Prayer and Blessings
Is Halacha Permissive About Reciting the Blessing Over One Challah Only (Small or Large)?
Question
1. Is it permitted according to halacha to recite the blessing over one challah and not two?
2. Should it be lifted in the air (or they..) and does it need to be cut and dipped in salt, or is that a custom?
3. Should handwashing be done before Kiddush or when one comes to HaMotzi?
4. At the third meal, is it permitted according to halacha to eat fruit or mezonot, or is that considered disrespectful to Shabbat and one is required to eat bread?
Thank you, Rachel
Answer
Shalom u-vrachah
1. It is a mitzvah to recite the blessing over two loaves and to cut one of them. One who blesses over only one loaf loses the mitzvah of lechem mishneh.
2. All of these are customs mentioned in halacha, and each of them is a mitzvah. One who does not do these things is neglecting these mitzvot, but does not lose the mitzvah of the Shabbat meal.
3. After Kiddush, before the blessing of HaMotzi.
4. It is a mitzvah to eat bread, and in this way one fulfills the mitzvah of the third meal according to all opinions. One who cannot eat bread may, after the fact, eat cake or fruit.
Much success, Shabbat shalom, Benjamin Shmuali
