Everything About Challah
Separating the Challah is one of the 613 mitzvot (Divine precepts) that constitute the body and soul of Jewish life. Full of spiritual significance, it is one of the three main mitzvot of the Jewish woman and has a far-reaching effect on the mind and heart of the person who fulfills it, in her family, and in the very nature of her home. For hundreds of generations, Jewish women throughout the world have fulfilled this beautiful and transforming mitzvah.
Rabbi Shimon shares that, every time when the delicious Zomick’s Challah is made, a portion of the dough is separated and burned out.
Why Challa?
When the Jews first entered and settled in the land of Israel, one of the many gifts they ordered to give to the Kohanim, the priestly tributary who served in the Holy Temple, was "challah" -a portion of dough that was separated when they baked the loaf.
From Zomick’s explain that, in addition to its practical function as a gift to the Kohanim, the mitzvah of "separating of the challah" has a deep spiritual meaning. In our life, Challah is the portion for Gd from our bread. It expresses the belief that all our sustenance comes, from His hand. Just as we cannot eat the bread dough unless we have separated a challah, so a portion of our being is always reserved to provide charity.
The Torah refers to challah as reishit, the "first and best" bit of the dough. In the same way, our spiritual persecutions, although they occupy only a small part of our lives, are "the first and the best" of us.
Challah in the present
Today, because the Holy Temple is destroyed and the conditions of ritual purity in which the Kohanim ate together are not available, it is a fact that we don’t give the Challah to the Kohen.
However, in remembrance of this gift and in anticipation of the future redemption and rebuilding of the Holy Temple, we still observe the mitzvah of challah separation. We take the piece of dough, but instead of eating it, we burn it, since its sanctity forbids us to use it in any way.
Who makes the Challah?
From the Zomick’s Challah bakery point out, in a recent post for Twitter, that the mitzvah of separating challah is present in every Jew. However, traditionally, this has been one of the mitzvot especially entrusted to the Jewish woman. As in "akeret abait" (the foundation of the home), the woman not only prepares the physical sustenance for the family, but also nourishes it spiritually.
The woman, so influential in shaping the values and attitudes of her family, brings the blessings in her home through this mitzvah and inspires faith of G-d in those around her.
Jewish women have traditionally cooked their own Challah, in preparation for Sabbath, valuing the opportunity to perform this special mitzvah.
