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Emissaries from Israel share secrets of challah
By LINDA M. LINONIS
YOUNGSTOWN
Gon and Shai Erez, emissaries from Israel, shared “The Secret of Challah” with about 35 people who attended a Lunch and Learn program at the Jewish Community Center, 505 Gypsy Lane. In Hebrew, emissary is shlichim.
Prayer and symbolism are the “secret” ingredients.
“In Judaism, many foods have religious meaning,” Gon Erez said Monday. He noted, though, the bread is eaten as a customary part of Shabbat, the sabbath that begins at sundown Friday and concludes at sundown Saturday. “Each ingredient has meaning,” he said, adding that as the bread is made, prayer is part of the process.
Challah, he continued, is Hebrew for loaf of bread. Gon Erez acted as baker, working with the ingredients, and his wife, Shai, provided commentary, explaining the precise amounts and symbolism.
Flour. Sift about 5 pounds but use only 4.71 pounds for the loaf. “Sifting the flour symbolizes internal cleansing,” Shai Erez said. She related it to Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown tonight and is regarded as the most sacred time of the year as the Day of Atonement. The High Holy Days are a period of reflecting on your life, repenting sins, asking for forgiveness and promising to do better in the new year.
She asked the audience, “What do you want to sift away [and] cleanse from your soul?”
The flour itself symbolizes patience. “This process is more important than the result,” Shai Erez said of making the bread. She said modern life moves so quickly, but people need to take time to think about changing for the better.
Sugar. The half-cups of the sweetener, she said, should prompt a “prayer for what we have and not what we want.”
She continued, “When we find something good, the mind is open to receiving more gifts. We often pray to God when we want something, but we need to pray to say thanks,” she said.
Dried yeast. Shai Erez advised using 3.5 ounces, less than the whole package. “This symbolizes the balance between pride and humility,” she said. “We should recognize our strengths and grow as we invest in them.”
2 flat tablespoons of salt. This seasoning, Shai said, teaches us about the accuracy of measurement. “Salt overpowers the overall taste,” she said, adding it’s important to “find accuracy in behavior.”
2 eggs. It is said that eggs “protect from the evil eye,” she said. “They strengthen offspring and are about better health.”
51/2 cups warm water. “Water symbolizes abundance and life,” Shai said. “Pray for life ... whether it be new life or healing in our own,” she said.
1 cup canola oil. “It symbolizes change. Judaism relates that everything changes,” Shai said, adding when the oil is absorbed by the dough, it softens and changes it. Again, she related the process to Yom Kippur and the process of changing to do better.
Mix all the dry ingredients, adding the salt last. Mix eggs and water then add to dry ingredients. Mix and place dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Knead a shallow hole in dough, add oil and mix. Let rise in cool place for an hour; shape and bake 20 minutes in 355-degree preheated oven.
A round challah is made during this time, symbolizing the cycle of life; braided, long challahs are made other times of the year. Hafrashat Challah is the mitzvah of taking a piece of the dough and burning it while you pray to God.
The Erezes, who were married in June, have been in the U.S. nearly two months. Along with teaching at Akiva Academy, they are teaching about Israel and the Holocaust at a Boardman middle school.
Gon Erez has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics from Ben-Gurion University in Israel and served as a human-rights officer in Israel Defense Forces. Shai Erez studied psychology, communications and art at Ben-Gurion, where she was a marketing manager at the student union. She has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Ashkelon College.