Вайикра 6:14 Галаха: Shulchan Shel Arba

The head of the house breaks the bread in order to show that he’s being generous with all he has.⁷¹According to b. Berakhot 46a. And the guest leads the blessing after the meal in order to bless the head of the house. The one who breaks the bread is the first to extend his hand into the common serving plate. And if he wants to show respect for his teacher or someone greater than him in wisdom, it’s his choice. And when he breaks a piece from the loaf, he should break a piece from the side of the loaf that is baked the best, for this is amongst the choicest of mitzvot to evoke the name of heaven over it, as it is said about the grain offering [minhah] of the priest: “offer it as a meal offering of the best baked pieces,”⁷²Lev 6:14. Modern commentators are uncertain about the meaning of the Hebrew word tofini, which I have translated here as “best baked,” based on R. Bahya’s interpretation. See the following note. for which the Tractate Zevahim said, “the word tofini would be the nicest baked part.”⁷³B.Menahot 50b. I suspect the Talmud is treating the word tofini as if it were derived from both yafeh – “nice” or “pretty,” and ‘afah –“baked,” a good example of the “creative philology” typical of midrash.