Give it to the kohen or just separate it?

With many rishonim saying this mitzvah is – at minimum – applicable מדרבן כעין מדאורייתא everywhere outside the land of Israel and some even hinting that it is actually מדאורייתא, we come into another determining discussion; what is the main part of the mitzvah of challah?  meaning, since the first posuk instructing us to give challah says “give it to hashem” but only a latter posuk informs us that hashem gives it to ahron, his sons and household, can we say that doing the first part -called “הפרשה”, separating – absolves the mitzvah requirement? or should we say the giver needs to carry through and give it to the kohen? or are they both in fact just one mitzvah?

Challah separated, but is that enough?

Challah separated, but is that enough?

This dilemma is a well-known disagreement between the Ramban and Rambam.  The Rambam lists both the separating and giving as one mitzvah while the Ramban argues that the mitzvah of challah is composed of two commandments;

  1. Separating the challah -thereby removing the bread from a state of “tevel”
  2. Giving it to the kohen (see Torah V’Hamitzva to Bmidbar 15).

Whilst according to the Rambam not giving the kohen the ראשית עריסותיכם is equal to simply not doing the complete mitzvah, One could -according the Ramban– separate the challah and come out with a whole mitzvah.

The famed Nodah B’Yehudah seems to agree with the Rambam on it being in fact one mitzvah, but explains that it is the giving of the challah to the kohen that is the main component of the mitzvah (Noda B’Yehudah to Yoreh Deah, ch. 201).

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