The Rising Life Page 13

  lah, it is recommended that she at least bake (and separate) chal-

  lah once a year, during these 10 days. This meditation focuses on

  teshuvah, the process of return, adapted from the teachings of the

  Baal Shem Tov.

  While kneading the dough, we visualize the separate cells of

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  C H A L L A H M E D I T A T I O N S

  the flour merging with the unifying chesed of water and becom-

  ing a more perfect substance than before.

  1. Hachna’ah/Submission: We bring to mind those things in

  our own life that bring feelings of regret and brokenness. We

  allow ourselves to simply be in that reality. Perhaps it is a rela-

  tionship that has brought pain or separation into our life. Per-

  haps it is a tragic occurrence that is causing us to feel broken

  and low, or, perhaps it is simply the pain of feeling disjointed

  and alienated.

  See how the ingredients are messy, scattered all over the bowl

  (and maybe the kitchen!) and seemingly not the perfect round

  challah dough that you are dreaming of. Allow that to be the re-

  ality for the moment.

  2. Havdalah/Separation: A great practice when kneading is

  to walk away from the bowl for a few minutes after the initial

  mixing. It’s good to allow the ingredients to come together on

  their own somewhat; the gluten starts developing, softening the

  dough and making the kneading process easier. Additionally,

  this becomes a part of our three part teshuvah meditation. This

  is the havdalah/separation stage of healing. In the first stage of

  submission we reflect on those things that are causing us to feel

  pain or brokenness in our lives. Now, we walk away from these

  issues and observe them from a distance, realizing that they are

  not part of our essential self. They are external garments to our

  self, not an appendage that is permanently attached to, or de-

  fining, us.

  3. Hamtakah/Sweetening: Now we return to our kneading

  job.

  As we scrape together all the bits and pieces of flour and oth-

  er various scattered ingredients and incorporate them into the

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  R I S I N G

  perfection of our dough, we knead these hurts back into our life.

  This time, however, we see them clearly for what they are. Not

  our defining traits, they are separate to our essential wholeness.

  In reintegrating the mistakes or the wrongs that were done by

  us or to us, we see how they all come together to form a perfect

  roundness. Everything becomes part of the circle of our life and

  our existence. This is the sweetening, the healing of our story.

  The sweetening continues with the final blessing and eating of

  the baked challah, when we truly integrate the challah, and all

  of the once disparate particles, into ourselves and allow it to be-

  come part of our beautiful future.

  Kneading Meditation II

  : “ Ein od Milvado / There is nothing else besides the

  oneness of Hashem”

  When kneading all the ingredients together, we meditate on

  the unification of all of creation. We observe how all things that

  seem separate to us in our lives—be it people, events, even our

  own emotions and reactions—are really one, an inextricable

  part of G-d, the Source of all creation and sustenance.

  “The earth will be filled with the intimate knowledge of Hashem,

  as the waters fill the seas” (Yeshayahu 11:9). As the water brings all ingredients together and reveals their inherent unity, so, too, the

  knowledge of the single Source of all of creation and the inti-

  mate oneness of all existence fills our frame of awareness and

  awakens us to “ein od milvado/ there is nothing besides Him.”

  By recognizing the oneness of all creation and the infinite po-

  tentiality of blessing that a state of unity brings, we draw down

  tremendous blessing into our challah, our homes, and our lives.

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  C H A L L A H M E D I T A T I O N S

  Hafrashat Challah

  : meditation for separating the challah

  As we lay our hands upon the dough to recite the blessing,

  we allow all of time to pause for a moment. All the hustle and

  bustle of preparing the dough, the frenetic activity of Shabbat

  preparation—it all dissolves in this span of silence. This is not a

  time for active engagement, it is a time for deep contemplation

  and processing.

  The feel of the dough beneath our hands is warm and alive.

  We have put the best of ourselves into the making of this. Our

  weeklong efforts to secure financial sustenance have allowed

  us to buy and collect the necessary ingredients and the work

  of our hands has kneaded it together and formed this perfect

  dough that we now rest our weary hands upon. At this moment

  it is easy to feel a niggling of pride and vanity: “The strength and

  power of my own two hands have made this happen for me” (De-

  varim 8:17).

  However, as we prepare the challah we are moving from the

  weekday reality of feeling our own creativity powering our suc-

  cess, to the Shabbat reality of recognizing that all that sustains

  us is sourced in the One above. When we remove a piece of

  dough, the “challah gift,” we are acknowledging the deep truth

  that all that we have and all that we have done, is by the grace of

  G-d. The world and all that is in it belongs to Hashem and we are

  but grateful partakers of His goodness.

  If we were merely physical beings, collections of atoms and

  particles, we would be limited to material reality. We would

  essentially be prisoners of physical matter, chained to cause

  and effect. But we are not physical creatures. We are a soul, en-

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  R I S I N G

  clothed in the garb of flesh and blood. We are not entrapped by

  the laws of physics and not bound by the dictates of science.

  “He breathed into his nostrils the neshamah of life” (Bereishit

  2:7). As the Alter Rebbe explains it in Tanya, this means that we

  are truly and completely a part of the Divine that enlivens each

  one of us at all moments. This is to say that at our very core

  we are a G-dly breath, a deep and essential Divine element that

  transcends and gives life to all physical matter.

  The taking of the piece of challah is our reminder of this es-

  sential truth. If we were but a creature of matter, our deepest

  concern would be that of our physical survival. The ego would

  rule and it would be an “each man for himself” reality. If we can

  remove a piece of our sustenance and declare it to be sourced

  in a higher origin, we are then connecting to that nucleus of our

  self that is sourced in the fountainhead of G-dliness.

  Recite the blessing and feel the energy flow downwards, be-

  ginning in the Source of all brachot/blessings – that endless res-

  ervoir of all goodness and light – and culminating in the blessing

  within the dough beneath your palms.

  Tear off a small piece of the dough. Feel the ripping of one re-

  ality into the next. This is the tearing off of our smallness, our
>
  attachment to this physical world, and the release into the world

  of formless and infinite possibility.

  After separating the dough, hold it for a moment in your hand

  as you declare it to be challah. “Harei zu challah.” This small

  chunk of dough is a portion of your sustenance that you are

  willingly and joyfully relinquishing. This is the truest sense of

  tzedakah/justice. When the dough was given to the priest in the

  Temple, it was the highest form of giving that was possible. To

  give of our sustenance is to relinquish our ego, our very survival

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  C H A L L A H M E D I T A T I O N S

  instinct, to go beyond our humanity, and become G-dlike in that

  moment.

  When we hold the challah in our hand, we are, for that mo-

  ment, transcending our physical restrictions and limitations and

  the time/space/cause/effect continuum of the physical world

  and entering a place of infinity.

  In this space all is still formless and possible—and it is from

  this place that we pray for all blessings to be revealed.

  Meditation While Eating the Challah

  “You shall serve Hashem your G-d and He will bless your bread

  and your water . . .” (Shemot 23:25).

  The Baal Shem Tov explains this to mean that when we speak

  words of Torah during our meals, the words become the soul for

  the physicality [of the food] that is on the table. While eating the

  challah, we meditate upon the fact that the Creator’s presence

  resides within His food. As we ingest and digest this challah, we

  are conscious of Hashem’s blessing enlivening us and giving us

  energy, both physical and spiritual, through the absorption of

  the challah.

  The above verse in Shemot continues by saying, “and I will re-

  move all sickness from your midst.” As we partake of the challah,

  we meditate on the spiritual healing properties of the challah

  and have the intention that the blessing in this challah will serve

  to eradicate all illness from our lives and bring perfect whole-

  ness and health.

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  R I S I N G

  "YOU CAN STAND AND LOOK AT THEM, EVEN THE FIRST TIME, WITH AN ALMOST

  MYSTICAL PRIDE AND FEELING OF SELF-PLEASURE. YOU WILL KNOW,

  AS YOU SMELL THEM AND REMEMBER THE STRANGE COOL SOLIDITY OF THE DOUGH

  PUFFING UP AROUND YOUR WRIST WHEN YOU HIT IT, WHAT PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN

  FOR CENTURIES ABOUT THE SANCTITY OF BREAD. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY

  CERTAIN SIMPLE MEN, IN OLD CENTURIES, USED TO APOLOGIZE TO THE FAMILY LOAF

  IF BY ACCIDENT THEY DROPPED IT FROM THE TABLE.”

  — MFK FISHER, HOW TO COOK A WOLF

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  SECTION II:

  Making the Challah

  GROUNDING INTENTION IN PRACTICE

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  R I S I N G

  It’s been great sharing with you about the deeper significance

  of challah and how every aspect of the making of it mirrors our

  nurturing potential. But I think it’s time we actually got our hands

  in a bowl and made some challah!

  This section of the book, Making the Challah, is where the lofty

  becomes alive and we get to partake of the fruits of our labors.

  I have kept it simple in this volume, sharing with you exactly

  what you will need to make a fantastic, no-fail challah using my

  “Classic Challah Recipe” and thorough directions, including il-

  lustrated instructions for shaping a six-braided challah.

  However, please note that the following pages are but a small

  taste of the offerings in my challah cookbook entitled RISING!

  The Book of Challah.

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  M A K I N G T H E C H A L L A H

  In the RISING cookbook there will be an entire cookbook’s

  worth of drool-worthy challah recipes, including healthful op-

  tions such as spelt, whole wheat, sourdough, and gluten-free,

  as well as many creative twists on the traditional challah recipe

  and even recipes for using leftover challah and extra dough!

  Also included in the RISING cookbook is a thorough explo-

  ration of the challah making process, including a digest of all

  ingredients, and variations/substitutions for the basic ingre-

  dients, and handy and helpful charts to illuminate the challah

  making process like never before!

  Kneading and rising techniques, baking, freezing, and storing

  are also all address thoroughly. It’s like having a challah baking

  expert hold your hand through the process! I hope you will buy

  the larger volume and enjoy all it has to offer! From my kitchen,

  to yours. . . with love.

  (See page 184 for a preview of Section II’s offerings in RISING!

  The Book of Challah. )

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  R I S I N G

  THE CRUMB

  THE CRUST

  THE CRUNCH

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  A N A T O M Y O F A P E R F E C T C H A L L A H

  Anatomy of a

  “Perfect Challah”

  The Perfect Challah is crisp with various shades of golden on the

  outside and a little “something, something” that crunches in your

  mouth at its very top. Cut through its snappy crust to its innards

  and it is moist yet somehow still airy, with a delicate, rich crumb

  (that’s breadspeak for the yummy inside of bread!). It is more

  dense than a regular bread, a close relative to the pound cake,

  and only a dubious acquaintance of a New York rye.

  (A note to my dear, diverse readers: there are those who pre-

  fer their challah to be more breadlike with an open and airy

  crumb. I have just the recipe for you. But, you will have to humor

  my love of vanilla and dense, rich challah until we get to it. If you

  absolutely can’t bear the wait, run, and buy a copy of RISING!, my

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  R I S I N G

  challah cookbook.)

  Ok, so here’s my caveat for this chapter, “Anatomy of a Perfect

  Challah,” which you will notice, I have surrounded in quotation

  marks.

  When challah is homemade, it may be perfect in its love, in-

  tention, and offering. This does not mean that it will look perfect.

  Every single week it will be slightly different. Sometimes it may

  look downright frightening. Although allow me to say – beauty

  is indeed in the eyes of the beholder – I personally have never

  seen an ugly challah.

  This is the beauty of the homemade Challah. If you want uni-

  formity, symmetry, and general blandness, look no further than

  your local bakery!

  Homemade Challah is a reflection of your current state of

  mind and heart and is not meant to look bakery made—it’s

  meant to look like you made it by yourself! (Yes, think 3rd grade

  messy art project.)

  I have been kneading, rising, braiding, and baking for close to

  20 years now and my challahs are still not flawless in their ap-

  pearance. But they are delicious. And lumpy, crooked, or weird

  as they may sometimes be, my children will not touch “bakery

  challah.” I am happy to say I have spoiled them to delicious im-

  perfection.

  It’s not about the final result; the process is where it�
��s at.

  I’m going to share with you a recipe you won’t find anywhere

  else. I know. I’ve looked. It took me many years to find/create

  the perfect challah recipe.

  This recipe is built upon countless other recipes that I have

  worked with in the past, most of them quite good, though none

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  A N A T O M Y O F A P E R F E C T C H A L L A H

  of them as completely amazing as this one! The thing with this

  recipe is . . . IT’S NO FAIL. Yes, I’m talking to you, Miss I-Give-

  Duncan-Hines a-Bad-Name.

  Over my many years of teaching challah classes, I have seen

  countless women succeed beyond their happiest imaginings to

  create a challah they were proud to serve. Many of these women

  had previously tried baking challah and failed in epic ways. Have

  you ever met someone with challah PTSD? I think I may actually

  have seen this in its severe form!

  But, after talking through the challah making process and

  breaking it down, with this recipe in hand, I have seen this trau-

  ma completely transformed.

  Women all over are baking challah with this incredible recipe

  and they are thrilled with the results, although, I would venture

  to say, the people lucky enough to taste it are even more so.

  Enough chatting, let’s make some challah!

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  R I S I N G

  Rebbetzin Rochie’s Classic Challah

  This is as close to a perfect challah as you can get, IMHO. Moist, sweet,

  and super light on the inside with a beautiful crust on the outside, the

  best part of this recipe is that it is NO FAIL. Ever. Everyone who has

  ever tried this recipe has been thrilled with the results. Are you ready

  to bake an incredible challah? Here goes!

  Note: this recipe can be made with spelt flour or whole wheat with only

  slight variations. For a spelt challah; add 3 eggs to the recipe, bringing

  the total eggs to 5 (not including the glaze). For a whole wheat challah,

  replace all or half the flour with whole wheat and double the rising time.

  RECIPE SIZES & YIELDS

  1. FULL RECIPE

  Yield: 8 1lb challahs

  Each 1lb challah yields

  6 small challah rolls

  or 3 large rolls

  Challah should be separated with a blessing when making this proportion of

  dough. Please see page 129 for detailed instructions.

  2. HALF RECIPE

  Yield: 4 1lb challahs

  Challah should be separated without a blessing when making this proportion