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 stori ...

and major

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainst ...

s (other than

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

). 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 A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

for the

Kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for " priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally ...

, 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 ve ...

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 (disambiguation ...

, 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 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, traditiona ...

. 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 Oleg Nikolayevich Trubachyov (also transliterated as Trubachev or Trubačev, russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Трубачёв; 23 October 1930, in Stalingrad – 9 March 2002, in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian linguist. A re ...

: 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 Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

, 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. N ...

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 sefa ...

observance of

halachah ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comma ...

, 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 th ...

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'' (R ...

, eaten by Jews and non-Jews alike. Egg challah sometimes also contains raisins and/or

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma (botany), stigma and stigma (botany)#style, styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly ...

. 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 ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

) 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 cul ...

(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 t ...

(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), fr ...

), 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: ...

in the dough as well as water, sugar,

, 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'' (), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers. Et ...

im.

Rituals and religious significance

According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday lunch, and Saturday late afternoon) 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 The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

wandered in the desert after

the Exodus The Exodus (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 Bible), namely E ...

. 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-d ...

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'' (), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers. Et ...

) 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 Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic w ...

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 The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, 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 Tis ...

. 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

), 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'' 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 ...

, 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 offering on the second day of

. 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 Isr ...

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

cuisine there is a similar bread called cozonac ( Bulgarian: ), while tsoureki bread (also known as or ) is popular in Armenian, Greek and Turkish 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 Ma ...

: ), 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 ...

is a similar bread from Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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 ...

, pulla (also known as cardamom bread in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

) 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