Every Shabbos and Yom Tov (holiday), except Pesach (Passover), Jewish women prepare and bake challahs. It is a a holy task filled with love and tradition. Every ingredient is gathered with the intent of elevating the festival meal to a higher level.
Women through the many generations in their preparations of bread/challah have elevated the Shabbos and Yom Tov tables to the level of the mizbeach (alter) in the Bais haMikdash (Holy Temple). With the destruction of the Bais haMikdash, the altar became the table at which the family gathered to eat its meals. We learn that “In the days of the Temple, the altar served to atone for us; now it is our table that atones for us.” (Chagiga 27a).
So one may ask, how is making challah holy?
Prayers and rituals have come down to us from countless women. Every step in the preparation of challah elevates plain bread into a holy source of spiritual nourishment. The Torah (Scriptures) speaks of the creation of mankind saying, “then the L-rd G-d formed man from the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) It is important to realize that when the Holy One, blessed be He “formed man from the dust of the earth”, He created people from the physical world. When He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” He created people from elements of the spiritual realm. At this point something truly amazing happened, “and the man became a living being.”
In other words people exist in the physical world and the spiritual world and have the ability to take the mundane everyday stuff from the physical world and elevate it to a spiritual and holy level.
Challah, Prayers and Meditation
INGREDIENTS
4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting |
1/4 cup olive oil |
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1 tablespoon yeast |
3-6 tablespoons sugar or honey |
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2 teaspoons salt |
4 eggs, at room temperature |
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1/2 cup lukewarm water |
1 egg yolk, at room temperature |
DIRECTIONS AND PRAYERS
Before Beginning to prepare the challah say:
Thank you Hashem for all the blessings you have given me and my family. Thank-you for always protecting us and doing what is best for us.
Please Hashem help me prepare this challah with holiness and love.
Pour 4 1/4 cups of flour into a large bowl and say:
Please Hashem help me to separate the good from the bad, help me to get rid of my negative character traits and my Yetzer Hara, help me to focus on the positive and incorporate positive character traits so that I may be an example to my family.
Combine 2 teaspoons of salt with the flour
In a separate bowl wisk together 4 eggs, ½ cup of water and ¼ cup olive oil until well blended.
Add sugar or honey to taste and say:
Please Hashem, help me to have a sweet din(judgement) help me to have Ayin Tova ( a good eye) help me and my family to have a sweet life, to always be able to love. Help me to help others and to do chesed (acts of loving kindness).
Mix well and then add 1 tablespoon of yeast and say:
Help me to have simcha and nachas (happiness and joy) in my home and in my life. Grant us your protection (as yeast in Hebrew is called shimarim which translates to protection) now and always. Please Hashem, allow me to feel joy for others as well. Bless me with an inner peace so I can continue doing mitzvos for those around me.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead until you have a sticky dough that clings to the bottom of the bowl, (5 to 7 minutes). The dough may seem a bit wet and sticky but have faith—it’s supposed to be.
Dust your hands generously with flour, then scrape the sticky, elastic dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour and knead briefly into a soft, smooth ball. Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, flip it over once so the top is lightly oiled, and then cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it’s puffy and doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours. (see note below)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and dust with flour. It will deflate.
Pinch off a piece of dough the size of a large olive and set aside.
Cut the dough into four even pieces, and then stretch and roll each piece into a rope about 16 – 20-inches long. Lay the ropes parallel to one another (vertically). Pinch them tightly together at the top, and then fan them out. If the ropes shrink a bit, just work them back into their original length.
Begin by taking the strand farthest to the right and weave it toward the left through the other strands using this pattern: over, under, over. Take the strand furthest to the right and repeat the weaving pattern again: over, under, over. Repeat this pattern, always starting with the strand farthest to the right, until the whole loaf is braided. Tuck the ends under to give the loaf a finished look.
Carefully transfer the braided loaf to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover the loaf loosely with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free spot until about 1 1/2 times the size (1 to 2 hours). Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. (Note that the loaf will continue to rise significantly in the oven.)
Take the small piece of challah dough and say:
Baruch ata adonoy eloheinu Melech haOlam asher kideshanu b’mitzvosav v’tzivanu l’hafrish challah.
Blessed are You O L-rd our G-d King of the Universe who has made us holy with His commandments, and commanded us to separate challah.
“May it be Your Will, Eternal, our G-d, that the commandment of separating challah be considered as if I had performed it with all its details and ramifications. May my elevation of the challah be comparable to the sacrifice that was offered on the altar, which was acceptable and pleasing. Just as giving the challah to the Kohein in former times served to atone for sins, so may it atone for mine and my family, and make me like a person reborn without sins. May it enable me to observe the holy Sabbath (or Festival of…) with my husband (and our children) and to become imbued with its holiness. May the spiritual influence of the mitzvah of challah enable our children to be constantly sustained by the hands of the Holy One, blessed is He, with His abundant mercy, loving-kindness, and love. Consider the mitzvah of challah as if I have given the tithe. And just as I am fulfilling this mitzvah with all my heart, so may Your compassion be aroused to keep me from sorrow and pain, always.
Wrap it in a piece of foil and set in the oven.
In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg and brush the beaten egg generously over the risen dough. (Note: If you like, sprinkle poppy or sesame seeds onto the challah before putting it in the oven.) Place the baking sheet atop another baking sheet; this will prevent the bottom crust from browning too much. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the crust is a rich brown color and the internal temperature is between 190°F and 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a rack to cool. Challah is best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers will keep for a few days in a sealed plastic bag.
Note: When baking yeast breads, rising times are only a guide; the temperature in your kitchen, the humidity level outdoors, and how you knead the dough will all affect the rising time.
While the Challah is baking add a short prayer:
Ribbono shel olam, Master of the Universe. I beg You that when the (husband or man of the house) says the blessing over these challahs, he has the same holy intentions I have now when I’m kneading and baking them!
Husband and wife are partners in the Jewish spiritual quest of becoming holy. Traditionally, the woman bakes the challahs for Shabbos and Yom Tov, and the man makes the blessing over them at the table. If both have holy intentions, in the baking and the blessing, the bread flies up to heaven as it is eaten.
May your prayers ascend to the highest levels and be answered with joy and happiness
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)