Pesachim 48 – Another “since”?

On the previous page, we discussed baking bread (unleavened, of course) close to the end of a holiday, when one is full and cannot eat what he will bake. However, since should the guests chance, they will come and eat his bread, he is not liable for using the Holiday to prepare for a weekday. The principle of “since” had a champion in Rabbah, but Rav Chisda did not accept this way of reasoning.

Earlier, however, we saw a similar argument about baking matzah on Passover's holiday, when the dough was ritually impure. Rabbi Eliezer allowed it. Can we say that he too agrees with the principle of since, and he allowed it because of this: since one could bake each loaf separately, it was OK for him to bake all of them together and then designate one matzah as the kohen’s portion?

If the Talmud can, it will try to combine the disagreements and find the same root cause. However, this does not work here. Perhaps Rabbi Eliezer used the since principle for matzah baking only because each individual loaf is at least suited for him. However, in the case of guests, where he himself is full and cannot eat the bread, the principle of since would not t apply.

On the other hand, Rabbi Yehoshua may reverse his position. Maybe he only opposes the since principle in the case of matzah baking, where the impure challah portion was not fit for anyone. However, in the case of baking at the end of a holiday, where the food he is preparing would at least be good for the guests – there, Rabbi Yehoshua could agree to the principle of since. 

Art: A poor man's meal - a loaf of bread, porridge, buns, and a herring on a wooden table By Hieronymus Francken