Pat akum, which translates as “bread baked by a non-Jew,” is included in the list[1] of things that one is prohibited to eat but is permitted to benefit from. The origin of this prohibition is the “Eighteen Gezeirot” (rabbinic injunctions), which were enacted after the great debate between Shammai and Hillel.[2] The intent of the gezeira was to limit the type of relationships between Jews and non-Jews that might lead to intermarriage (what Chazal called “because of their daughters”).
Although mentioned in the Mishna together with bishul akum (food cooked by a non-Jew), the halacha is more lenient regarding bread from a non-Jewish bakery, for one or more of the following reasons:
1. This gezeira was not totally accepted throughout the entire Jewish world.
2. A special dispensation may have been made to allow easier access to a staple such as bread, especially since Jewish bakeries are not always available.[3]
3. Buying bread that was made in mass quantities to be sold is less likely to encourage dangerous levels of socializing.[4]
Some permit bread baked by a non-Jew only where there is no local alternative of pat Yisrael,[5] whereas others permit buying from non-Jewish bakeries in any case.[6] However, the bread baked by a non-Jew for private consumption is certainly forbidden. Even those who permit pat akum only when pat Yisrael is not available might permit a type of bread that is only obtainable, or is significantly tastier, from a non-Jewish bakery.[7] A major issue is the determination of which foods have the relative leniency of pat akum and which (like many cakes) fall under the broader, more stringent category of bishul akum.[8] Regarding pat akum, any involvement of a Jew in any stage of the baking process, including lighting the oven, permits the bread, even for Sephardim, who are stringent on the matter regarding bishul akum.[9]