Ḥalla that became mixed back into the dough: If one separated ḥalla and the piece then became mixed back into the dough, the dough remains permitted only if there is enough ordinary dough to nullify the ḥalla. The required ratio is one hundred to one: if the dough contains one hundred times the volume of the ḥalla, the ḥalla is considered insignificant within the mixture and is nullified. If the dough does not contain that amount, the mixture is prohibited.
However, if people have not yet begun eating from the baked goods, the original designation can still be undone. The person who separated the ḥalla goes to a Torah scholar, who sits together with two others as a beit din, and asks that the designation be annulled. Since separating ḥalla functions like a vow, it can be undone through a similar process; once that is done, the piece is no longer ḥalla retroactively (Rema YD 323:1).
To undo the designation, the one who separated the ḥalla states before the beit din that he regrets having separated it and that had he known it would become mixed back into the dough, he would not have done so. The beit din then says to him three times, “It is permitted to you,” or “The ḥalla is nullified.” At that point, the dough or baked goods are permitted. However, since the original designation has been undone, he must now separate ḥalla again, without a berakha (Halakhot Ketanot 1:48; Birkei Yosef 323:2; Yabi’a Omer YD 1:21; according to Ḥatam Sofer YD 320, one should recite a berakha. The same applies to terumot and ma’asrot; see above, 9:4, note 7).
Ḥalla outside the Land: As we learned above, sections 3–4, the Sages extended the obligation of ḥalla to dough prepared outside the Land as well. Since most of the nation is not presently living in the Land, ḥalla in Eretz Yisrael is also rabbinic. Even so, it remains more stringent than ḥalla outside the Land, for ḥalla in Eretz Yisrael is rooted in a Torah obligation, while ḥalla outside the Land was rabbinic from the outset.
The main practical leniency concerns separating from one dough for another. In Eretz Yisrael, when each dough independently contains enough flour to trigger the obligation, one may separate from one for the other only when both doughs are in the same place; this is the requirement of mukaf, as explained above, section 7. Outside the Land, one may separate even when the other dough is elsewhere. The leniency goes even further: one may bake the dough, begin eating from it, and only near the end separate ḥalla from what remains for what has already been eaten (SA YD 323:1).
Shabbat: Just as one may not separate terumot and ma’asrot on Shabbat, one may not separate ḥalla on Shabbat (SA OḤ 339:4; MB 339:26; above, 10:4). If one is concerned that he will not manage to separate ḥalla before Shabbat, he may make a stipulation beforehand: “Whatever I separate on Shabbat as ḥalla shall be ḥalla.” He may then recite the berakha on Shabbat and separate ḥalla, as explained above, 10:4, note 1. Outside the Land, as noted, one may eat from the baked goods on Shabbat, leave over a small amount for Motza’ei Shabbat, and then separate ḥalla from what remains for what was eaten (Rema OḤ 506:3; MB 506:21).
Ḥalla of a non-Jew: One is not required to separate ḥalla from dough owned by a non-Jew, even if a Jew kneaded it for him. Therefore, ḥalla is not separated in a bakery owned by non-Jews, even if all the workers are Jewish. This differs from teruma: when a non-Jew separates teruma, it becomes sanctified, but when he separates ḥalla, the portion does not become ḥalla at all (SA and Rema YD 330:1; SA YD 331:44; above, 8:11). Therefore, if a non-Jew did separate a portion as ḥalla, he should be told that it has no ḥalla status and need not be reserved for kohanim (Shakh YD 330:3). If dough is jointly owned by a Jew and a non-Jew, and the Jewish partner’s share contains enough flour to trigger the obligation of ḥalla, ḥalla must be separated from the Jewish partner’s share (SA YD 330:3).
