Pas Yisroel - Baking Assistance

QUESTION: I have to go out for a few minutes; can I ask my non-Jewish cleaning help to turn on the oven and bake the challahs?

ANSWER: No. Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 112:11) writes that if a non-Jew baked bread that belongs to a Yisroel, it becomes forbidden, unless there was Jewish involvement in the turning on of the fire, adjustment of the flame, or the placement of the dough in the oven. If a Yisroel was not involved in the baking, even though the dough belongs to a Yisroel, it will not be Pas Yisroel. Additionally, in this case, the leniency of Pas palter does not apply because this is not bread from a bakery. The Taz (Yoreh De’ah 112:7) writes that Jewish owned dough baked by a non-Jew has the halachic status of bishul akum which is always forbidden. Pri Megadim explains that Chazal permitted Pas palter (bakery bread) even if baked by a non-Jew, because it was not always possible to bake your own bread. However, when one makes their own bread, Pas Yisroel is a mandatory requirement since you can bake it yourself. The same rule would apply to cookies, cakes and homemade pizza. Therefore, if one has non-Jewish help in the kitchen, they must make sure that a Yisroel turns on the oven, places the pan into the oven, or in some way assists in the actual baking of the bread. If one returned before the bread finished baking, and you turned up the heat and contributed even a tiny bit to the baking, the bread would be Pas Yisroel. [It should be noted that a non-Jew may not cook meat, chicken, fish, pasta, rice, potatoes or any other dinner type dish that cannot be eaten raw without Jewish involvement, as this would constitute bishul akum.]

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.