Challah binds even eating to its divine root

בפרשת חלה והי' באכלכם כו' תרימו תרומה לה' איתא במד' [פ' תזריע] נסמכה פ' חלה לע"ז לומר לך המקיים מצות חלה כאלו מבטל ע"ז מן העולם ע"ש.

In the section of challah, "and it shall be when you eat... you shall set aside a terumah (portion) to Hashem." It is brought in the Midrash [Parshas Tazria] that the section of challah was juxtaposed to avodah zarah (idolatry) to tell you that one who fulfills the mitzvah of challah is as if he nullifies idolatry from the world — see there.

The Midrash links separating challah to abolishing idolatry, hinting that this seemingly small mitzvah carries the whole truth that stands opposed to avodah zarah.

כי הקב"ה נתן לבנ"י מצות בתורה שיהי' להם ולכל מעשיהם דביקות בשורש אלקות.

For HaKadosh Baruch Hu gave Bnei Yisrael mitzvos in the Torah so that they and all their deeds would have a clinging (devekus) to the root of Godliness (Elokus).

The mitzvos are given so that all of a person's activity stays bonded to its divine root.

וכן התרומות ומעשרות להיות חלק גבוה בהלחם וגדולה מכולם חלה שהיא מן העיסה.

And likewise the terumos and ma'asros (priestly and tithe portions), to have a "portion of the Most High" in the bread; and greatest of all is challah, which is from the dough.

Terumos and ma'asros dedicate a share of one's produce to Hashem, and challah is the greatest of these because it is separated from the dough — closer to the finished, eaten food.

וזהו עיקר אמונת ישראל כי הקב"ה ברא בריות רוחניים וגשמיים וברא ד' יסודות פשוטים.

And this is the essence of the emunah of Yisrael: that HaKadosh Baruch Hu created beings spiritual and physical, and created the four simple elements.

Core to Jewish emunah is that Hashem created everything — spiritual and material — including the four basic elements from which the physical world is built.

ואח"כ מורכבים מן הד' יסודות.

And afterward, [things] composed of the four elements.

From those four elements all the compound, composite things of the world are formed.

ואפילו כל הפעולות הנעשין בידי אדם לעשות עיסה מקמח ומים.

And even all the actions performed by human hands, to make dough from flour and water.

Even processes that pass through human labor — like turning flour and water into dough — are included.

מ"מ לכל המעשים יש דביקות בשורש.

Nevertheless, all these deeds have a clinging to the [divine] root.

Despite passing through human effort, every step remains rooted in and dependent on Hashem.

ובאמת זו המדריגה ניתן רק לבנ"י ובארץ ישראל.

And in truth this level was given only to Bnei Yisrael, and in Eretz Yisrael.

The ability to consciously bind even one's labor to its divine source is granted specifically to Bnei Yisrael in the Land of Israel.

וזהו שייחד הקב"ה שמו על בנ"י אנכי ה' אלקיך פי' שלא יש שום כח לאיש ישראל שיהי' נפרד מאלקותו ית"ש.

And this is that HaKadosh Baruch Hu attached His Name to Bnei Yisrael, "Anochi Hashem your God" — meaning that there is no power in a Jew that is separate from His Godliness, may His Name be blessed.

"Anochi Hashem Elokecha" means no faculty or power of a Jew exists apart from Hashem; all of him is bound to the Divine.

וזה עדות השבת שצוה לשבות מכל מלאכה לפי שבמלאכת איש ישראל יש בו כח אלקי לכן צריך לשבות ביום השבת.

And this is the testimony of Shabbos, that He commanded to rest from all melachah (work) — because in the work of a Jew there is a divine power, therefore he must rest on Shabbos.

Resting from melachah on Shabbos testifies that a Jew's very labor contains divine power; by ceasing, he acknowledges that the power within his work belongs to Hashem.

וכל מיני עבודה זרות הם שסוברים שלחמה ומזלות ושכלים נפרדים יש להם כחות בפ"ע ח"ו.

And all sorts of avodah zarah are [based on] thinking that the sun, the constellations, and separate intelligences have powers of their own, Heaven forbid.

Idolatry rests on the false belief that natural and celestial forces possess independent power of their own.

אבל האמת כי מלכותו בכל משלה מקטן ועד גדול.

But the truth is that His kingship rules over all, from the smallest to the greatest.

In reality Hashem's sovereignty governs everything, great and small alike, with nothing acting on its own.

ולכן אמונת סדר זרעים שבהפרשת תרומות ומעשרות מעיד כי לה' הארץ ומלואה וחלה גדולה מכולם.

Therefore the emunah of Seder Zera'im — that through separating terumos and ma'asros one testifies that "the earth and its fullness belong to Hashem" — and challah is greater than them all.

The whole order of agricultural mitzvos (Zera'im) testifies that the earth and all in it are Hashem's; and challah is the highest of these expressions.

ובאמת באכלכם מלחם הארץ תרימו היא עוד מדריגה שלמעלה מזה.

And in truth "when you eat from the bread of the land you shall set aside" is yet a level higher than this.

Challah, tied to the moment of eating, expresses an even higher level than the other tithes.

שבעצם האכילה יש דביקות אלקות וזהו ניתן לעם קדוש בהיותם על אדמתם.

For in the very act of eating there is a clinging to Godliness; and this was given to a holy nation when they are upon their land.

Through challah, even physical eating itself becomes an act of devekus to Hashem — a gift to the holy nation dwelling in its land.

וע"ז מבקשים ישקני מנשיקות פיהו.

And about this we request "let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth."

This intimate clinging through eating is what Shir HaShirim's "kisses of His mouth" expresses.

דאיתא במד' על פסוק ה' יתן חכמה ולמי שהוא אוהב מפיו דעת תבונה ע"ש המשל בא בנו נותן לו מתוך פיו.

For it is brought in the Midrash on the pasuk "Hashem gives wisdom" — and to one whom He loves, "from His mouth, knowledge and understanding" — see there, the parable: his son comes, and he gives him from his own mouth.

The Midrash's parable: to a beloved son, a father feeds directly from his own mouth — an image of the closest, most loving giving.

ובאמת זה הוא מדה במדה שאוהבי ה' אין אהבתו זזה מתוך פיהם כענין שכ' באכלכם כו' תרימו תרומה לה' וכמו כן ניתן להם כביכול מתוך פיו וזה הרמז שכ' מנשיקות פיהו ולא פיו לרמוז כי פיהן של ישראל הם נכללין בפיו והכל כביכול אחד וכזה כתב בזוה"ח שם:

And in truth this is measure for measure: those who love Hashem — His love does not stir from their mouths, as it is written "when you eat... you shall set aside a terumah to Hashem"; and correspondingly it is given to them, as it were, from His mouth. And this is the hint in "the kisses of His mouth" (mi-neshikos pihu) and not "His mouth" (pihu alone) — to hint that the mouths of Yisrael are included in His mouth, and all is, as it were, one — and so wrote the Zohar Chadash there.

Measure for measure: because those who love Hashem dedicate even their eating to Him ("set aside a terumah"), Hashem in turn "feeds" them from His own mouth. The plural "kisses of His mouth" hints that the mouths of Bnei Yisrael are absorbed into Hashem's mouth, so that they and He become, as it were, one.

Summary: Separating challah is "as if one nullifies idolatry," because idolatry rests on imagining that forces have independent power, while the mitzvos — terumos, ma'asros, and supremely challah — testify that a Jew and all his deeds, even turning flour and water into bread, remain wholly bound to their divine root (and Shabbos testifies the same). Challah, tied to eating itself, turns even the physical act of eating into devekus with Hashem; measure for measure, those who dedicate their eating to Him are "fed from His mouth," with the mouths of Bnei Yisrael included in His, until all is, as it were, one.