I learned about the Power of Challah last night. I was privileged to join 2,219 other Jewish Women in the synagogue parking lot at the Boca Raton Great Big Challah Bake. Now, for anyone who knows me, I do not cook, certainly not bake and typically avoid events such as this like the plague.
But I have to tell you, this was amazing.
Forget about the chaos, the AV system, and the shvitzing – minor inconveniences. The care that went into putting this event together and making every woman who attended feel welcomed was incredible.
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about – this event was called the Great Big Challah Bake and the premise was that each of the women who came would make their very own challah to bake for Shabbat. Each of us was assigned a table and at every place setting was a bowl that contained all the ingredients to create the challah dough, including flour, water, salt, sugar, an egg, not to mention our very own green aprons and a cloth to cover the challah dough so it could rise. Every bowl also contained rubber gloves, wet naps, and instructions. The detail was staggering.
I measured, stirred and kneaded
Along with my tablemates, I measured, stirred and kneaded, coached by our table captain who was a real Challah-making maven. We listened to speeches and song and then I brought my dough home to rise and stuck it in the fridge to finish today.
When I went to the gym at the JCC this morning, in my class of 15 women, 7 were at the event. It was the hot topic of conversation. People were comparing notes about their Challahs, sharing Challah photos on their phones – we are talking about some serious Challah chatter. I was told unconditionally that I needed to take that dough out of the fridge and let it warm to room temperature, “punch it down” again and then braid it (like I would know how to braid).
Long story short, my Challah was not the best Challah that ever came out of an oven. Of course, as far as I’m concerned if you put enough butter on anything, it tastes great.
I brought my Challah to work. My family & colleagues said the Motzi together, dug in and shared the the Challah. I guess that was the real Power of Challah. The sharing. The breaking bread together.
I guess that was really the whole point of it all after all.
My thanks to the organizers & volunteers at the Great Big Challah Bake.