Cohn, Jacob. The Royal Table - VWC: Faculty/Staff Web

AGRICULTURAL PROHIBITIONS 123
recited: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the
Universe, Who hath hallowed us with His commandments,
and commanded us to separate the dough portion." No
one may separate challah without permission of the owner,
unless the owner has gone away and it is seen that the
dough will spoil if not prepared before his return.32 A
servant may take challah for her mistress without express
permission, as such is implied when the servant is asked
to do the baking. 24
True challah which is prohibited by the Torah is an-
nulled when it falls into dough one hundred and one times
its own volume. In a heterogeneous mixture sixty volumes
suffice. Our challah, which is only a memorial decreed by
the sages, is treated in the same way. However, many
authorities maintain that there is no basis for such strin-
gency, and hi the case of considerable loss challah is considered
annulled by a mixture in which the volume of the
permitted dough simply exceeds the volume of the challah?*
** Mishnah Terumoth I, 1. Y. D. 328, 3.
** Ramah to Y. D ibid. On Fridays, however, many women prefer
to take challah from their Sabbath bread themselves, and servants
should ask their mistress before taking it.
28 Ramah to Y. D. 323, 2; Pische Teshuvah ad loc. subsection 1.