Lechem Mishnah (II)

  1. It is preferable to use a loaf of bread that is at least the size of an olive.
    But, since, according to most of the poskim, the mitzvah of lechem mishnah
    is rabbinical, it seems to me that it is possible to use a smaller loaf when
    necessary.
  2. Two loaves of bread that stuck together while baking: Some poskim say that
    they are considered two loaves even when they are stuck together and need not
    be separated to fulfill the mitzvah of lechem mishnah. Since the intention
    is to separate them, they are not considered to be one loaf, even while they are
    still stuck together. This opinion provides a foundation in the Halachah for those
    who bake a single loaf formed by combining twelve smaller loaves. Even while they
    are still stuck together, the large loaf is, according to this, considered like
    twelve separate loaves. But others hold that the two loaves that are stuck together
    are not considered separate loaves until they are actually separated. Even though
    it is evident on the loaves that they were separated from each other, once they
    are separated, they are considered individual whole loaves because they were not
    baked with the intention of their being parts of a single loaf. But if they were
    placed in the oven with the intention that they stick together to form a single
    loaf, it is unclear whether, even after being separated, they are considered separate
    loaves. To avoid this doubt, they should be rebaked so that a crust forms where
    one loaf was separated from another. Even though, after being rebaked, they are
    considered separate loaves, they should not be sliced from the side which had
    been connected to another loaf because there it already has the appearance of
    being cut.
  3. When two loaves stick together in the course of baking and one of them is
    cut, the remaining piece of the loaf that was cut should be removed from the whole
    loaf to which it is attached before that loaf is used for lechem mishnah.
    Otherwise, it would have the appearance of having already been cut.
  4. If a person has only one loaf of bread, he should recite the blessing over
    bread on that loaf. He should not break it into two. If a person has only slices
    of bread, he should recite the blessing over two slices.

Similar Posts