Lesson Plan Challah For Hunger Created by Olga Zelzburg Ithaca Chapter

Transcription

1 Lesson Plan Challah For Hunger Created by Olga Zelzburg Ithaca Chapter Stage 1- Desired Results Overarching goal: Rituals have a unique bonding power: they connect us with past; and other people, performing the same rituals, in present. Understandings: Students will understand that - The simple act of Challah making has a long and complex history - Tzedakah is an essential part of Jewish life - Food is one of the staples of Jewish celebration, hence we need to fulfill our physical needs as well as spiritual ones Students will know - Challah is a ritual of separation, not just a holiday bread - Blessings over Challah - What is Challah for Hunger project at Cornell Hillel Essential Questions: - Why do we separate a piece of dough while cooking? - Why are we mandated to give our time or money or other resources to help others? Why often the rituals of holiness are connected to very mundane functions/objects, such as food? Students will be able to - Braid their own challah - Perform the appropriate rituals - Buy their own loaves with all of the proceeds going to Cornell Hillel s Challah for hunger Stage 2-Assessment Evidence Performance Tasks: - Students will make their own Challah (starting with braiding, and then baking) - Students will perform adequate rituals - Students will consciously buy the end product to engage in Tikkun Olam/ G milut Chassadim Other Evidence: - Student will realize the links they have to other Jews around the world doing the same thing at more or less the same time: preparing for Shabbat - Students will be able to incorporate the elements of traditional observance in their busy daily lives in a meaningful and fun manner Step 3-Learning Plan - In preparation for the lesson make enough dough for the number of participants (see attachment for the recipe) - Divide dough so that each student has enough to make two (small) loaves

2 - Set up tables with decorating materials (raisins, olives, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.) - Lay out printed Brachot for Challah separation, prepare tin-foil, all that is needed for the ritual - Welcome students, as an introduction ask for their name & one thing they know about Challah - Explain that Challah making is a relatively lengthy process, thus we will first do & then listen (Exodus 24:7): we will separate Challah, braid the breads and then while waiting for it to rise learn about the history of challah making/ origins of the rituals around it - Separate Challah - Distribute different braiding schemes (see attachments), braid the Challot & decorate them. Make sure making an identifying marker, so that students recognize their end product! - While the loaves are rising distribute the learning materials (attached) and discuss the history & rituals. Questions to consider: Why did people start to separate a piece of dough? Was the ritual changing over the years? Why so few people are aware of it? Why today when we hear Challah with think about nice fluffy holiday dough? Do you have meaningful rituals in your life (not necessarily religious)? Why are they meaningful to you? What is the advantage of baking your own challah in comparison to buying one? Are there disadvantages? - When the loaves rise, put them in the oven - Discuss the hunger aspect Share the information about Cornell Hillel Challah for Hunger Discuss whether it is a worthy venue to take part in Briefly share how what started as providing for Kohanim, became a Jewish welfare system in the diaspora and somewhat sustained us throughout the years. - Take out ready loaves, put them out to cool down - Collect Tzedakah - Clean up How these responsibilities changed in the modern society? What is the importance of engaging in Tikkun Olam, Tzedakah nowadays? Supplies and materials: Ingredients for the dough Decorations Tinfoil, plastic wrap, towels, etc. Handouts Tzedakah Box

3 Resources used: Aish: My Jewish Learning: The secret of challah: About.com: A Taste of Challah (preview pages): Ansh/dp/

4 Challah: The Power of Ritual Learning Materials for TBE YOUth Created by Olga Zelzburg 2013

5 Challah The braided Sabbath bread By Claudia Roden The braided challah, which is made with eggs, is the Jewish Sabbath-and-holiday bread. It is surrounded by folklore and tradition and loaded with symbolism. On festive occasions a blessing is said over two loaves, symbolizing the two portions of the manna that was distributed on Fridays to the children of Israel during their Exodus from Egypt. 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. Poppy and sesame seeds sprinkled on the bread also symbolize the manna that fell from heaven. Challah is made in various sizes and shapes, all of which have a meaning. 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. 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, the hand that we may be inscribed for a good year. On Purim, small triangular loaves symbolize Haman s ears; at Shavuot, two oblongs side by side represent the Tablets of the Law. The bulkah is a segmented rectangular challah. Sweet challahs with honey or raisins are baked during the festive season to bring joy and happiness. The name challah is derived from the Hebrew word used for portion in the Biblical commandment of the first of your dough you shall give unto the Lord a portion for a gift throughout your generations. Jews were biblically commanded to separate from their doughs one twenty-fourth and give it to the kohanim (priests) every Sabbath. Taking Challah In post-temple times the rabbis ordained that a challah (portion), which had to be at least the size of an olive, must be separated from the dough and burned. It is still a tradition for Jewish bakers and observant houswives to tear a tiny lump of risen dough from any type of bread and to burn it (usually wrapped in foil) in the oven or fire while making a blessing. The name challah was given to a bread in South Germany in the Middle Ages, when it was adopted by Jews for the Sabbath. It was the traditional local Sunday loaf, and its various shapes and designs were in the local tradition of decorative breads. John Cooper (Eat and Be Satisfied) notes that the first mention of the bread was in the fifteenth century

6 and that the term was coined in Austria. Before that the bread was called berches, a name that is still used by Jews in some parts today. The bread became the Jewish ritual bread in Germany, Austria, and Bohemia and was taken to Poland, Eastern Europe, and Russia when the Jews migrated east. Housewives kneaded the dough on Thursday, let it rise overnight, and got up early on Friday to bake it. They often baked all the bread for the week at the same time, so as not to waste fuel. The distinctive smell which emanates from the oven and fills the house when it is baked is the Sabbath aroma that pervades the memories of the old Yiddish-speaking world.

7 Challah: The Divine Dough by Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller Most of us are familiar with the braided Shabbat loaves and call them "challah." Literally, challah is a mitzvah in the Torah (Numbers 15:17-21), which enjoins us to set aside one piece of dough from each batch we make, as it says: " It shall be that when you eat the bread of the land, you shall set aside a portion [of dough] for God." Actually, the word "challah" doesn't mean bread, dough, or any of the other words that seem to describe the aromatic loaves. The root of the word is chol which means ordinary or secular. Is Anything Really Ordinary? When I went to camp as a child one of my least favorite activities was what was known as "the nature walk," in which a large group of incurably urban children were taken through the monotonous backwoods roads of the Catskills in upstate New York. To pass the time on the dusty highways we would sing: "We're here because we're here because we're here " (ad infinitum). For most of us, these words describe the way we see the world. We are desensitized to its wonder and beauty, to the extent that "ordinary" describes the way we see life: banal, unremarkable, and most of all "because it's there." The Torah presents us with a radically different approach. Everything is in its essence holy, kodesh, and always will be. God gives us permission to use His world for a "mundane, chol" purpose, under one condition: that we preserve its holy essence. And what word describes everything in the world after we make this commitment? Chol, which means ordinary. "Ordinary" life has a holy source, and it is our responsibility to use it well. This is especially true in regard to bread. Nothing is more "ordinary" than eating. Yet on an intuitive level we can connect to the mystic energy of the earth itself while making bread, in its feel and texture. It is meant to touch us deeply, and halacha (literally, "the way to walk") tells us how use its power well.

8 Microcosm of the World The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 15) tells us that challah is one of the three things for which God created the world. The Torah refers to challah as reishit -- "the first," related to the first word of Genesis, B'reishit -- "in the beginning." Challah is called "the first" because it is so primary to the world's purpose. Maharal explains this idea further by pointing out that the world is like an enormous human and that each human is like a mini-universe. Just as the globe is land and water, so too the human is composed of earth -- compared to flour, and spirit and intellect -- compared to water. Humans, as a combination of body and soul, flour and water, are like a dough. By separating challah we consecrate our multifaceted identity, the "dough." As a result, God permits us to use this dough in the process of rectifying ourselves and world. One of the great mystical scholars, the Shlah, takes this idea even further. He begins by asking a classical question that had been posed by scholars over the centuries. Being alive means that the soul stays in the body. In order to live, we have to eat. Yet what is there about eating that keeps the soul (which clearly doesn't need nutrients) inside the body? The Shlah explains that everything we observe in this world has a spiritual parallel. The nourishment that food gives the body has a parallel nourishment that sustains the soul. "Man does not live by bread alone, but rather by what comes forth from God's mouth does man live" (Deut. 8:3). The Torah is telling us that while bread alone may sustain the body, it is the word of God -- concealed within the physical properties of the bread -- that sustains one's soul. And separating challah initiates this process of spiritual nurture. It is instructive to note that in the biblical text (Numbers ch. 15), the mitzvah of challah is juxtaposed to the laws prohibiting idol worship. What possible connection exists between uplifting bread and polytheism? The nature of idol worship is to see the Creator as being removed from His creations. Idolaters will isolate whatever they perceive as being the most powerful or beautiful force in the created world, and use it as a medium in their search for a God who they perceive as ultimately inaccessible. It is inconceivable to them that God can be found in the midst of the world that seems to cry out, "We're here because we're here because we're here." By taking challah, we are saying that God is here! He is the source of our souls, bodies, and the forces that sustain them. He is One, and nothing is separate from His transcendental unity.

9 Customs and Segulot The following are some special spiritual benefits credited to the mitzvah of separating challah, along with some customs practiced while performing the mitzvah of separating challah: While preparing challah and other foods for Shabbat, it is customary to say, lichvod Shabbat kodesh, in honor of the holy Shabbat. Some have the custom, while kneading the dough, to recite Psalms and pray for people who are in need of God s help and salvation. Because of the great merit credited to the mitzvah of separating challah, it is worthy to bake especially for the sake of fulfilling this mitzvah at least once a year, ideally during the Ten Days of Repentance (Siddur Kol Eliyahu). The following custom has recently become common in Jewish communities: Forty people devote their prayers while separating challah to the merit of a person in need of salvation (such as recovery from illness, a worthy mate, or the birth of a child). The mitzvah of separating challah is recognized as a segulah for an easy, safe birth. It is customary to separate challah at least once in the ninth month of pregnancy. According to our Sages, the mitzvah of separating challah brings with it a blessing for a good livelihood into our home.

10 Separating Challah (Hafrashat Challah) How To For batches of challah using more than 14 cups (3 lbs, 11 oz) for forming the dough and kneading, the baker "takes challah." This means pinching off a piece of dough the size of a large olive. This small piece, like the bread, is called challah, and in these large batches the baker should say a blessing immediately before burning the challah that has been taken. This amount of dough may be too unwieldy to knead together or allow to rise all in one bowl. You may divide the dough into different bowls or knead balls of dough separately. If made all at once, it is still considered one batch, and one bit of separated challah--along with the blessing--covers all of it. For batches of dough using between 14 and 10 cups of flour, one should separate the challah without a blessing. Any recipe calling for less than 10 cups of flour does not require the separating step at all. There is one more condition for separating challah: The main liquid ingredient in the recipe should be water. Separating and blessing the challah is a simple process. Form the dough, knead it, and allow it to rise in a large bowl (or two smaller bowls if necessary). Before forming the dough into loaves, separate that olive-sized piece and roll it into a ball. If the dough is divided into multiple bowls, join the pieces for a moment by laying them side-by-side on the counter so they touch. Holding the piece of challah, say the blessing: ב ר וך א ת ה יהוה א לה ינ ו מ ל ך ה ע ול ם א ש ר ק ד ש נ ו ב מ צ ות יו ו צ ו נ ו ל ה פ ר י ש ח ל ה מ ן ה ע ס ה Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hafreesh challah min ha'eesah. Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to separate challah. Hold the piece of dough and say "harei zo challah" (this is challah). Now you are ready to burn and discard the challah. The most common method is to wrap the dough in aluminum foil and then burn it in the bottom of the oven as it preheats or as the loaves bake. Some people burn the foil-wrapped piece of dough on the flame of a gas range. Others wrap the challah in a napkin or paper towel and discard it without burning.

11 Hillel Challah For Hunger Info Challah for Hunger (CfH) brings people together to bake and sell challah, to raise money and awareness for social justice. Most chapters operate weekly, baking and selling 30 to 300 loaves of challah, often in creative flavors like chocolate chip, peanut butter-chocolate chip, parsley-sage-rosemary-and-thyme, cinnamon sugar, sun-dried tomato--the possibilities are endless! Each chapter donates 50% of its profits to our national cause and chooses the organizations to support with the other half of its profits. For all the volunteers and many of the customers, Challah for Hunger provides opportunities to be involved in a fun and dedicated community, address humanitarian problems, develop and practice new skills like baking and marketing, gain business and leadership experience, engage in traditions of challah and tzedakah, become involved in advocacy and other forms of activism, and more. The national non-profit provides support to the chapters, in the forms of expertise, management tools, and materials. CfH also hosts training and learning opportunities for chapter leaders and volunteers, including our Leadership Summits (see video below). Challah for Hunger is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Cornell Hillel CfH details Challah for Hunger at Cornell was founded in October 2008 by a group of dedicated members of Tzedek: Jewish Social Justice. Since then, it has raised over $3,500 for hunger relief through weekly sales on Ho Plaza and through direct sales to Shabbat across Cornell participants. We bake challah every Thursday afternoon starting at 4:30pm at 104 West, the Kosher Dining Hall. To get involved, just cornell@challahforhunger.org Sales Details: Challah is sold every Friday from 11am-1:30pm on Ho Plaza for $5 a loaf. The loaves come in plain, raisin, cinnamon sugar and chocolate chip varieties. Organizations our chapter supports: 100% of our profits go to the American Jewish World Service's Sudan Relief and Advocacy Fund. More information is available at this link:

12 Steve Heller s World Famous Challah Recipe!!! Ingredients: 2 packets rapid rise yeast 1 & 2/3 cups warm water 8 cups bread flour 2 tsp salt 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup canola oil 3 eggs 2 egg yolks How to: Add water to the yeast, with a little sugar, in a large bowl. Stir and let sit until frothy. Meanwhile, measure out the sugar & salt, beat the eggs lightly, measure the oil and honey and add all to the yeast mixture. Stir until dissolved. Then gradually stir in about 4 cups of the flour and stir until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Then gradually mix in the rest of the flour. Pour out onto bread board and knead for about minutes until dough gets shiny and stops absorbing flour. Put into lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours. Putting it into a slightly Warm oven will speed the rising time. It takes me less than an hour to make the dough. Punch down and form into long snake, divide into 2,3 or 4 portions, depending on how big you want the loaves to be. Then divide each portion into 4, cover with plastic and let rest a few minutes while you clean the bowl. Form each portion into long strand and braid 4 strands together into loaf. Put onto oiled baking stone or sheet, cover with plastic and let rise 1/2-1 hour. Mix 2 egg yolks with a tsp. of water then paint the loaves with the egg, sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until wood skewer comes out clean. Cool on rack. Enjoy!

13 3-Strand Challah 4-Strand Challah

14 5-strand Challah 6-strand Challah

15 Festive Knot Rolls Figure-Eight Rolls Star-of-David Challah Grape-Shaped Challah

16 Holding the piece of challah, say the blessing: ב ר וך א ת ה יהוה א לה ינ ו מ ל ך ה עו ל ם א ש ר ק ד ש נ ו ב מ צ ו ת יו ו צ ו נ ו ל ה פ ר י ש ח ל ה מ ן ה ע ס ה Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha'olam asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hafreesh challah min ha'eesah. Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to separate challah. Hold the piece of dough and say "harei zo challah" (this is challah)