My parents sent me a box of matzo earlier this week, in a care package*. Right beneath where it says it’s kosher for passover, it says that ‘challah is taken’.
As far as I’m aware, challah is the wonderful braided bread that is makes the best French Toast in the world, and a fine example of ‘what not to eat during passover’. So…it’s taken? What’s that about?
If it’s of any relevance, the matzo is apparently made in Britain.
*Please don’t ask why they do this, but they do. Every year. Despite my asking, every year, to please don’t bother sending me matzo. They know I don’t observe Passover, and yet.
“The word “challah” refers to the portion of dough set aside for the kohein (See the List of Mitzvot, #394); that is, a portion that is taken out of the dough before it is baked. You may have seen the notation “Challah has been taken” on boxes of Passover matzah, indicating that this rule has been followed, that the challah portion was taken from the dough before the matzah was made. I am not certain how the term for the removed portion came to be used for the loaf of bread made after that portion has been removed.”
There is a rule in Jewish law (traditionally, mitzvah #394), that whenver bread or it’s equivalent is created, a portion is set aside for the priests (koheins).
“The word “challah” refers to the portion of dough set aside for the kohein (See the List of Mitzvot, #394); that is, a portion that is taken out of the dough before it is baked. You may have seen the notation “Challah has been taken” on boxes of Passover matzah, indicating that this rule has been followed, that the challah portion was taken from the dough before the matzah was made. I am not certain how the term for the removed portion came to be used for the loaf of bread made after that portion has been removed.”
Challah was one of the portions given to the Cohanim (the priestly class, who were not given a portion of the land of Israel) back in the day, along with first fruits, a percentage of the crops, etc. The specific commandment is in Numbers 15:17-21 (translation adapted from the Koren Tanach):
Nowadays, it’s not given to a Cohen, but burnt. If you’re making large amounts of dough (about what you can make with a five-pound bag of flour), there’s a mandated amount, but for less, you just take a symbolic piece off and burn it, which is what I do if I make pizza dough or something. (I almost never make bread, but pizza dough is basically the same thing, and counts as bread for these purposes.)
Aside from observing Passover, there’s a separate mitzva for eating matza during the seder - maybe if your parents are hoping you’ll have some then? You can be fully observant of Passover and never eat any matza outside of the sedarim.