Obligation of Separating Challah
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Question
Are we obligated to separate challah? Is it a Torah commandment or a rabbinic decree? And if I realized on Shabbat that the hostess did not separate, what should be done?
Answer
Hello,
The mitzvah of separating challah is a Torah commandment.
When the majority of Israel is not in the Land of Israel, the obligation of separation is rabbinic.
It is forbidden to eat bread or any baked goods before challah is separated from them.
It is forbidden to separate challah on Shabbat because it is considered a correction of the dough.
Therefore, if one discovers on Shabbat that challah was not separated from the dough, if he has other bread to eat, he should wait until after Shabbat, then separate and eat.
If he has no other bread to eat, there is a solution in a case of necessity to transfer the bread to a 12-year-old boy or an 11-year-old girl, and they will separate challah for themselves [and eat part of the bread], after which others can also eat from the dough.
Source
Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 332:2