Challah (, he, חַלָּה or ; plural: or ) is a special

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering. Challah may also refer to the dough offering. The word is biblical in origin, though originally referred only to the dough offering. Similar braided breads such as kalach and vánočka are found across Central and Eastern Europe.

Name and origins

The term in Biblical Hebrew meant a kind of loaf or cake. The Aramaic word given for its translation is (pl. ), and which word (var. syc, ܓܪܝܨܐ / ܓܪܝܣܐ) Payne Smith defines as "a cake or loaf," or "morsel of bread." In Hebrew, the word challah is derived from the root () which means “hollow,” “space” or “pierced.” In Rabbinic terminology, ''challah'' often refers to the portion of dough which must be separated before baking, and set aside as a tithe for the Kohen, since the biblical verse which commands this practice refers to the separated dough as a "''challah''". The practice of separating this dough sometimes became known as ''separating challah'' () or ''taking challah''. The food made from the balance of the dough is also called ''challah.'' The obligation applies to any loaf of bread, not only to the Shabbat bread. Nevertheless, separating challah may have been more common when baking the Shabbat bread than at other times, because separating challah is only required for large batches of dough (using over 10 cups of flour), such as might be prepared for special occasions.

Variant names

Challah may also be referred to as ''cholla'' bread. In Poland it is commonly known as (diminutive of , pronounced ), in Ukraine as 'kolach' or 'khala' and () in Belarus, Russia.

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

communities in different regions of Europe called the bread , or , , , , or , or .Come ’Round
Forward.com, 2004.South African Challah?
Forward.com, 2005. The etymology of kittke is given as ''Kitt'' + ''-ke'': ''Kitt'' in German means "putty

"-ke" is the Diminutive#Slavic languages, Slavic diminutive suffix found in many Yiddish words and names. Kitke referred not to the whole challah but simply to the braids or decorations that were attached to the challah like putty before baking, and the word must have originally referred to these. Some of these names are still in use today, such as in South Africa. The term ''koylatch'' is cognate with the names of similar braided breads which are consumed on special occasions by other cultures outside the Jewish tradition in a number of

European cuisine European cuisine comprises the cuisines of Europe "European Cuisine."Russian '' kalach'', the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

, the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

kolach Kolach is the Slavonic term for a number of traditional baked products, such as: *Kolach (bread), a circular bread, most often made as a sweet dish *Slavski kolač, a Serbian variant of the kolach, made for the celebration of Slava *Kolach (cake), ...

the Hungarian , and the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

. These names originated from Proto-Slavic ''kolo'' meaning "circle", or "wheel", and refer to the circular form of the loaf.Колач
(in Russian). Max Vasmer. ''Russisches etymologisches Wörterbuch''. Winter, Heidelberg 1953–1958 (in German). Russian translation by Oleg Trubachyov: Этимологический словарь русского языка. Progress, Moscow, 1964–1973. In the Middle East, regional Shabbat breads were simply referred to by the local word for bread, such as in Farsi or in Arabic.

Ingredients and preparation

Most traditional Ashkenazi challah recipes use numerous eggs, fine white flour, water, sugar, yeast, oil (such as vegetable or canola), and salt, but "water challah" made without eggs and having a texture like French baguette also exists, which is typically suitable for those following vegan diets. Modern recipes may replace white flour with whole wheat, oat, or

spelt Spelt (''Triticum spelta''), also known as dinkel wheat or hulled wheat, is a species of wheat that has been cultivated since approximately 5000 BC. Spelt was an important staple food in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times. No ...

flour or sugar with

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

. According to

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

observance of halachah, a bread with too much sugar changes the status of the bread to cake. This would change the blessing used over the bread from Hamotzi (bread) to Mezonot (cake, dessert breads, etc.) which would invalidate it for use during the

Kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...

for Shabbat. While braided breads are sometimes found in Sephardic cuisine, they are typically not challah but are variants of regional breads like

çörek Tsoureki ( el, τσουρέκι) also known as ''Šurēk'' (, Arabic), ''choreg'' or "chorek" (Armenian չորեկ, կաթնահունց), ''çörək'' ( Azerbaijani), ''çyrek'' (Albanian), ''kozunak'' (Bulgarian козунак), ''cozonac'' (Rom ...

, eaten by Jews and non-Jews alike. Egg challah sometimes also contains raisins and/or saffron. After the first rising, the dough is rolled into rope-shaped pieces which are braided, though local (hands in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, fish or hands in Tunisia) and seasonal (round, sometimes with a bird's head in the centre) varieties also exist. Poppy or

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

(Ashkenazi) and

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

(Sephardi) seeds may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top. Both egg and water challah are usually brushed with an egg wash before baking to add a golden sheen. Challah is usually pareve (containing neither dairy nor meat—important in the laws of

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

), unlike brioche and other enriched European breads, which contain butter or milk. Israeli breads for shabbat are very diverse, reflecting the traditions of Persian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Russian, Polish, Yemeni, and other Jewish communities who live in the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. They may contain eggs or

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

in the dough as well as water, sugar, yeast, salt,

and raisins. It may be topped with

or other seeds according to various

Minhag ''Minhag'' ( he, מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. , ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, ''Nusach (Jewish custom), Nusach'' (), refers to the traditional order and fo ...

im.

Rituals and religious significance

According to Jewish tradition, the three

Sabbath meals Shabbat meals or Shabbos meals ( he, סעודות שבת, Seudot Shabbat, Seudoys Shabbos) are the three meals eaten by Shabbat-observant Jews, the first on Friday night, the second on Saturday day, and the third late on Saturday afternoon. The He ...

(Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday

late afternoon ''Late Afternoon'' is an Irish animated short film directed by Louise Bagnall and produced by Cartoon Saloon. Summary The film is about an elderly woman (voiced by Fionnula Flanagan) coping with dementia as she relives her memories of the past. ...

) and two holiday meals (one at night and lunch the following day) each begin with two complete loaves of bread. This "double loaf" (in Hebrew: ) commemorates the manna that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert after

the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...

. The manna did not fall on Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion would fall the day before the holiday or sabbath to last for both days. In some Ashkenazi customs, each loaf is woven with six strands of dough. Together, the loaves have twelve strands, alluding to the twelve loaves of the

showbread Showbread ( he, לחם הפנים ''Leḥem haPānīm'', literally: "Bread of the Faces"), in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present, on a specially-de ...

offering in the Temple. Other numbers of strands commonly used are three, five and seven. Occasionally twelve are used, referred to as a "Twelve Tribes" challah.

Traditional Sabbath meal procedure

It is customary to begin the evening and day Sabbath and holiday meals with the following sequence of rituals: Serwetka szabasowa na chałę, MŻ 42 01

* The challah is covered, customarily with a dedicated challah cover cloth. (Normally, in the order of saying blessings, bread would precede wine. Covering the challah allows the

blessing to come first.) *

is recited over a cup of wine. * Each attendee ritually washes their hands in preparation for eating bread. (It is customary not to talk between this washing and consumption of the bread.) * The challah cover is removed. * The two loaves are held up together. * The head of the household recites the blessing over bread: "" (Translation: "Blessed are you our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth"). * The bread is sliced (or torn, depending on

minhag ''Minhag'' ( he, מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. , ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, ''Nusach (Jewish custom), Nusach'' (), refers to the traditional order and fo ...

) and salted, and the pieces are distributed to each person at the meal to eat. The specific practice varies. Some dip the bread into salt before the blessing on bread. Others say the blessing, cut or tear the challah into pieces, and only then dip the pieces in salt, or sprinkle them with salt, before they are eaten. Some communities may make a nick in the bread with a cutting knife. Normally, the custom is not to talk between washing hands and eating bread. However, according to some, if salt was not placed on the table, it is permitted to ask for someone to bring salt, before the blessing on bread is recited.

Salting

Salting challah is considered a critical component of the meal. Customs vary whether the challah is dipped in salt, salt is sprinkled on it, or salt is merely present on the table. The Torah requires that Temple sacrifices to God be offered with salt. Following the destruction of the Second Temple, Rabbinic literature suggested that a table set for a meal symbolically replaces the Temple altar; therefore, the blessing over food should only be recited with salt present on the table. Should one eat a meal without performing a commandment, the covenant of salt protects him. To the rabbis, a meal without salt was considered no meal. Furthermore, in the Torah, salt symbolizes the eternal covenant between God and Israel. As a preservative, salt never spoils or decays, signifying the immortality of this bond.

Special challah

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...

, the Jewish New Year, the challah may be rolled into a circular shape (sometimes referred to as a "turban challah"), symbolizing the cycle of the year, and is sometimes baked with raisins in the dough. Some have the custom of continuing to eat circular challah from Rosh Hashana through the holiday of

Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tishre ...

. In the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) many Jews will simply bake their challah in the shape of "turban challah" year-round. Sometimes the top is brushed with honey to symbolize the "sweet new year." According to some traditions, challah eaten on Rosh Hashana is not dipped in or sprinkled with salt but instead is dipped in or sprinkled with honey. As above, some continue to use honey instead of salt through the Sukkot holiday. חלת מפתח

challah

For the '' Shabbat Mevarchim'' preceding Rosh Chodesh Iyar (i.e., the first ''Shabbat'' after the end of Passover), some Ashkenazi Jews have the custom of baking ' challah ("key challah") as a '' segula'' (propitious sign) for (livelihood). Some make an impression of a key on top of the challah before baking, some place a key-shaped piece of dough on top of the challah before baking, and some bake an actual key inside the challah."Second Thoughts: The Key to ''Parnassah''." ''Hamodia'', Feature Section, p. C3. 23 April 2009. The earliest written source for this custom is the ''

sefer Sefer may refer to: * Sefer (Hebrew), a term for a book People with the surname * Franjo Šefer (born 1905), Yugoslav tennis player * Bela Šefer, Yugoslav footballer playing in 1924 People with the forename * Sefer Reis, Turkish privateer and Ot ...

'' by Rabbi

Avraham Yehoshua Heshel Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, popularly known as the Apter Rebbe or Apter Rov, was born in Żmigród, Poland in 1748 and died in Mezhbizh, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) in 1825. Rabbinical career A scion of famous rabbinic families, on both hi ...

, written in the 1800s. He calls challah "an ancient custom," and offers several

kabbalistic Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

interpretations. He writes that after spending forty years in the desert, the Israelites continued to eat the manna until they brought the

Omer Omer may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Omer (unit), an ancient unit of measure used in the era of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem * The Counting of the Omer (''sefirat ha'omer''), a 49 day period in the Jewish calendar * Omer (Book of Mormon), a Jaredite ...

offering on the second day of Passover. From that day on, they no longer ate manna, but food that had grown in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

. Since they now had to start worrying about their sustenance rather than having it handed to them each morning, the key on the challah is a form of prayer to God to open up the gates of livelihood. The custom has been criticized for allegedly having its source in Christian or pagan practices.

Challah rolls

Challah rolls, known as a or or or (plural: ; yi, בילקעלע) or (Polish) is a bread roll made with eggs, similar to a challah bun. It is often used as the bread for Shabbat or holiday meals.

Similar breads

Similar braided, egg-enriched breads are made in other traditions. The

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

is similar, though sweeter than challah. The Czech and Slovak vánočka is very similar and traditionally eaten at Christmas. In

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

and

cuisine there is a similar bread called cozonac (

: ), while tsoureki bread (also known as or ) is popular in Armenian, Greek and

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

cuisines. A sweet bread called ''milibrod'' (

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

: ), similarly braided as the challah, is part of the dinner table during Orthodox Easter in Macedonia.

Zopf Zopf or Züpfe ( French and in Italian) is a type of Swiss, Austrian, German or Bavarian bread made from white flour, milk, eggs, butter and yeast. The dough is brushed with egg yolk, egg wash, or milk before baking, lending it its golden c ...

is a similar bread from Germany, Austria and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, with a sweeter variant known as or . In

Finnish cuisine Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and ''haute cuisine'' with contemporary continental style cooking. Fish and meat (usually pork, beef or reindeer) play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in ...

, pulla (also known as cardamom bread in English) is a small braided pastry seasoned with cardamom that is very popular in Finnish cafés. Brioche is an egg-enriched bread, but it is not braided. Unlike challah, which by convention is pareve, many of these breads also contain butter and milk.

References

External links

Schlissel Challah – An Analysis BY Rabbi Yair Hoffman
{{Authority control Braided egg breads Jewish baked goods Jewish breads Shabbat food Israeli cuisine Jewish cuisine Jewish ceremonial food and drink Holiday foods