metro >> on the cover

Shabbos Project

Detroiters join in worldwide Sabbath observance, including Great Big Challah Bake.

Barbara Lewis I Contributing Writer

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

On each table were 14 large foil roasting
pans, each containing everything needed
to make two large loaves of challah: a two-
pound sack of flour, a 16-oz. bottle of water,
two eggs (and a plastic cup to crack them
into) and small plastic containers of yeast,
sugar, salt and oil.
Each pan also held rubber gloves, a mix-
ing spoon, a large plastic mixing bowl, a
recipe card and an apron emblazoned with
the name of the event.
More than 300 women from across the
religious spectrum attended. Together they
mixed and shaped loaves of challah, which
they took home to bake.
The event was free. Materials were pro-
vided by anonymous donors.
"I think it's a wonderful opportunity
to carry out an enriching and fulfilling
Jewish tradition:' said Laurie Dean-Amir of
Huntington Woods. She said she's made chal-
lah before for special occasions but wants to
do it more regularly. "I thought this would
inspire me:'
Cindy Starman of West Bloomfield was
planning to spend Shabbat with a childhood
friend, Chana Sherizen of Oak Park. They
attended the challah bake together.
Sherizen, now Orthodox, recalled how
she grew up in a Reform home celebrating
only one day each Jewish holiday. She regu-
larly spent the second day with Starman's
Conservative family.
Rachel Schey of Birmingham was also
with a friend, Lisa Feber of Huntington
Woods.
"I'm excited to learn how to bake chal-
lah," Schey said. She planned to celebrate the
Sabbath with her family: her fiance, Mark
McLain, and her bulldog, Sugar. Shabbat is a
good time to unwind and relax at the end of
the week, said Schey, who is not religious.
Volunteers started setting up the tables
and measuring out the ingredients at 9:30
a.m. The challah bake started at 7:30 p.m.
From a podium at the front of the hall,
Henna Millburn of Southfield and her sister-
in-law, Estie Tolwin of Huntington Woods,
talked about the traditions involved in bak-
ing challah.
The term "challah" actually refers to a
portion of the dough that was taken out
and burned, a commandment that dates to
Temple times, Millburn said. At the Great Big
Challah Bake, table hostesses collected the
small lumps of separated dough, wrapped
them in foil and placed them in a plastic bag
for disposal, an alternative to burning.

8

October 30 • 2014

More than 300 women from across
the Jewish spectrum made challahs

A\A!k km .,kau.kkan k 10..

to take home to bake during the Great
Big Challah Bake during the Shabbos
Project.

Partners in Torah Young Professionals: Lisa Weinshenker of West Bloomfield,

Henna Millburn of Southfield with a

challah ready to be baked

Baking challah is a "labor of love" that
brings women together, Millburn said.
"What binds us is not the ingredients; it is
the Torah we share as Jews:' she said. Before
every step of the recipe, Millburn offered a
blessing.

Hands - On Event

Women dubbed "challah doctors" wore
"Knead Help?" badges and wandered among
the tables offering advice as newbies mixed

Shoshana Pollack of Oak Park, Samantha Lederman of Berkley, Jaimee Wine of
Royal Oak, Rachel Lory of Oak Park, Yael Aviv of Southfield, Erin Stiebel of Oak

Park and Lesley Welwarth of Southfield.

their dough.
"I make challah every week:' said Barb
Pichette of Southfield. "When I registered,
they asked me if I knew what I'm doing, and
when I said I did, they gave me this badge:'
As hundreds of hands kneaded mounds of
dough, Millburn demonstrated how to form
three, four or more strands into braided
loaves.
Sophia Bernzweig, 8, of Huntington
Woods had made challah before with her

mother, Kim, but this was the first time she'd
done it on her own. "It was cool!" she said.
As they left with their challah dough,
each woman received a plastic "Shabbox"
containing everything else they'd need to
bring in the Sabbath: a small bottle of grape
juice and a disposable Kiddush cup, a pair of
small candles, a book of matches and several
booklets about Shabbat. There was even a
tiny vial of spices for Havdalah to mark the

Shabbos on page 11

