26 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2024
J
N
L
ast year, 600 Metro Detroit
Jewish women gathered to
knead and braid challah at
RISE Challah Bake at the Nancy
Grosfeld Campus of Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah in Oak Park.
It was a time of unity. Taking place
in November, just one month after
the events in Israel that would set
off a war with Hamas and increased
antisemitism worldwide, RISE
Challah Bake was an emotional,
powerful and moving event for
women in the Jewish community
feeling isolated.
Now, Partners Detroit’s beloved
baking event will return for a pre-
Rosh Hashanah iteration.
RISE Challah Bake will once
again be held at the Nancy Grosfeld
Campus on Sept. 22, though this
year’s event will take place in the
evening with doors opening at 6:30
p.m.
The event is open to Jewish
women of all ages and abilities,
including first-time bakers, and
costs $25 per person or $180 for a
table that can accommodate up to 10
people.
This year’s guest baker will
be Jewish recipe developer Giti
Friedman, founder of Just Bake It.
“She has an exciting energy,” says
Partners educator Racheli Indig. “It’s
going to make the room that much
more magical.” Friedman will also
offer guests expert baking tips.
As the theme of unity continues,
the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and its
lasting impact will also be top of
mind at the event. In fact, Partners
Detroit educators say prayers will be
recited for Israel.
“What’s beautiful about this event
is that it’s 20 Jewish organizations
from across the spectrum of the
Jewish community coming together
for an evening of connection and
unity,” says fellow Partners educator
Shaindel Fink. “Prayer is our way of
connecting with our Jewish brothers
and sisters in Israel and fighting for
them in our own way.”
Guests can expect an exciting,
moving night full of song, dance and
timeless Jewish traditions.
In honor of Rosh Hashanah,
this year’s challah will be a special
round bread to represent the High
Holidays. There will also be honey
and sweet toppings to welcome the
Jewish New Year.
Each table will also have challah
“doctors” or helpers walking around
to guide people through the challah-
making process, so Indig says you
don’t have to worry if you’re a first-
time baker.
In addition, guests will go home
with a baking apron, dough knife
and an egg wash brush to recreate
their favorite challah recipes at
home. And, of course, the challah
they make that night.
It’s a night Partners Detroit hopes
guests will walk away from feeling
inspired and united.
“So much of what’s going on in
Israel right now makes us realize
that more than ever, we need to be
united,” Fink says.
“There is power in women and
prayer,” Indig adds.
To register for RISE Challah Bake, visit
partnersdetroit.org/rise.
Annual baking event,
RISE Challah Bake,
returns this September.
Uniting
Jewish
Women
Through
Challah
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
Metro Detroit
women join hands
at last year’s RISE
Challah Bake.
Giti
Friedman
ROBERT BRUCE PHOTOGRAPHY