Ask the Rabbi: Keeping Bread on the Table | Rabbi Daniel Mann | Beit Midrash

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Question: I learned that one should leave bread on the table until Birkat Hamazon, but at most, I see this done on Shabbat. Should I be careful to do so also during the week?

Answer: This practice comes from the gemara (Sanhedrin 92a), which says that one needs to leave bread on the table if he wants to have blessing. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 180:1-2) brings this idea and also writes in more halachic language not to remove the bread until after Birkat Hamazon.

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Several reasons are given (see Mishna Berura 180:1-2). Most of them focus on bentching, which perhaps explains why the concept only appears regarding bread. The Zohar is quoted as saying that in order for Birkat Hamazon to leave blessing, there must be something left on which the blessing can take hold and then "expand." (Along the mystical side of Birkat Hamazon, the Kaf Hachayim recommends keeping salt on the table during Birkat Hamazon, so the table will resemble a mizbe’ach.) The Levush (ad loc. 1-2) explains that it is proper for it to be evident what one is thanking Hashem for, and also to show that he had more than enough to eat. The one explanation that focuses on the meal itself comes from Rashi (on the gemara) – we want there to be food left to give a poor person.

One difference between the reasons relates to the size of the piece. According to Rashi, it should be considerable (Sha’ar Hatziyun 180:3). Rashi’s explanation does not seem relevant nowadays, so Az Nidberu (XI:46) says that where it is uncommon for a poor person to come (we add – if he comes, we will not give him leftover bread), one does not have to leave a nice-sized piece. Another difference is that according to the others, the bread does not need to be on the table while eating, but can be removed and returned for bentching.

Why indeed do many not follow this practice, especially during the week? Yalkut Yosef (OC 180:(1)) says that since poor people are not an issue, any leftover is enough, including crumbs, and presumably there are always crumbs. It is difficult, though, to assume that the other elements can be accomplished with inadvertent, tiny leftover bread, and the classical sources who say to leave bread also do not seem to assume this.

I heard third hand in the name of an important talmid chacham that he does not follow this practice because in our days, it will likely cause one to waste or even disgrace the bread (see Shulchan Aruch ibid. 3-4). Again, the question is: what changed that this should be a problem, when the gemara and poskim were not concerned?

It is possible that the different usage of bread in our days has played a role. It is clear from many sources (including Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 89:4) that traditionally, one would bring a loaf of bread to the table and cut off pieces as needed. (The concept of "sliced bread" is a 20th century innovation.) The normal thing, then, is for there to be bread left over from the loaf at the end of the meal, and then the practice is not to remove it before bentching. Now, it is more common for people, if they eat bread at all at a weekday meal, to bring the number of slices they want. Therefore, arguably, it is less common for there to be leftover pieces, and people have less of an idea what to do with them.

It is difficult to know whether this practice is a full-fledged halachic obligation or a recommended minhag linked to the prospect of beracha (see Yalkut Yosef ibid.). It is also difficult to know how to deal with a situation in which there is lack of adherence to such a codified practice – was there logic to its suspension or was it a case of a not famous halacha just being forgotten or ignored, especially under changed settings?

If one has a loaf or extra slices on the table, we recommend keeping some there until bentching or returning leftovers for bentching (but not a full loaf – see gemara ibid). If he just brought a roll or sandwiches to the table, it is hard to know whether to recommend bringing bread just to have for bencthing, especially when not eating at one’s own table (see Yalkut Yosef ibid.).

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