Challah (Halla) and Hope

To follow up on my last blog, I wanted to share with everyone my challah recipe. This was given to me by an orthodox Jewish woman who at one point this year, would not talk to me or look at me "thanks" to our differences. She is one of the women who inspired my blog on "peasants and scum." Since that time she still struggles to talk with me, and does not "hang out" with me. However, she has allowed her son to become a permanent fixture in our apartment, as he is 5 years old like my middle son and never seems to have anything to do. When she comes to pick up Noam at the end of the day, I can usually get a bit of small talk out of her now, and I also got the following Challah recipe.

Challah will be baked tomorrow morning by many, many Jews, and probably bought by many more. It is a staple of the Friday night Shabbat table (as I wrote once before). There are always two loaves on the table, representing the double portion of manna that the Jews were required to collect the morning of Shabbat. The cover over the challah represents the dew that fell on the manna and the board under the bread represents the ground that the manna lay on. In all, this bread represents Gods faithful provision each day for the Jewish people as they wandered in the desert.

This year I feel much like a wanderer. I am in a foreign place, knowing at the moment this is where I need to be, but not quite sure when I will get to where I am going. I feel a bit like the Jews of old may have...in a very large and dry desert, feeling a little lost, a little thirsty, feeling the heat (or ache) in my soul, as Rich Mullens puts it. And yet, like the manna, God has provided me daily with sustenance to get me through. He has provided me with loving friends and family at home who continue to encourage me and send us care packages and letters. He has provided me with some people here who also understand how it feels to be a sojourner in a strange land. He has provided just enough peace, just enough grace, just enough strength. And with this challah recipe He even gives me hope. That even those who have hurt me can become acquaintances, perhaps even friends - that walls can be softened and maybe even torn down. God provides for our basic needs. He loves and restores. Go ahead and "whip up some challah (as I like to say!)" - this recipe makes a lot. Put a loaf on the table (or two if it is the sabbath) and thank the God of the Universe for providing for us always, even when wandering.

Challah

2 cups warm water
1 packet yeast
1 T. white sugar
(mix in separate bowl)

8 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 T salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. oil
extra egg

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix and make a well. Add the wet ingredients and yeast mixture into well and knead. Let rise 1 1/2 hour covered. Knead again. Separate into loaves and let rise again uncovered for 10-30 minutes. Brush beaten egg over top and bake at 340 degrees F. (or 170 C) for about 20 minutes. This makes 6 medium sized loaves - I make each loaf by braiding three rolls together and pinching at the ends.