[Avodah] S"A 167:4 - ten fingers on your challah

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Feb 11, 2020 at 11:45:42AM -0500, Sholom Simon via Avodah wrote:
> The Mechaber, at 167:4, notes that when we say hamotzie, we should be
> holding the challah with 10 fingers, and he then proceeds to give six
> different reasons.  (I'll add the the Tur also gives a number of reasons).
> 
> This seems kind of rare for the S"A to do that.  Does anybody know why he
> does so here?

Never found an answer, and a month later, I'm giving up.

BUT, I liked the Y-mi's explanation at the end of Challah pereq 1 (vilna
daf 9b) <https://www.sefaria.org/Jerusalem_Talmud_Hallah.9b.2> cited
at the SA ad loc by the Gra -- OC 167 s"q 4
<https://www.sefaria.org/Beur_HaGra_on_Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.167.4>.

The ten fingers are a reminder of the 10 mitzvos it took to get the
bread:
    1-  Lo sacharosh - Not plowing with a kelaim of animals
    2-  Bal tizra - Not planting kelaim
    3-  Bal tachsom - Not muzzling the animals to keep them from eating
    4-  Leqet
    5-  Shikhechah
    6-  Pei'ah
    7-  Terumah
    8-  Maaser Rishon
    9-  Maaser Sheini (or Maaser Ani, depending on the year, though not
        mentioned in the Y-mi)
    10- Challah

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   life which is required to be exchanged for it,
Author: Widen Your Tent      immediately or in the long run.
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF                 - Henry David Thoreau