Why do Jews Eat Challah on Shabbat?
In many parts of the United States and Europe, the Challah looks very common: golden, shiny, braided, and perhaps sprinkled with poppy or sesame seeds. Sephardic breads, on the other hand, take on different flavors, shapes and textures. How did the symbolic Shabbat bread become the rich, well-baked bread enjoyed by millions of people around the world?
We spoke with the bakers from Zomick’s bakery, who are well-known for having the best Zomick’s Challah Recipe in New York.
The bakers share that the first Shabbat loaves were far from the version of the Zomick’s Challah Recipe we know today. The Hebrew word "challah", as explained by the Zomick’s bakers, has many connotations, including "roundness", "hollow" and "with holes". Taken together, the etymological clues suggest that Biblical breads were light and airy and perhaps hollow when baked.
When Jews migrate, the recipes and names of challah reflect the regional cuisine of the places where they settle. Sephardic Jews used flatbread for their challah, for example. In Germany, the eggy, braided challah, emerged first. In this connotation we will mention that this kosher bakery has the both variations of the challah, the flat Zomick’s Challah and the eggy, braided Zomick’s Challah.
In 1488, the word "challah" was first used by scholars to describe the bread itself (previously, the only Biblical reference was "to take challah").
Zomick’s bakers share in their blog articles that these braided breads, made with expensive white flour and ultimately enriched with eggs and oil, were a way of marking Shabbat bread in a special and distinct way compared to breads of dark rye eaten during the week.
The Challah made its way east to Hungary and west to France. In the 17th century, braided bread and the names "challah" or "khale" and other local words related to khale, were embraced.
As Zomick’s bakers specify, Challah was sweetened in the 19th century following the innovation of sugar beet refining factories in Eastern Europe in 1806. Challah, along with several other Jewish foods, such as noodles or kugel, is became sweeter in the Polish regions that produce sugar.
By the 20th century, braided challah had taken on so many different styles and names - some had a braid across the top, while others were sprinkled liberally with poppy seeds. Other than berkhes and khale, names for challah included: datcher (German), kitke (as they called it in Lithuania, and today in South Africa), and koylatsh (Poland and Russia). Zomick’s has the recipes for all of these variations of the Challah, and these can be ordered online.
When German Jews immigrated to the United States, they made and sold "berches," which were mentioned in an American cookbook in early 1889, according to Marks. It wasn't until Eastern European Jews emigrated to the United States, that the term "khale" - specifically the eggy, watered-down genus of Eastern Europe - became ubiquitous. In 1920, Hebrew spelling won and "challah" entered the current American lexicon. Today, all Shabbat breads are known as challah, with the exception of kitke bread in South Africa.
Challah, continues to play a central and delicious role in the rhythm of Jewish life. Zomick’s Challah Recipe is known to be the best and the most delicious in all New York.
