OUR COMMUNITY

L

ots of people bake challah for Shabbat. And lots of peo-
ple study the Torah portion that is read in synagogues 
every Shabbat. But only a few bake challahs that illustrate 
the weekly parshah. Davida (De-De) Robinson is one of them.
She got the idea from her son Ian, who was working in Chile 
a few years ago. He told her the rebbitzin at the synagogue 
he attended made challah every week shaped to relate to the 
Torah reading. 
Robinson had just retired from teaching second grade at 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek’s religious school and thought 
this would be a good way to continue teaching and learning 
Torah. Her project forces her to dig deep and view the words 
through a new lens. Sometimes her breads are a more literal 
portrayal of the portion; other times the statement is more 
artistic.
“When I can make these ancient words in the Torah relevant 
to life today, it all comes together for me,” said Robinson, who 
lives in Franklin with her husband, Warren, and is a member 
of B’nai Israel Synagogue and the Isaac Agree Downtown 
Synagogue.
Interpreting and translating each Torah portion into a cre-
ative challah design can be challenging, she said. She’s going 
into her fourth year of baking Torah-related challahs and 
doesn’t want to repeat a design, or even the part of the weekly 
portion she references.
Robinson posts photos of her challahs on her Facebook 
page, along with a “d’var challah,” a brief summary of the rela-
tionship of the challah to the parshah.
For Parshat Vayishlach last November, which tells of the 
meeting between brothers Esau and Jacob after 20 years apart, 
Robinson related the story to Detroit-area brothers Bryan 
and Danny Fenster, who were reunited after Danny had been 
imprisoned for months in Myanmar. The challahs portrayed 
two figures hugging. “What we read in the Torah between Esau 
and Jacob gives us hope on repairing relationships; what we 
witnessed this week with Danny and Bryan also gives us hope, 
hope that justice can win over corruption,” she wrote.
During the pandemic, Robinson found many of the Torah 
portions related to the experiences she and a lot of her 

Local baker connects her challah 
to the weekly Torah portion.

A ‘Dvar 
Challah’

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

22 | APRIL 14 • 2022 

Davida (De-De) 
Robinson bakes 
challahs that illustrate 
the weekly Torah 
portion.

