Forever After?
‘Obligated for Challah and Not Terumah’
(Kesubos 25a)
In our Gemara, the students tell R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua that although some maintain that since Bnei Yisrael have been exiled from our Land, the land has lost its holiness regarding the agricultural mitzvos (therefore, these mitzvos need no longer be practiced); nevertheless, this does not apply to the mitzvah of separating challah from dough made from grains that grew in Eretz Yisrael. This mitzvah is a Torah obligation forever, regardless of whether or not we dwell in our Land.
‘When You Come to the Land’
R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua argued that the obligation of challah is also contingent on Bnei Yisrael dwelling in Eretz Yisrael. The text states: “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 here we see that the Torah obligation of separating challah began only after we came to Eretz Yisrael. Presumably, after we were exiled from Eretz Yisrael, the mitzvah ceased. The Shei’las David (Chidushei Shvi’is) explains that the students disagreed with this assumption. True, the mitzvah of separating challah began only after we came to Eretz Yisrael, but from then on, the mitzvah did not cease, even after we left. R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua, on the other hand, understood this verse to mean that only as long as Bnei Yisrael would dwell in Eretz Yisrael, the mitzvah would be in effect.
Both opinions agree that the mitzvah of challah is not contingent on the Beis HaMikdash existing (in contrast to other agricultural laws). It is sufficient for Bnei Yisrael to dwell in Eretz Yisrael.
Kedushas Eretz Yisrael
The Chazon Ish offers a different interpretation of this debate. According to the Chazon Ish, R’ Huna ben R’ Yehoshua argued 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 ended, and the agricultural laws, including challah, were no longer practiced according to Torah law.
The verse states, “When you come to the Land.” According to R’ Huna, this means that even if the Beis HaMikdash is built and the Holy Land is sanctified, we are still not obligated in challah, unless Bnei Yisrael live in Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, even after the second Beis HaMikdash was built, there was no Torah obligation of challah, since the majority of Klal Yisrael remained in Babylon (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 would return to Eretz Yisrael today, even before the Beis HaMikdash is built, we would be obligated in challah by Torah law. According to the Chazon Ish, we will not be obligated in challah by Torah law until the Beis HaMikdash is rebuilt and Bnei Yisrael return to our Land; rather, our obligation is according to rabbinic law. (The Chazon Ish questions whether Eretz Yisrael also must be sanctified by a prophet in order for the Torah obligation to return.)
