Challah: The Blessing in the DoughSample

Challah: The Blessing in the Dough

Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. — NUMBERS 15:20

There’s nothing quite like walking into a home where challah is baking in the oven. The heavenly aroma fills the house, evoking a sense of warmth and well-being. Yet, this braided Sabbath bread is more than just a recipe that has been fine-tuned and handed down over thousands of years. According to Jewish tradition, this special bread is the ultimate blending of physical goodness and spiritual blessings.

When the term challah is first introduced in the Bible, it is not a direct reference to the Sabbath bread that we eat today. The verse reads: “Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor” (Numbers 15:20). The “loaf” mentioned in the verse is called challah in Hebrew, and in actuality, it's not any bigger than a large olive.

The practice was to separate a small piece of dough when baking bread and give that to God’s priests who worked in the Temple. Challah is actually the term given to that piece of dough. However, the term became synonymous with the bread made from the rest of the dough as well.

The dough from which challah has been taken is said to be filled with blessings. The Talmud, Judaism’s oral tradition, teaches that this ritual was so cherished that young single women would save their money to buy the ingredients to make challah and perform the commandment of taking challah from the dough. The blessings derived from this practice were seen as the foundation of their future homes.

Today, this commandment is still treasured and practiced by Jews around the world. In this month’s study we will learn how this ancient practice brings rich blessings to our lives even today, and from it, we learn the spiritual lesson that “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

• Unless otherwise noted, all Bible verses in this plan are from the New International Version (NIV).