Challah, hallah (חלה), Chollah, Barches (German and western Yiddish), Berches (Swabian), Barkis (Gothenburg), Bergis (Stockholm), khale (eastern Yiddish), kitke (South African Jewish)^[1][2] is a special bread eaten on Shabbat and Jewish holidays (except for Passover).

It is customary to eat three meals on Shabbat, and these meals begin with a blessing over two loaves of bread. Challah, an enriched bread, often braided, is traditional. The blessing, "Hamotzi," is the same as for all bread: "Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz" (translation: "Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth".

Ingredients and preparation

Traditional recipes call for a large number of eggs, white flour, and sugar. Modern recipes may use fewer eggs (there are also "eggless" versions) and replace white flour with whole wheat, oat, or spelt flour. Sometimes honey or molasses is substituted as a sweetener. The dough is rolled into rope-shaped pieces which are braided before baking. Poppy, nigella, or sesame seeds may be sprinkled on the bread before baking; the seeds are said to symbolize the manna eaten by the Israelites during their 40-year sojourn in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. The dough is brushed with egg yolk before baking to add a golden sheen. Sometimes raisins are added. On Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, the challah may be rolled into a circular shape, symbolizing the cycle of the year.

The laws of kashrut prohibit the consumption of dairy and meat at the same meal. Since the first two Shabbat meals (on Friday night and Saturday morning or early afternoon) are often meat meals, classic challah is parve, i.e., made without dairy products. This distinguishes it from brioche and other enriched European breads, which often contain butter, milk or both.

Cultural and religious aspects

Hafrashat Challah

The term challah also refers to a small piece of dough — about the size of an egg — that is traditionally separated from the rest of the dough before braiding. In biblical times, this portion of dough was set aside as a tithe for the Jewish priesthood (see Numbers 15:17-21). In Hebrew, the ritual is called "hafrashat challah."

Today, this commandment applies more to professional bakers than the home cook, as it involves batches of challah using more than 2 kilos of flour.

The Bible does not specify how much dough is required for challah, but this issue is discussed in the Talmud. The rabbis said that 1 part in 24 was allocated to the priest in the case of private individuals, and 1 part in 48 in the case of a baker ^[3]. If the baker forgets to set aside challah, it is permissible to set aside the same portion of bread.<ref name="jenc" />.

According to the Talmud, the requirement to separate challah from the dough was imposed on the owner of the dough, not on the person who kneaded it<ref name="jenc" />; hence if the owner was not Jewish, even if the kneader was, hafrashat challah was not mandatory<ref name="jenc" />. The requirement did not apply to quantities of less than one omer in size<ref name="jenc" />, to bread prepared as animal feed<ref name="jenc" />; to dough prepared from a flour derived from anything other than wheat, barley, oats, spelt, or rye<ref name="jenc" />. Although the Biblical expression when you eat of the bread of the land might be understood as applying only to bread eaten in the Land of Israel, classical rabbinical sources argue that hafrashat challah should be observed in the Diaspora<ref name="jenc" />.

Since the destruction the Temple, no one is considered ritually pure. The idea of "priestly descent" still exists, and the title of "cohen" is passed down from father to son, but there are no rites comparable to those practiced in the Temple. Hence the custom of separating "challah'' is a symbolic act, with a blessing recited when the dough is thrown into the fire or discarded<ref name="jenc" />.

Challah was a means of sustenance for the cohanim, who had no income of their own. This is a point upon rabbinical sources and modern scholars agree. The Priestly Code, containing the law of challah, is believed by textual scholars to be a series of accretions to the earlier priestly source, and to postdate the law codes in the Torah ^[4][5][6]. Thus the instruction concerning challah is believed to be a later development, perhaps reflecting the emergence of a full-time professional priesthood<ref name="pcode" />.

Many deeper insights are cited for challah in the Midrashic and Kabbalistic literature. The mitzvah of separating challah is traditionally regarded as one of the three mitzvot performed especially by women (the others are lighting the Shabbat candles and family purity).

See also

• Jewish cuisine
• Bread
• Terumah

Citations and notes

External links

• Kosher Challah Recipes
• The Laws of Challah
• Traditional Challah, Rye Oatmeal Challah, Raisin Challah and Moroccan Challah recipes
• Etymology of "challah"
• How to separate challah
• Challah braiding: Easy-to-follow instructions and creative shaping techniques
• Organic, whole-wheat Challah in the NYC area
• Virtual Challah Lesson, with recipes and pictures