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From
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ck27rjw" eudora="autourl">
http://tinyurl.com/ck27rjw</a><br><br>
<font size=3>As a general rule, we do not find Chassidish customs in the
Rishonim because the movement itself only began in 1740. We,
however, do find mention of the custom to bake Challah in the shape of a
key in <b>many, many Chassidish Seforim.</b> These Seforim were
written by genuine Torah scholars, and it is difficult to propose that a
Christian practice somehow entered into their literary oeuvre. The
Klausenberger Rebbe, the Satmar Rebbe, the Belzer Rebbe, Rav Moshe Aryeh
Freund, and numerous Chassidishe Rebbes and Poskim all punctiliously
observed this custom.<br><br>
Most of the reasons have to do with the Kabbalistic notion of “Tirayin
Petichin” that the gates to Heaven are opened. This concept of
opened gates is found throughout the Zohar and is discussed by such
authorities as the Shla (whose father was a student of the
Remah).<br><br>
The earliest reference is in the works of Rabbi Pinchas Shapiro of Koritz
(born 1726), a descendent of the Megaleh Amukos and a student of the Baal
Shem Tov. In his work called Imrei Pinchas (#298) he explains that
the reason to bake Schlissel Challah on the Shabbos following Pesach is
that during Pesach, the gates to Heaven were opened and remain open until
Pesach Sheni. The key alludes to the fact that these gates are now
open and that we should focus our prayers ever more on that
account.<br><br>
See the above URL for more. YL</font></body>
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