prayer. There it is not about the merit of the commandment, but about the wording of your personal request. In more moderate terms: I choose the merit of the commandment of reciting Psalms because there is also a thematic connection to the matter, which does not exist between separating challah and finding a match.
When the Torah writes something, then we have information from above. But when there is no such information, I do not see how people can know it.
Discussion on Answer
Regarding the Sages, I explained in the lecture that these are not necessarily factual claims, but rather a "holy lie."
If someone thinks that, good for him. I just don't see what basis there is for it.
If on Hidabroot they hang it on the merit of the commandment, then that is less bad. Of course, they could have said that same "May it be Your will" over redeeming a firstborn donkey too.
Just to note that according to the Maimonides mentioned, it is permitted to say Psalms so that one not become ill, but not so that one recover from a particular illness.
How did the Sages know that because of the sin of vows a person's children die? Or that because of the sins of challah, niddah, and lighting the candle women die in childbirth? And beyond that, even if there is no way to know, at most this is a mistake in understanding the reward of commandments. After all, the whole reason you mentioned in the lecture for thinking that this is in the category of accessories of idol worship is that there is no reason to choose separating challah דווקא over another commandment. But if someone thinks that the reward for the commandment of separating challah is a proper match, that does provide a reason to choose it specifically.
Also, I saw that in the order of separating challah on the Hidabroot website, for example, the matter of the merit of the commandment is stated explicitly during the separation ritual:
"May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our fathers, that by the merit of this commandment and by the merit of separating the offering, the sin of Eve, the mother of all living, who brought about the death of Adam the first man, who was the dough of the world, be repaired; and by the merit of this commandment may death be abolished from the world, may You wipe away tears from every face, and may You send blessing into our home. Amen, may this be Your will."