Challah is a special bread Jewish people eat on Shabbat. We make a special blessing when we bake it and also when we eat it.
There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked challah permeating through the house as we prepare for our day of rest.
This week is a little different. As we prepare for our Shabbat, ready to switch of for 25 hours to connect with ourselves, our families and Hashem, we are filled with uncertainty. Only last week, on Shabbat, we had the most horrific attacks in Israel.
What can we expect this Shabbat? What will happen after we shut down?
We need all the blessings and prayers we can get. So today, as I prepared the dough for my challah, I thought to myself, how awesome would it be to bring people together to say “Amen” when I say the blessing over the dough?
So I had an idea…
I created a group of WhatsApp to all bakers and non-bakers alike who would want to come together to say Amen at the end of our recitation of the blessing.
The idea was that when a baker is ready to say the blessing, they initiate a group call, allow people to come on, and then recite the blessing, holding our soldiers, missing, injured and lost lives at heart. When it’s done, we say AMEN and hop off the call, each going our own way.
I was filled with excitement when the first call came in. People from around the world hopped on the call, heard the blessing, said Amen and hopped off again… We had a few of these calls and it felt good!
A global community coming together to give, strength, love and spread light for more peaceful days to come.
A ray of light in our darkness. Challahs of hope.
Am Yisrael Chai!