KSJV.challah

=challah (Vocabulary, C)=

Dough which is made from one or more of the five grains, i.e. barley, oats, rye, spelt, wheat, and intended for bread, cakes,biscuits, matzo, etc.

It is considered a mitzvah to "separate challah", that is, to remove a small piece of dough from the batch when baking the challah. In Temple times, this separated piece was baked together with the main dough and then presented to the Temple kohanim (priests). On packages of "Kosher for Passover" matzot you may find the text "Hala selected according to Jewish law" which means that the mitzvah was performed by the baker. This practice may be in some way parallel to the mitzvah of pe'ah (not harvesting the corners of fields....see Leviticus 19:9).

Challot (the Heb. plural of challah) are bread loaves, braided or of some other distinctive design, which by tradition are eaten on Shabbat and Festival meals. The term used by South African Jews is kitke ,which stems from Lithuanian usage and perhaps also from the Finn-Ugor kitke which means "weave."

On festive occasions many Jews say a blessing over two loaves, symbolizing the biblical account of two portions of manna being distributed on Fridays to the Israelites during their desert wanderings following the exodus, as they were prohibited from the work of gathering the daily portion of manna on the Sabbath. The breads are covered on the table by a decorative challah cover or a white napkin, which represents the dew that collected on the manna in the morning.

Another source for the tradition of using two loaves on Shabbat and chagim (festivals) may be found in Leviticus 23:17 (discussing the Shavuot offerings) "Ye shall bring out of your dwellings two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah; they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, for first-fruits unto the Lord."

Challah Designs: Braided ones, which may have three, four, or six strands, are the most common, and because they look like arms intertwined, symbolize love. Three braids symbolize truth, peace, and justice. Twelve humps from two small or one large braided bread recall the miracle of the 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel; they may also represent the twelve loaves of "shewbread" placed on an altar table in the Temple every week. Round loaves, “where there is no beginning and no end,” are baked for Rosh Hashanah to symbolize continuity. Ladder and hand shapes are served at the meal before the fast of Yom Kippur—the ladder signifying that we should ascend to great heights. On Purim, small triangular loaves symbolize Haman’s ears; at Shavuot, two oblongs side by side represent the Tablets of the Law (Ten Commandments).

Salt: It is tradition to dip the first bite of challah in salt. This custom is common among many cultures worldwide, and is not limited to Jewish practice. It is an ancient custom, mentioned as far back as the Book of Ezekiel.