Dough which was mixed with challah

There was a piece of dough that was separated from the main dough as challah. It was lying on the table in a certain place, and then it was lost. It’s likely that it fell back into the main dough and got mixed with it. Does the dough become forbidden?

If the amount of dough exceeds the amount of the challah by a factor of a hundred and one or more, then the whole dough is permitted, since the challah becomes nullified when its amount is exceeded by a factor of one hundred. But if the amount of dough isn’t great enough to nullify the challah, it’s possible to dissolve the separation of the challah, just like one dissolves vows. The way to ask for the dissolution of the separation of the challah is as follows: the one who asks for dissolution has to stand up in front of three people who are somewhat familiar with the laws of vows and the laws of finding extenuations for dissolving vows. (In the opinion of the Drishah commentary to the Arbaa Turim (section Yoreh Deah, chapter 228) is that one of the three has to be an expert on the laws of vows, and this is also the opinion of the Ritva (commentary to Bava Bathrah 120a), and Sepher HaChinuch (406), and this is the ruling of the Kitzur Shulchan Oruch (chapter 67, §8). But the Siftei Cohen commentary to the Shulchan Oruch (ibid.) states that the custom is not to require that one of the three be an expert on the laws of vows.) While standing in front of these three people, one has to say: “I separated the challah, and it became mixed with the dough, and now I regret having separated it. And had I known that I would regret it, I would not have separated it.” Then the three should say “it’s permitted to you” three times.

According to some opinions, this will annul the separation of the challah, so one has to separate the challah again. It’s a matter of disagreement between later commentators, whether one has to recite a blessing over this separation.

But someone who wants to fulfill the commandments on a higher level, will be stringent and will not rely on this dissolution. He’ll just through the whole dough in the garbage.

Azamrah LiShmechah newsletter, #6