Health experts generally agree that oats can be used as a wheat substitute for gluten-intolerant people (depending on the type/degree of sensitivity and the way in which the oats were processed).[1] According to the consensus of poskim, the halachot regarding oats are identical to those regarding the other four major grains.[2] The beracha for bread made from oat flour is thus HaMotzi, the beracha for cakes made from oats is Mezonot, and they are equal to other breads and/or cakes regarding being eaten after Kiddush. Therefore, our discussion below relates to the halachot that are essential only for those who may not eat even foods containing oat flour.
The gemara[3] states that Kiddush must be recited in a place where “a meal” will follow. However, the same gemara refers to “tasting” after Kiddush, implying that a full meal is unnecessary. While some say that this tasting must include bread, the Shulchan Aruch[4] rules like the Geonim that wine can also suffice. While there are opinions in either direction, the consensus is that wine (of the volume of at least a revi’it[5]) is sufficient.[6]
The Magen Avraham[7] reasons that since the Geonim accept even wine as sufficient in this context, any foods made from one of the five grains also suffice, since they are more “meal-like” than wine.[8] This is the source of the common practice of using cake for the post-Kiddush “meal.” Along these lines, the Pri Megadim[9] permits eating dates for this purpose, based on the halacha that if one mistakenly recited Birkat HaMazon after eating dates, this beracha acharona is valid after the fact, because dates are particularly filling.[10] However, the Tosefet Shabbat[11] argues, and most Acharonim agree with him, that one should not generally rely on dates as one’s meal after Kiddush.[12]
While according to the “spirit of the law,” there may seem to be little difference between Shehakol and Mezonot pastries, the former do not fit the halachic parameters for the required eating after Kiddush. As we have seen, there are alternatives to establish the “meal,” especially wine/grape juice, after which Shehakol foods may be eaten as well. However, for cases in which wine or grape juice are not viable alternatives, we will mention two leniencies that are not generally accepted. One is an opinion that in a case of need, any food can be used to constitute the Kiddush meal.[13] There is also an opinion that everyone assembled fulfills their Kiddush obligation even if only one person present eats the requisite amount.[14] If one must rely on one of these leniencies, it would seem proper for him to at least eat something filling and “meal-like,” so as to thereby fulfill the spirit of the law.
This leads us to a related discussion, which is similarly important in terms of the spirit of the law (and possibly for the letter of the law as well). At the Shabbat meals, there are halachic requirements to use two loaves of bread/challa made from halachic grain, to eat a k’zayit, and to recite Birkat HaMazon at the end. It would be regrettable for a gluten-sensitive person to consider himself as incapable of fulfilling the mitzva of seuda, which also might prompt him to not take his Shabbat meal seriously “if it does not count anyway.” It appears proper (although we cannot create an outright obligation) for him to have two nice loaves of bread, made of whatever flour he can use.
There actually is halachic precedent, albeit in a different halachic context, for considering as bread even a food that is not subject to HaMotzi and Birkat HaMazon because it is not made from the five grains. The halacha is that an eiruv chatzeirot must consist of “bread,” but this bread can be made from rice or lentils.[15] This shows that on some level, a food can be considered legitimate bread even when it is made from alternative ingredients (although not just any ingredient).[16] Notice also that the concept of loaves of bread is learned from the manna in the desert, and that was certainly not made from normal grain; what is important is that manna was the Jews’ bread. Similarly, for the gluten-intolerant, rice or corn bread are their breads.
While we would not suggest such an approach if one has the option of following the regular rules (including using oat challa), one who cannot do so should nevertheless view his meal as a seudat Shabbat. It is also worthwhile in such a situation to drink enough wine, or eat dates or another relevant food, to enable the recitation of the long beracha acharona, which contains the basics of Birkat HaMazon and mentions Shabbat. Again, it is best for such people to have as normal a Shabbat experience as possible; they should not view their situation as significantly different from that of others.