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LIBI ASTAIRE

FOODHISTORY An old adage says that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and who isn’t longing for that irst delicious bite of challah! Yet most people would be surprised to learn that challah as we know it is a relative newcomer to the Shabbos table WELCOME BACK CHALLAH

sk Jewish women for one word that expresses Shabbos and many would probably cast their A vote for challah — the out-of-this-world bread that is as full of symbolic meaning as it is delicious. Yet if we could time trav- el back 700 years or so and take a peek at the freshly baked loaves hidden under the cloth cover, most of us would be sur- prised by what was there. Instead of the fl u y braided loaves we’re familiar with, the typical bread for Shabbos would have been round and fl at. What’s more, back then the bread wasn’t even called challah!

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KeyKey toto thethe GatesGates ofof HeavenHeaven OnOn thethe first irst ShabbosShabbos afterafter Pesach,Pesach, manymany peoplepeople CHALLAH UNDERCOVER havehave thethe customcustom toto bakebake ““shlisselshlissel (key)(key) challah.”challah.” middle of his table, which was square, on a cloth in the center of The Hebrew word challah is mentioned several times in TheThe earliestearliest mentionmention ofof thethe minhagminhag isis inin ImreiImrei the table. Under the challah was a large uncut loaf, even though the Torah. For instance, in Shemos 29:2 the pasuk men- PinchasPinchas (#298),(#298), aa sefersefer writtenwritten byby RavRav PinchasPinchas it [the large uncut loaf] was made of black bread, rather than on tions an offering of unleavened cakes ve’challos ( matzos) ShapiroShapiro ofof Koritz,Koritz, aa talmidtalmid ofof thethe BaalBaal ShemShem Tov.Tov. a small roll of white bread called zeml. In the morning, the large made from fine wheat flour. Later on, in Bamidbar 15:20, InIn thethe sefersefer OhevOhev YisraelYisrael, , RavRav AvrahamAvraham YehoshYehosh-- challah and a large loaf were put on the table, like at night. For we read: uaua Heschel,Heschel, thethe ApterApter Rav,Rav, callscalls shlisselshlissel challahchallah “an“an ancientancient cuscus-- the third meal, he used the small challah and a whole loaf. “Of the first of your dough you shall set aside a cake tom.”tom.” What has caught the eye of Jewish food historians is that (challah) as an offering; as the offering of the threshing- TheThe customcustom isis alsoalso mentionedmentioned inin TaameiTaamei MinhagimMinhagim andand otherother even though the fancier zeml roll was known to Rav Isserlein, floor, so you shall set it aside.” chassidicchassidic seforimseforim, , althoughalthough howhow toto makemake thethe specialspecial challahchallah varvar-- he seems to have spurned it for a challah that was both thin in That is the source of separating “challah” from dough. ies.ies. WhileWhile thethe ApterApter RavRav sayssays toto first irst kneadknead thethe doughdough withwith aa keykey size and ordinary in taste. Some posit that althoughzeml might But nowhere does the Torah tell us to eat “challah” on andand thenthen formform thethe doughdough intointo thethe shapeshape ofof aa key,key, anotheranother cuscus-- have been tastier, it was a type of bread eaten throughout the Shabbos. True, in Shabbos 117b Rav Abba tells us that on tomtom isis toto makemake anan imprintimprint ofof aa keykey onon toptop ofof thethe dough.dough. AA thirdthird week — at least by those who could a ord to eat white-fl our bread Shabbos a person is obligated to recite hamotzi over two variationvariation callscalls forfor placingplacing aa key-shapedkey-shaped piecepiece ofof doughdough onon toptop ofof instead of the more common black bread — and Rav Isserlein loaves of bread, in commemoration of the double portion thethe loafloaf beforebefore baking.baking. SomeSome bakebake anan actualactual keykey inin thethe challah.challah. wanted a bread baked especially for Shabbos for his challah. of mahn (manna). However, the word used for “loaves” TheThe mainmain reasonreason givengiven forfor thethe custom,custom, sayssays thethe ImreiImrei PinPin-- Later, Rav Yosef mentions that these challos were also called is kikarim, and not challos. Even the Rambam speaks of chas,chas, hashas toto dodo withwith thethe factfact thatthat thethe GatesGates ofof HeavenHeaven thatthat werewere kuchen, giving us another clue as to what this bread was like. two kikarim in his Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Brachos 7:4, openedopened duringduring PesachPesach remainremain openopen untiluntil PesachPesach Sheini;Sheini; thethe keykey Although today the word kuchen is used for cake or some other when he mentions the two loaves we place on the table thereforetherefore remindsreminds usus toto praypray withwith especialespecial kavanahkavanah duringduring thesethese sweet dessert, in the past the word was used to describe thin for Shabbos and Yom Tov. days.days. TheThe ApterApter RavRav addsadds aa fewfew moremore explanations:explanations: WhileWhile thethe round bread baked in a pan over a fi re, using a little oil. Since According to Gil Marks, author of Encyclopedia of Jew- GatesGates ofof HeavenHeaven werewere openopen throughoutthroughout Pesach,Pesach, nownow thatthat thethe that method was similar to the one used to bake the challah ish Food, both Sephardim and Ashkenazim used flatbread holidayholiday isis over,over, wewe mustmust reopenreopen themthem withwith ourour observanceobservance ofof o erings mentioned in the Torah, it’s thought that this was why for their Shabbos loaves until the 15th century. To honor Shabbos.Shabbos. Also,Also, afterafter BneiBnei YisraelYisrael enteredentered thethe LandLand ofof Canaan,Canaan, kuchen was used for lechem mishneh on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Shabbos and differentiate the loaves from weekday bread, theythey continuedcontinued toto eateat mahnmahn untiluntil theythey broughtbrought thethe OmerOmer offero er-- According to Mordechai Kosover, author of Yidishe Maykho- during the early medieval period it became customary to inging onon thethe secondsecond dayday ofof Pesach,Pesach, afterafter whichwhich thethe mahnmahn stoppedstopped lim (Food and beverages: A study in the history of culture and use white flour for Shabbos — although the Persian com- fallingfalling andand theythey hadhad toto eateat foodfood growngrown inin EretzEretz YisraelYisrael —— withwith allall linguistics), although during the week kuchen might be pan- munity continued to prefer whole wheat flour to white. thethe efforte ort andand worryworry thatthat suchsuch workwork implies. TheThe keykey onon thethe chal-chal- baked using butter, for Shabbos, when the bread could not be Some Sephardic kehillos would also sprinkle sesame or lahlah isis thereforetherefore aa symbolicsymbolic reminderreminder ofof ourour prayerprayer toto HashemHashem toto milchig, it was pan-baked using just shmaltz. That led a 19th- some other type of seed over the round loaves, an allu- openopen thethe gatesgates ofof sustenancesustenance forfor us,us, justjust asas HeHe openedopened thethe gatesgates century midwife and author named Malka Berlant to complain sion to the mahn that fell in the shape of coriander seeds. ofof sustenancesustenance forfor AmAm YisraelYisrael duringduring thethe daysdays ofof Yehoshua.Yehoshua. in her book Di Gliklekhe Muter (The Happy Mother) that these But whether the loaves were made from whole wheat or Today,Today, therethere areare somesome rabbanimrabbanim whowho objectobject toto thethe minhagminhag. . shmaltz-laden loaves were “harmful even for a healthy person.” white flour, or had sesame seeds or were plain, one thing SomeSome objectobject toto thethe useuse ofof anyany segulahsegulah, , whilewhile othersothers claimclaim thatthat At some point during the 1400s, braided breads using the they were not was “challah.” thethe practicepractice ofof impressingimpressing aa keykey intointo thethe toptop ofof thethe doughdough hashas itsits best available white fl our became popular in Germany, perhaps originsorigins inin aa non-Jewishnon-Jewish custom.custom. because braiding the dough helps to keep the bread fresh a bit A NEW TWIST ForFor thosethose whowho dodo practicepractice thethe minhagminhag, , justjust aboutabout everyoneeveryone isis longer. These breads, known as berchisbrod, started to make an We have to wait until the late 1400s to find Shabbos inin agreementagreement aboutabout oneone thing:thing: ChooseChoose youryour keykey carefully,carefully, ifif youyou appearance on the Shabbos table, possibly because the German loaves being described as “challah” in a sefer. That sefer planplan toto placeplace anan actualactual keykey insideinside thethe dough.dough. Today,Today, manymany keyskeys word bercht (braid) sounds very similar to the Hebrew word was Leket Yosher, written by Rav Yosef ben Moshe, who areare mademade partiallypartially fromfrom plastic,plastic, whichwhich cancan meltmelt inin thethe oven.oven. CarCar brachos (blessings). In Southern Germany, this type of chal- was from Bavaria. Rav Yosef was a talmid of Rav Yisrael keyskeys —— oror anyany keyskeys withwith computercomputer chipschips embeddedembedded inin themthem —— lah became known as barches or berches. Isserlein, a leading halachic authority of his time, and in likelike intensiveintensive heatheat aboutabout asas muchmuch asas theythey likelike beingbeing douseddoused These challos apparently had wings, in addition to braids, his sefer, Rav Yosef records the statements, customs, and withwith water,water, whichwhich isis toto say,say, notnot atat all.all. Therefore,Therefore, useuse aa keykey that’sthat’s because in the next century we see challah baking really take daily conduct of his rebbi. One passage describes some of entirelyentirely metal,metal, andand bebe suresure toto warnwarn youryour familyfamily andand guestsguests o as a culinary art. Rav Isserlein’s Shabbos minhagim, a fascinating glimpse beforehandbeforehand toto bitebite carefully.carefully. YouYou don’tdon’t wantwant anyoneanyone toto breakbreak aa into some of the Ashkenazic customs of his time: toothtooth andand transfertransfer thethe brachahbrachah forfor parnassahparnassah toto thethe dentist.dentist. DO YOU SPEAK CHALLAH? I recall that every Erev Shabbos they would make him Braided loaves soon became popular in Alsace and parts of three thin challos, kneaded with eggs and oil and a little bit Hungary, where braided loaves sprinkled with poppy seeds were of water. At night, he would put the mid-sized challah in the known as barhesz or szombati kalács. It took a little longer for

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the new look and lingo to reach Eastern Europe. As late as the keylitch or something similar. mid-1500s, Rav Moses Isserles, the Rema, referred to the Shab- Early German immigrants to the United States brought their bos loaves as lachamim in his gloss on the Shulchan Aruch. How- customs with them, and for a while the Shabbos loaves were ever, by the 1600s both the braids and the termkhale were widely still known as barches. But after Jewish immigrants from East- used in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. ern Europe began pouring into America during the early 1900s, Of course, there continued to be innovations and variations. “chollah,” “chalah,” and our own “challah” eventually won the While the three-strand braid was the easiest to make, six-strand day. In Israel, as well, the term most commonly heard is “chal- braids were also popular; two loaves with six strands apiece sym- lah,” although the Israeli loaf is generally not as sweet as its bolized the 12 Showbreads on display in the Beis Hamikdash. American cousin, since Israelis love to start the Shabbos meal Another allusion to the Showbread was a loaf that had two rows with lots of savory appetizers. with six bumps apiece. The ingredients used to make the dough also became more A LAST MORSEL varied. In some places eggs were added, as well as a pinch of saf- As we’ve become more aware of the health benefits of whole fron, to give the dough a yellow color that symbolized the color wheat flour — as well as spelt and other non-wheat grains — of cooked mahn. After sugar became more affordable in Eastern many Jewish women have gone back to the baking pan, so to Europe, this too was added to the dough, because when mahn speak, and opted to exchange white flour for something healthier, was pounded into cakes, it tasted like honey. even on Shabbos. Since many Sephardic halachic authorities argued that a dough The Malbim might not have approved. In his commentary on enriched by a significant quantity of eggs and sweetener made parshas Beshalach, he states that white flour is the best way to the resulting product more like cake than bread — and there- honor Shabbos; while the mahn that fell throughout the week fore inappropriate for the recitation of hamotzi — the Sephardim looked like bits of crystal, on Erev Shabbos it was white, symbol- kept their challos simple. izing mercy and kindness. Hence, the preference for white flour. Jews from Germany also had a recipe for a simpler challah, Rav Pinchas of Koritz, however, stresses that it is the woman’s called vasser challah (water bread), that contained no eggs or oil. intention while baking her challos that is important. In Imrei Yet if it was short on ingredients, vasser challah still had sym- Pinchas, Shabbos, he discusses what exactly Midrash Bereishis bolic meaning. A strip of dough that ran down the length of Rabbah 60 means when it says there was blessing in the dough the oblong loaf symbolized both the ascent to Heaven and the of Sarah Imeinu. Since Avraham Avinu was a wealthy man who letter vav, which has the numerical value of six. Put two such could afford to give Sarah all the flour she needed, the blessing loaves together and you once again have an allusion to the 12 wasn’t about quantity. Instead, argues the Imrei Pinchas, the loaves of Showbread. blessing must have referred to the quality of her loaves — they In Lithuania and Latvia, the braided loaves were called kitke; were sweet-smelling, delightful to look at, and tasted delicious. even today people living in South Africa will refer to their He therefore advises women to be happy while baking, so that Shabbos loaves as kitke, because their bubbes and zeides mainly our challos will be pleasing like those of Sarah Imeinu. If, chas hailed from Lithuania and brought the term with them. Poland veshalom, a woman is angry instead, her challos will come out also made a linguistic contribution, calling the loaves koilitch or of the oven charred and misshapen.

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