urul tm oN wig Act m om

Food

Homey and spiritual,
Shabbat bread links the
generations each week.

LYNNE MERIDETH SCHREIBER
Special to the Jewish News

A

my Appelman knows that cre-
ating memorable associations
between food and religion is
one way to instill a fondness for
Jewish living in young children. That's
why her Temple Israel early childhood
class, "From Challah to
Hamantashen," begins each session
with challah baking.
"Challah is such an effective experi-
ence," says Appelman, who is Temple
Israel's family educator. "That's what's
so great about the kids having the
chance to make it. I say to the families

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2005

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when they come, 'It's not about the
product; it's about the process.'
"For your children to have an expe-
rience kneading the dough, putting it
in the oven, basting it with the egg —
it's gorgeous when it comes out. They
feel so good about what they've made.
They're going to remember that and
hopefully pass that on."
Call it challah, berches
(German) or ragiq (Iraqi),
the special breads the Torah
commands Jews to make
and consume in celebration
of Shabbat are one of the truly univer-
sal elements tying us all together.
"Bread is so universal, so important,"

says Maggie Glezer, a certified baker and
the Atlanta-based author of A Blessing of

Bread: Recipes and Rituals, Memories and
Mitzvahs. "It's cheap, it's filling, it's nour-
ishing. It's harkening back to the home
being the center of everything. Anybody
who's making challah is taking really
good care of their family."
Most Jews have fond associations
with Sabbath bread.
Although famed chef
Mark Bittmam says chal-
lah is not his favorite
bread, nor his favorite
Jewish food, he remembers his mother
sending him to buy challah from the
bakery and eating it on the way home.

COVER STORY

Loren Stewart