Forever After?
‘Obligated for Challahh and Not Terumah’
(Kesubos 25a)
In our Gemara, several students tell R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua that although some maintain Eretz Yisrael lost its holiness regarding the agricultural mitzvos after Bnei Yisrael was exiled from the land, we must nevertheless continue keeping the mitzvah of challah (separating a portion of dough). Challah is a Torah obligation, irrespective of whether Bnei Yisrael currently reside in it.
“When You Come to the Land”
R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua argues that the obligation of challah is contingent on Bnei Yisrael dwelling in Eretz Yisrael. “When you come to the Land to which I bring you, and you eat from the bread of the land, separate a portion for Hashem. The first of your dough shall be set aside as challah, like the terumah of the threshing-floor” (Bamidbar 15). From these verses, we see that the Torah obligation of challah began only after Bnei Yisrael arrived in Eretz Yisrael. Presumably the obligation stopped with the onset of the exile.
The Shei’las David (Chidushei Shvi’is) explains that the students disagree with this presumption. They maintain that once the mitzvah became obligatory, it gained that status forever.
Both opinions agree that the mitzvah of challah is not contingent on the Beis Hamikdash existing (in contrast to other agricultural laws).
Kedushas Eretz Yisrael
The Chazon Ish offers a different interpretation of this debate. According to the Chazon Ish, R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua argue that challah, like other agricultural laws, depends on the Beis Hamikdash being built. As long as the Beis Hamikdash stands, Eretz Yisrael is sanctified, thus requiring the agricultural laws to be fulfilled. Once the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, this holiness departed, and the agricultural laws, including challah, are no longer obligatory according to Torah law.
The Torahstates, “When you come to the Land.” According to R’ Huna, this means that even if the Beis Hamikdash is built and the land is sanctified, challah is not obligatory unless Bnei Yisrael live in Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, according to R’ Huna, challah wasn’t obligatory during Bayis Sheinei since the majority of Klal Yisrael lived in Babylonia (see Chazon Ish, Shvi’is 21, s.k. 5; Derech Emuna, Bikurim 5, s.k. 29).
Contemporary Challah
According to the Shei’las David, if the entire Jewish people return to Eretz Yisrael, even before the third Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt, challah would be obligatory by Torah law. According to the Chazon Ish, it would not. (The Chazon Ish questions whether Eretz Yisrael must be sanctified by a prophet for the Torah obligation to return.)