This week was one of challah bakes. Communities around the world came together to mix ingredients, knead dough, and learn how to braid challah in complicated configurations. The incomparable and brilliant Ms. Heather Lipman led the Sinai Akiba Academy bake, an annual treat for the entire community. Before she offered the blessing for the separation of challah, Judaic Studies teacher Ms. Marcelle Kasheri taught an important and powerful lesson:
Hannah, a woman who was childless and seemingly barren, prayed to God for a child. When her prayers were answered, she wove a coat for her little boy. Miraculously, as he grew, so did the coat. No extra stitches were needed. As he grew taller and wider, so did the coat. Ms. Kasheri explained that the magic ingredient of the growing coat was Hannah’s tears. Joyous and nostalgic tears, tears shed as she was creating this coat, astounded that her prayers of having a child had come true.
Ms. Kasheri reminded us that making challah has a similar kind of magic. The dough expands and rises as our prayers and tears enter the mixture. Prayers for health, prayers for healing, prayers for peace. Sometimes, a tear or two drops into the dough as a necessary sliver that our heart must be included in the process.
For thousands of years, women have gathered to make challah. But it’s not just a gathering that provides bread for the Shabbat table. Like Hannah, it’s a tradition that upholds the power of prayer. Like the growing yeast in the dough, we believe that with kavannah (intention) and lev (heart), our prayers rise to the Holy One. And each week, we continue the tradition, never losing hope, bolstered by the faith of the women that surround us.
Holy tears, heartfelt words, and a tradition that has sustained Jewish women for generations. This week and always, may our “challah prayers” be answered.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Nicole Guzik is senior rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik or on Instagram @rabbiguzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.
