Category Archives: Shabbat

Celebrating with Bread

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Bread is a common food in every culture I can think of. One of my favorite breads from Israel is Challah Bread.

Challah is a brioche-type bread made with eggs. It is sweetened with honey and uses oil instead of the butter used in brioche. If you search for recipes, you can find many of them. And I’m sure, at least from the bakers I know, there are lots of variations of each one. I use the same recipe as my daughter, but both of us change it for different situations. The most significant difference I’ve found is the amount of honey to use.

Challah is a bread of celebration and is commonly served on Shabbat. This bread is braided into a loaf as in these pictures. Since I consider anytime I’m with family and friends as a celebration, I make it a lot.

During the celebrations of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kipper [as one of the foods used to break the fast of Yom Kipper], and Sukkot, challah is braided into a circle or a crown. The circle is studded with raisins. I also found one reference to braiding it into a crown in honor of Queen Esther on Purim.

While it isn’t tradition, I’ve found using challah as the base for cinnamon rolls can be very popular during coffee time at church.

Picture of Challah bread my daughter made.
Another picture of my daughter’s challah.

Checking off the boxes … or Not.

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One Saturday evening, while in Israel, our group was invited to attend the last meal of Shabbat at the home of a friend named Jeremy. He is an orthodox Jew who teaches the Torah.


We walked to his home in the Old City of Jerusalem. The entrance is in what looks like a wall on a street too small for a car. There are walls with doors on both sides.


I didn’t take my camera because orthodox Jews believe no work can be done on the Sabbath. Also, the Jewish individual cannot ask someone else to work. Taking a picture is considered work. So is turning on or off any switches is considered work.

With all of us in the small apartment, it was getting too warm.


Jeremy started talking about the new air conditioner he installed and how he put the switch close to where one of our leaders, Marty, was standing. It took a little time, but Marty finally figured out Jeremy wanted the air conditioner turned on. Since Marty was not an orthodox Jew and was not specifically asked, he turned it on.


Throughout the excellent meal, Jeremy taught us about the various meanings of different actions.


At the end of the meal, sweet herbs were passed around. Shabbat, a special time with God was coming to an end. The spices were to help us deal with the grief of ending our time with only God and going back to our duties in this world.


That day, and many days since, I think about how easy it can be to be busy, rushing through my time of worship and prayer. I can then check off the box marked prayer and worship to go on to all the other things on my To-Do list.


There is nothing as sweet and wonderful as my time with God. And I am sad when that To-Do list pulls me away.

Since I couldn’t take pictures that night, I later purchased this bag of sweet herbs. There is no specific list of herbs used to ward off the sadness of leaving time with God. Lavender is one ingredient included in most mixes. I keep this small bag of herbs on my desk to remind me to slow down and focus on my prayer and worship time.