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

