Edmonton Challah Bake: It was about bread & community and much more

By Regan Lipes

(AJNews) – This year’s community-wide Challah Bake at Beth Israel Synagogue was a roaring success! As part of the annual Shabbat Project, a grassroots movement that first began in South Africa in 2013, the greater Edmonton Jewish community was hosted by volunteer organizers at Beth Israel for some messy fun preparing challah dough in anticipation of Shabbat.

Veterans of the yearly gathering came prepared with festive aprons, while newbies found themselves quickly bedecked in the glitter of flour. Women, girls, and some tiny boys well below the age of bar mitzvah, got elbow deep in the task of mixing and kneading. The social hall was filled with familiar faces, and a few new friends to be made; there was certainly no shortage of enthusiasm. Challah may have been the task on the menu, but the evening also served up plenty of shmoozing.

This was the first year that my little ones and I attended, although we have long enjoyed the post Challah Bake pictures on social media. They were delighted to see their friends from school and get their hands nice and gooey with sticky dough ingredients. Soon, the activity became less about the baking preparation at hand, and more about just being together in a meaningful way. In fact, this ‘togetherness’ really is the entire purpose of sharing a Shabbat experience as a community.

Throughout the evening pictures from past years cycled on a projector screen, sparking much conversation and even more giggles as people dove into memories and stories recounted. As for the more official programming: welcoming remarks were given by Beth Israel’s President, Shane Asbell, a special prayer for those defending Israel and the Jewish people, and another for those still in captivity, was officiated by Rabbi Guy Tal, and emcee and member of the organizing team, Karen Sadovnick kept attendees engaged and entertained. She even called up two special little helpers, my two younger children, to help draw names for door prizes: Jacob and Tamara could not have been more thrilled to lend their flour caked hands in assistance.

As everyone’s dough was left to rise in individual Ziploc bags, Sadovnick explained the significance of the Shabbat Project and bringing unity to the global Jewish community. The sentiments were especially meaningful and touching as attendees noted the day-count for Israel’s kidnapped hostages. Chief Rabbi of South Africa, and Shabbat Project founder, Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, would have been delighted to see so many women, from different branches of Judaism, and with a plethora of identities linked to Jewishness joined together to honour the sacredness of Shabbat.

Following a wonderful evening spent with friends old and new, and with two tiny, tired tots in tow, we arrived home with armfuls of dough that the children proudly prepared, and Shabbat candles in anticipation of Friday evening. The kids thought that the fun was now over with bedtime looming, but the magical part of it all was that the electric energy of the Challah Bake then continued into the next day and the next. After school, we rushed home to braid and bake our challah together; both Jacob and Tamara got very creative and imaginative with their artful challah sculpting. Their teenaged brother Benji was lured out of his room by the wafting aroma of the challahs in the oven. The kids could not wait for dad to get home before digging in, let alone till Shabbat, and so the first challah was consumed in record time.

This was not just about devouring a delicious after-school treat, but a time for the kids to be together and enjoy each other’s company. We practiced hamotzi to teach the bracha to the little ones, and just like that, the Challah Bake that had united the community the night before, brought my kids to the table on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon.  Of course we saved two of our challahs for Shabbat, and we eagerly added our pictures to the milieu already being showcased on social media.

All three of my kids got so excited about challah, but really, they were getting excited about Shabbat: whether they knew it or not. Jacob and Tamara came home from school on Friday primed and ready to light candles, and my husband, who had yet to taste our delectable challah, hovered over the covered loaves on the counter impatiently. Finally, it was time for us to all sit down together for Shabbat dinner, and for the first time ever, Benji said hamotzi over our challahs after my husband did kiddush. The spirit of the Shabbat Project accomplished all the unity and meaningful engagement it set out to achieve. The next morning at shul, the headcount was certainly much higher than usual despite inhospitable weather.

My whole family, even those who did not participate in the community event, felt the impact of the Challah Bake. This may have been our first year attending, but it certainly will not be our last. My kids are already excited to see if their bright smiling faces will grace the screen of the projector at next year’s Shabbat Project Challah Bake!

The greater Edmonton Jewish community would like to thank the tireless team of dedicated organizers: Pessy, Nina, Riva, Anna, Robin, Karen, Lauren, Phil, Rebecca, Carolina, Victoria, Shayna, Li-el, Michal, Rebecki, Andrew, Sylvia, Manal, and of course Rabbi Guy Tal and Rebbetzin Fentaye Tal – thank you all!

Regan Lipes is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter