Mussar Shmuz From Shlisel Challah

I recently wrote a guest post for A Simple Jew about Shlisel Challah. In my research I came across many different reasons for this. (I already have enough material for next years post.) After all this, I think I finally have some idea what Shllisel Challah and other such segulas are all about. When I made and ate the challahs this year I thought about the reasons I had read about. These are a few of the thoughts I had:

1) I thought about how Hashem provides all parnasa and it comes only because He wills it. Just like he provided the mon he provides for everything. It has nothing to do with my business decisions, no matter how brilliant they seem, but only because Hashem wills it.

2) I thought about what the Yismach Yisroel says (reason #6); how the key alludes to Yiras Hashem, which we should have received from the matzos on Pesach. I thought about how I need to work on my Yiras Hashem so that the Torah will stay attached to me.

3) I thought about the word מפתח, key, representing the Rambam’s 8 mitzvos of Chometz U’Matza(reason #7) and how those mitzvos that separate us from chometz teach us that we need to separate from the real chometz, the yetzer hara, all year round.

4) I thought about conquering the yetzer hara with the yetzer tov and trying to use the days of sefira to work on my Avodas Hashem. (reasons 3& 9)

Those are just a few of the thought I had this past Shabbos; a full blown Mussar schmooze about emunah, bitachon and Avodas Hashem, from challah. Now, is that anything a religious Jew should make fun of?

That, I feel, is at least part of what tzadikim had in mind when they spoke about Shlisel Challah. It’s like hanging up a note in front of you as a reminder to work on bitachon, Yiras Shomayim and so on. Would anyone Rov object to someone leaving reminders for himself to work on himself? Coming out of Pesach, which is all about emunah, tzadikim wanted us to continue to work on our emunah and bitachon after Pesach. They wanted to remind us, just like a post-it note, of the things we need to work on. Instead of a post-it, we make the challahs differently as our reminder. I am not telling everyone that they need to make shlissel challah, but, even if it is not ones custom, is it not beneficial to make shlisel challah if it will do this for you?

If, however, one laughs and makes fun of a segula and says: “I’ll do it anyway - it can’t hurt”, then, perhaps, that is no different than a good luck charm, such as a rabbit’s foot, which is forbidden (besides the aveira of making fun of tzadikim and Minhag Yisroel). For those that do it without the knowledge of what it’s all about (though ideally they should learn the reasons), but don’t make fun of it and believe that the tzadikim had reasons for this, then through their emunas chachomim they can rely on the segula.

These are just some of my thoughts from this past Shabbos, which I learnt from some challah. Instead of sitting down to some challah like any other Shabbos, I sat there and thought: “Why are these challos different?” And I reminded myself again of all the important lessons of the shlisel challah. In every part of our lives we need reminders of how to work on ourselves and serve Hashem.

A Simple Jew: Guest Posting By A Talmid - Shlissel Challah

This is the first in a series about segulas connected to the days of Sefiras HaOmer.

Segulas For Pesach

The Arizal says one who stays completely away from the slightest amount of chometz the whole Pesach is assured they won’t sin a whole year. (Chometz is an allusion to the sitra acher. It is brought down from Reb Chaim Vital that any aveira one does on Pesach is worse than if done the rest of the year. We could assume that the reward for staying away from sin is also greater than the rest of the year. Putting these together, perhaps what the Arizal means is, if one stays away from the sitra acher, not sinning at all on Pesach (including not eating any chometz), then he has this assurance.)

Reb Naftali of Ropshitz in Zera Kodesh says that Pesach is a segula for parnasa since on Pesach the crops are judged. The Chidushei Harim says the same thing and adds another reason; because earning a living is considered as difficult as Krias Yam Suf, the splitting of the sea, which occurred on Pesach.

Erev Pesach

It is a good to burn arovos leftover from Hoshana Rabbah (though some aravos should be kept as a shmira) together with the chometz. This destroys “evil forces”. (Kav Naki to Kav Hayosher, based on Yesod Yosef)

There is a segula from Reb Shimson Ostropolier ZY”A (great-grandfather of Toldos Yaakov Yosef & R’ Lieber of Berdichev) to read a fascinating letter he wrote on the Arizal’s sefer about the 10 plagues of Egypt. The best time to read it is Erev Pesach in the afternoon, after reciting the order of the Korban Pesach (found in most siddurim & machzorim). He writes at the end that anyone who studies this, even once a year, especially Erev Pesach, will be saved from calamities for the year and you will have success in all your endeavors. Here is a link to this letter translated into English and here it is in the original Hebrew. Many hagadas have this letter printed. There are miraculous stories of people who read this and were saved during the holocoust.

Seder Night

Reb Nachman of Breslov says that a kezayis of maror on Pesach is a segula for parnasa. (Sefer Hamidos) Reb Nachman of Tcherin explains this is because it says in Masechta Eruvin that the dove sent by Noach said: “Ribbono Shel Olam yehiyu mezonosai marorem kezyais beYodecha” – “Master of the universe may my food be as bitter as an olive but dependent on You” (rather then sweet as honey but dependent on flesh and blood).

The Kav Hayoshor says that matza is a shmira like a mezuzah. There is a minhag to save a piece of the afikomen as a segula for shmira. The Orchas Chaim says that it protects from robbers and from “bad forces” because MaTzaH stands for M’kol T’zarah H’atzileinu (from all suffering save us), and it is even better if you save a piece from the matza that you recited 2 brochos on by Motzei Matzah.

Before the Mah Nishtanah it says in the hagada (and this is also what it says in Talmud Yerushalmi)“v’kan haben shoel”. This can be read as: “and here ask for a son”. This is a time that is mesugal for someone who has no children or only daughters to ask Hashem for a son, so that he can fulfill the mitzvah of “v’higadita l’bincha”, telling over to your son the story of the Hagada.

It is brought down in Sifrei Chasidus that the seder night is mesugal to speak to children about the Hagada and emunah even if they are little babies, since it goes into their neshama.

Meor V'Shemesh says that the eating of matzah on Pesach protects the neshama from being damaged by chometz during the year.

Shabbos After Pesach

It is a segula for parnasa to bake shlisel (key) challah for this Shabbos. The Ohev Yisroel explains one of the reasons is because it’s Shabbos Mevarchim Iyar, and Iyar is when the mon started to fall. There are customs as to how this is done including putting a key into the challah before baking, making the challah in the shape of a key, making a key out of dough and placing it on the challah or putting sesame seeds on the challah in the shape of a key. Reb Pinchos of Koritz says to make the challah flat to look like matzos. There will be a separate post about shlissel challah after Pesach. Here is that posting.