Hello everyone!
For about a month now, I have been baking Challah (braided Shabbat bread) for Shabbat and I'm loving this new ritual SO much that I think I ought to post about it.
The first week that I baked Challah, I did enjoy it, but felt a little frazzled as I didn't really feel like I knew what I was doing. I was rushed and a tad nervous that it wouldn't turn out right. Also, there is a point in the kneading process during which my hands are absolutely caked in very sticky bread dough and I cannot escape or do anything else but keep kneading. I wasn't expecting that to happen and I am claustrophobic so, having my hands absolutely stuck made me feel a bit anxious. Still, my first attempt at Challah turned out fairly good.
The second week I was much more prepared for the experience. I found that I could enjoy it a bit more, but still was a tad apprehensive.
By week three I was completely calm and I was able to let myself dive into the process with pleasure. There is something so soothing about the feeling of mixing dry flour, sugar and salt. The flour is cool and so soft.... Five pounds of flour in a large bowl has suddenly come to be a balm for a week's worth of stress. Then, adding the liquid ingredients, the flour begins to adhere to my hands and, this too, has become therapeutic. Perhaps it is partly due to the fact that I am claustrophobic that this affects me in such a profound way. My hands become nearly immobile and absolutely incapable of doing anything else but completing the task of kneading the dough. I've begun to let myself feel this experience with my entire being.
Two weeks ago, I was with a good friend who told me that the making of Challah is used as a quiet time of prayer because, as I've mentioned, there is nothing that can be done but to knead the dough. It's impossible to be distracted from this moment because one cannot break away until it is finished. You knead and mix and then add the oil and it starts to come away from your hands until you are left with this beautiful lump of dough that takes a lot more effort than one might think.
This past week, as I began this baking process again, I used the time to pray for my friends and family. I listened to music of praise to Adonai and I quieted my spirit to commune with Him.
It's such a simple thing...making loaves of bread...but it has come to be such a blessing to me and I love to give a beautiful loaf of braided bread away to others. It blesses them and I know that these loaves of bread were made with love, prayer and meditation. It's a pleasure to bless others with things that have blessed me. I think I will be keep up this ritual for a very long time to come. I'm so thankful to Adonai for His Shabbat and EVERYTHING that goes along with it. What a beautiful way to show our love for Him and His love to us.
And, speaking of bakin' bread...here's the song Breakin' Bread which has entered my mind every Shabbat for at least a decade now. Breakin' bread with my mama, breakin' bread with my papa, breakin' bread!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XCTSS38UM_A
