30 Sep PAS AKUM, PAS PALTUR, AND PAS YISROEL (PART 1)

The Issur
Chazal wanted to
protect the Jews
from assimilating
with the non-Jews
and therefore enacted a
gezeira that the bread of
a non-Jew is forbidden
for a Jew to eat. This
is known as pas akum.
This issur applies even
in a situation where assimilation is not a
concern. This issur applies to men, women,
and children.
Non-Jew / Non-Frum Jew
The consensus of the poskim is that the bread
of a non-Jew who does not bow down to
avodah zarah is also included in this issur.
According to some poskim the bread of a
non-frum Jew is also included in the above
issur and one is forbidden to eat it.
Which Items are Included?
Only bread made from the five grains (wheat,
barley, spelt, oats and rye) is prohibited since
these are chashuv and will bring one to come
close to non-Jews. Rice bread and corn bread
are excluded from the gezeira. In addition,
any other grains which are not part of the five
grains mentioned above are also excluded
from the gezeira.
If an item which is not included in the gezeira
is mixed with an item which is included
one should follow the rov (majority) of the
ingredients.
Pas Paltur – Bread Baked by a Baker
Bread is the food which most people depend
on for their sustenance. Therefore, some are
lenient and say that bread which is baked by
a professional non-Jewish baker known in
halacha as pas paltur, may be eaten without
it being pas yisroel (obviously it has to
have a reliable kosher certification, because
various shortening, and oils can be used to
bake the product). According to the opinion
of the Shulchan Aruch this is only permitted
where Jewish baked bread is not available.
This is the opinion of other poskim as well.
However, the opinion of the Rama and
others is that even if Jewish bread is readily
available one may eat pas paltur. The minhag
of many is that if even if there is pas yisroel
available one can still eat the bread baked by
a non-Jewish baker.
The Chochmas Adom says it is proper for a
bal nefesh to be careful and not eat pas paltur
since one can easily find bread baked by a
Jew. The Aruch Hashulchan says in his land
all are careful with this all year, except in far
places where there are few Jews and there is
no Jewish bakery. He concludes by saying
that one who is hungry and has nothing
else to eat can be lenient. One who is more

scrupulous in his mitzvah observance should
adhere to the stringent view in this regard
when possible. If one who is careful to only
eat pas yisroel finds himself by someone’s
house who is serving pas paltur he should be
told it is pas paltur. One who does not eat pas
paltur may give it to someone who does eat it.
Jewish Owned Bakery
The above heter to buy bread which was
made by a non-Jewish company only applies
to bread owned by a non-Jew, however, if it
is owned by a Jew this would not apply (if
the Jew did not do anything to permit the
fire). This would apply even to those who are
lenient and buy pas paltur (baker’s bread).
Based on the above, a Jewish bakery would
not be allowed to employ non-Jewish bakers
where there is no hashgacha to ensure that the
fire is being dealt with properly. However,
the opinion of Harav Moshe Feinstein zt”l
is to permit bread baked in large commercial
bakeries where it would not be possible to
bake without the non-Jewish workers and
there are no Jewish workers available.
Factory Setting
It is reported that Harav Moshe Feinstein
zt”l said that when a factory cooks food in
equipment that is not in found in one’s home
there is no concern of bishul akum (this
would apply to bread as well). Furthermore,
the opinion of the Birchei Yosef is that in
any factory there would be no bishul akum
because one does not recognize the non-Jew
and he won’t come to chasnus (intermarriage).
Many poskim say this can only be relied
upon as a snif.The Shevet Ha’Levi says in the
name of the Chazzon Ish to be stringent. The
Minchas Yitzchok is stringent as well.
Fit for a King’s Table – Oleh Al Shulchan
Melachim
Bread is the staple food for everyone and
there were leniencies that the poskim mention
because of it. One leniency by bishul akum is
if a food is not fit to be served on a king’s
table it is not subject to the halachos of bishul
akum. This does not apply to bread, and even
if bread is not fit to be served on a king’s table
it is subject to the halachos of pas akum.
Pas Paltur is Higher Quality
The Shulchan Aruch says a heter to eat pas
paltur is if it is higher quality (in taste or
appearance) than the Jewish bread since then
it is considered you do not have Jewish bread.
It would seem that the only time it would be
permitted in this situation according to the
Shulchan Aruch is if the pas paltur is better
in taste etc, but if it costs less than the pas
yisroel then one would not be able to buy the
pas paltur. Others say that if there is a big
price difference then one would be able to
buy the pas paltur over the pas yisroel.
Days When one should Avoid Pas Paltur

During Aseres Yemi Teshuva
There is a well known concept that during
aseres yemi teshuva one should pick
something that he does all year and be careful
to refrain from doing it during aseres yemi
teshuva. This is in order to realize that these
days are different than all year and one has to
do teshuva. This only refers to things which
are not prohibited to be done according to
the letter of the law. One of these items is
refraining from eating pas paltur. One who
does not eat pas paltur all year anyways
should pick something else to be stringent
with during these days.
On Shabbos
There are those who try not to buy pas paltur
foods (even for a snack) out of honor for
Shabbos, even if one normally eats it during
the week. Therefore, people refrain from
eating Stella Dora® cookies on Shabbos.
For Lechem Mishnah
If one has no pas yisroel then one may pas
akum or pas paltur for lechem mishnah.
What is Considered Bread?
In order for something to be considered bread
and subject to the halachos of pas akum and
pas paltur it has to be from the five grains
as mentioned above. In addition it has to be
a baked item, and it must be a product on
which one would recite hamotzei on (even if
he is not koveah seuda on it), or a mezonos
food on which one would have to bentch if he
ate a large enough quantity referred to as pas
haba b’kisnin. The Shach and others say only
a product which has thick dough would be
subject to the law of pas akum or pas paltur.
Others say that there is no difference between
a thick or thin batter, and they are both subject
to the halachos of pas akum or pas paltur.
The custom is in accordance with the latter
opinion. According to some poskim, items
which are deep fried are not subject to pas
akum or pas paltur but to bishul akum. The
Aruch Hashulchan maintains that even if one
deep fries it, it is still subject to the halachos
of pas akum etc and not bishul akum.
Included in pas haba b’kisnin are cakes,
cookies, crackers, bagels, bagel chips, pita,
melba toast, matzah, pizza, and Ezekiel
bread®. Some items which are not included
in the halachos of pas akum are many types
of noodles, such as spaghetti, baked ziti, etc.
Cereals
Some poskim are of the opinion that
Cheerios®, Grape Nuts® and Cap’n Crunch®
all look like bread and accordingly these
products would be subject to the halachos of
pas paltur. However, others say these items
do not have an appearance of bread.
L’maseh, there is an uncertainty if Cheerios®
has an appearance of bread and therefore, one

should refrain from eating it during aseres
yemi teshuva. However, all year-round we
are lenient and do not give it a status of pas
paltur.
Even if breakfast cereals are not bread items,
but are considered cooked items, nonetheless,
breakfast cereals are not considered a food
which is served on a king’s table, therefore

they do not require bishul yisroel and a non-
Jew may cook it etc.

Pretzels
A pretzel is a baked snack that is twisted into
a unique knot-like shape. A pretzel is regular
bread dough. Since they are hard and not
eaten as a meal according to Rav Hai Goan
the beracha is mezonos.
According to many poskim, since soft
pretzels are made from bread dough the
beracha is hamotzei. Therefore one who
wants to eat this pretzel must wash and
bentch. If the pretzel tastes like cake then a
mezonos would be made, but such pretzels
are not manufactured.
Based on the above information, soft and
large hard pretzels which are made from
thick dough are subject to the halachos of
pas paltur (or pas akum) according to all
opinions. Some say since small thin pretzels
are made with a thin batter they do not fall
into the category of pas paltur according to
the Shach and others mentioned above. If
thin pretzels are not a bread item then it may
be considered (cooked) bishul, but no bishul
yisroel is needed because it is not fit to be
served on a king’s table.
However, the custom is that there is no
difference between a small thin pretzel and
large thick ones and if one is makpid on pas
yisroel it would apply to these items as well.
If one has the custom to eat food baked by
a non-Jewish baker then he can be lenient
and eat any baked item, even a pretzel (see
footnote regarding aseres yemei teshuva).
Pesach Cake
If matzah meal is not used in Pesach cake and
it is made from potato starch etc the beracha
is a shehakol. Therefore, one does not have to
be concerned about its bread status since we
do not consider it bread and one can eat such
cake made by a non-Jew (which has a reliable
hechsher).