[Avodah] Pas Palter Habaa B'kisnin

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

In the thread "Mezonos Becomes HaMotzi", R' Isaac Balbin wrote:

> This does not gel nicely with the Halachos of Pas
> Akum/Palter. As I recall everyone who discusses these Dinim
> talks of bread as a STAPLE eg how long/far does one wait/go
> before consuming Pas Palter. Indeed, it is ironic that when
> the Gezera was first made it was not accepted because of
> the importance of bread to their diet. The irony is that
> they tell you to stay away from carbs like bread if you
> want to lose weight. I guess though that supports the
> notion. Granted meat was in short supply and expensive at
> times, but potatoes and the like would have been there.

I see an entirely different irony here, that of the power of "lo plug",
both l'chumra and l'kula.

On the one hand, the halacha of Pas Akum was instituted specifically
because bread is such a basic staple food. In contrast, Pas Habaa B'Kisnin
is - by definition! - a snack food, I.e. NOT the staple of most meals. Yet,
the halachos apply to both.

It seems that when Chazal enacted the issue on Pas Akum, they chose to
include even Pas Habaa B'Kisnin, even though it is not a staple food, and
the reasons that apply to non-Jewish bread would not apply to non-Jewish
snacks. My guess is that it was a Lo Plug - Chazal thought it simpler to
make the same halacha for a Pas, whether it is a staple or a snack.

But the second part of the story is odd too: People accepted this
prohibition as far as non-Jewish *homemade* bread, but the prohibition on
non-Jewish *commercial* bread was too difficult, so it was rescinded. I
can't help but wonder: Given that Pas Habaa B'kisnin is not a staple food,
I presume that they could have been able to give up on non-Jewish snack
foods. The halacha could have been that Pas Palter is allowed only for Pas
Gamur, but that the prohibition remains in place for Pas Habaa B'Kisnin. My
guess is again that it is a Lo Plug: One halacha for all Pas.

The result is an interesting kula: If Pas Habaa B'Kisnin had not been
included in the halachos of Pas Akum/Palter, I presume that Bishul Akum
would have applied to it. (In the phrase "bishul akum", the word "bishul"
refers to any sort of cooking, even without liquid.) In such a world, a
wedding cake would have to be made with Jewish involvement. (I am presuming
that a wedding cake is "oleh al shulchan melachim" even if other cakes
aren't.) But because cake is subject to the halachos of Pas Akum and not
regular Bishul Akum, it can be made by a commercial bakery without any
Jewish involvement.

Akiva Miller
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