Pray; help me to have simcha (happiness) in my home, in my life. He teaches that God is the only One we may serve and praise; that we may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements; there are no intermediaries between us and God; that all our prayers should be directed towards God; and that nothing else should even be considered. Nonetheless, it’s well known that HaRambam himself would have been utterly against the practice of baking a key into a bread which allegedly could influence the Almighty. On the far end of the scale, it can be said that shlissel challah observance is a nothing less than ‘the way of the Amorites.’ It is precisely this type of behavior and observance which Jews are supposed to separate themselves from, so it doesn’t go on to influence our thoughts and deeds. This custom is known as shlissel challah — shlissel from the German language shlüssel (key) and challah or hallah from the Hebrew for bread. 21. chochma. This would certainly include baking a key inside a loaf of bread and/or shaping a bread in the form of a key, then expecting it to either change your fortune or influence your future. I learnt a valuable lesson. We had both forgotten what was unique about this […] the Easter Passover’), Greek Πάσχα, Aramaic pasḥā, in turn from the Hebrew pessah, which means “to be born on, or to be associated with, Passover day.” Since the Hebrew holiday Passover coincides closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the Latin word came to be used for both occasions. 1).In Shir Hashirim (which we read on Pesach) it says לִּי אֲחתִֹּי רַעְיתִָּי-פִּתְחִּי – “Open for Me, My sister, My beloved”. VII. Don’t let it rise too much or it may lose some of its beautiful shape. The Golden Bough. You can do this by slipping a key directly in the challah, by baking it in the dough [4] 6, pp. I asked around and found out that my Jewish friends were making something called ‘Shlissel Challah.’ After a bit of research and a lot of Google searches, I learned this ‘key bread’ is a custom of many Ashkenazi women (Jews with family roots in countries of Europe and Asia) to place a key inside the dough of a loaf of challah or shape the dough like a key the weekend after Passover. It seems (from both of the above sources) that the minhag was to bake the key on top of the challah not inside (a la the old He is the founder of www.Mesora.org and publisher of the JewishTimes. 86, No. W While a metal key is often baked within the bread, some form the bread itself into the shape of a key or … The Irish in particular have been known to bake a key in the shape of a cross inside the bread during the Easter period. [18] See. [citation needed] It is uncertain, however, how cross buns are similar to shlissel challah, other than the fact that people have always made signs or symbols on their bread. The need for a quick ‘spiritual fix’ such as baking a bread with a key in it and hoping God rewards the baker(s), seems to have replaced the desire for pure prayer with kavanah (intrinsic intent). (See Ohev Yisroel, Shabbos Acher Pesach), Different ways of making Shlissel Challah. The custom of Schlissel Challah has become very widespread, not only in the Chassidish world but in many other communities as well. Further, the connection to the Omer is clearly out of context, as what the Gemara says is that “Fifty gates of understanding were created in the world, and all were given to Moshe except one.” This, of course, is completely unrelated to the topic of the Omer. [34] The idea of the 50th day represents the sha’ar hanun (50th gate), which according to kabbalah is known as the sha’ar binah (gate of understanding—and, since we are said to go {spiritually} from gate to gate,[35] this is why the focus is on a key, as a key will ‘unlock’ a gate. aishdas.org/avodah/vol25/v25n384.shtml & aishdas.org/avodah/vol28/v28n067.shtml#03, [19] ravaviner.com/2011/04/shut-sms-110.html. This is a well observed custom you might want to try for yourself. Separate Challah Prayer-Sephardim: 4. From a mishna we already see that there is a connection between Pesach and parnasa. Brush the challah with a beaten egg. Breslov Customs for Pesach (page 57) says this is the minhag of the family of Reb Elazar Kenig shlita and of Manistritch. Rabbi Pinchas Shapiro of Kovitz (b. I got an email about it on my local communityshuls mailing list. (See: Tabory, Joseph. This is a well observed custom you might want to try for yourself. Rosh Hashanah is known for challah — specifically, round-shaped challah. There is a tradition in some Jewish communities to make shlissel challah the week after Pesach.

Turn the dough out onto a floured worktop and divide into 12 equally sized pieces. Ritually-acceptable challah is … This custom is known as shlissel challah — shlissel from the German language shlüssel (key) and challah or hallah from the Hebrew for bread. [11] Similar, there are modern non-Jewish customs, such as in Mexico, where a ‘baby Jesus’ figurine is baked into cupcakes; often, the child who finds it wins a prize. posuk תּוֹרֵי זהָָב נעֲַשֶׂה לָךְ עִּם נקְֺדּוֹת הַכָסֶׂף, connecting the written and oral Torah to challah. The Gemara quoted by the Yismach Yisroel (reason 6), about the key, is at the top of daf 31b. London 1776. Yet, last week, my wife spent the better part of Friday afternoon running from grocery store to supermarket in the pursuit of . “From The Crucifixion of the Paschal Lamb.” The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. . Rabbi Azose said: “It's a sad commentary on the state of Jewry today that such a custom [shlissel challah] has become so widespread and accepted; moreover that there are not more contemporary Torah leaders who are not decrying this practice.” Via email December 20, 2011.). Based on this there are customs in Sephardic communities to do things Motzei Pesach as a sign that we want Hashem to give us livelihood. Absorbing Perfections: Kabbalah And Interpretation. There is a minhag to bake shlissel challah (shlissel means key in Yiddish) for the Shabbos after Pesach. Some people place an actual key into the challah dough, while others prefer to shape the actual dough into a key-shaped loaf. Also, Klal Yisroel is called a bride and they are called the bechina (aspect) of bread. [24] It also occasionally takes place by those in the Reform and Conservative synagogue movements and at ‘JCC’ Jewish Community Centers. There are many reasons given for this minhag of baking shlissel challah; we will go through some of them. In some Jewish circles, there is the tradition of baking a special type of challah for the first Shabbat after Passover. Increasingly, tefillot (prayer) is being trumped by what is ‘cool,’ ‘the in thing,’ or being ‘with it.’ The truth of the matter is, often in the observant Jewish world, people care more about ‘fitting in’ with their peers, then with God. At the bottom of the daf is the mishna mentioning the women’s mitzvah of challah. It's a very interesting custom with many sources and traditions. 395-406. For information or to advertise, email us at thefivetowns@aol.com or call (516) 569 4671. This is also practiced in the U.S. state of Louisiana beginning at Mardi Gras and practiced for 30 days after. [21] “Segulas: Open Letter about the Shliss Challah from Moshe Ben-Chaim” (Mesora.Org) reposted on aishdas.org/avodah/vol28/v28n067.shtml#12, [22] Mann, Reuven. Tizku L'mitzvos!) Remove a small piece from the dough, lift it, and say: Separate Challah Prayer-Say-This is Challah The piece of dough can be of any size. (Lev. . An interesting observation about this. As mentioned above (reasons 8 and 9) there are those that make the challah round and flattish for this Shabbos, in the image of matza. Educated Jews should help to promote Torah sources to our friends and neighbors, not false practices which are of non-Jewish origin and have nothing to do with Judaism. Part 5. 302 (Thanks go to Rabbi Yossie Azose who led me to this mention. See: Reider, Freda. Fun times, fun times... 10:50 AM, May 02, 2008 Further, the connection to the Omer is clearly out of context, as what the Gemara says is that “Fifty gates of understanding were created in the world, and all were given to Moshe except one.” This, of course, is completely unrelated to the topic of the Omer. Therefore, we put a key in the challah after Pesach to hint at us opening a small “hole”, through the mitzvah of Shabbos (and, if I might add, the mitzvah of challah) and now Hashem should open up all His good from his storehouses and the heavens like He gave the mon to our fathers in the month of Iyar, and this Shabbos we bless the month of Iyar. We invite you to use our Search tool, and our Philosophy and Bible Study links to continue learning about the Bible, the Jewish religion. The Gemara in Taanis says there are three keys that Hashem controls directly, without the assistance of Malachim. Shlissel Challah and Segulah Now to the segulah of Shlissel Challah, which is to either bake a key into a challah, or to form the challah in the shape of a key for the first Shabbat after Passover. 23:15-16). Scavenger hunts usually do not find their way on to the Shabbos preparation “To Do” list maintained by my family. It’s never too late to realign our path with Torah sources, not blind faith practices which are “trendy,” “in,” or “cool.”. (Some of the items written below can also be found in Taamei Minhagim, Nitei Gavriel, Sefer Hatoda’a and Minhag Yisroel Torah). There is a custom to bake key-shaped or Shlissel challah in honor of the Shabbat after Pesach. Preheat the oven; while it is heating, brush your challah with a beaten egg. We will discuss this later on. The key, or shlissel as it is called in Yiddish, is meant to symbolize openings, passageways, and transition. Chazal say that Hashem asks us to open up for Him a small whole like the tip of a needle and He will open up a huge hole for us. On the Shabbos following Pesach, there is a custom of some to bake "Shlissel Challah" - challah with the design of a key, or challah with a real key actually baked into it. The loaf, with a long metal key impressed and left to bake on top, is captioned: “Hallah from Volhynia [Western Ukraine near Poland and Belarus] for the first Sabbath after Passover. May we all be blessed with parnasa berevach together with all of Klal Yisroel. What I do believe in is prayer. In his view, the key challah focuses our prayers during that interlude. [1] Jews with family roots in countries of Europe and Asia such as Poland, Belarus, Hungary, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, etc. [2] Note: as of late, this custom is becoming increasingly common among Sephardic Jews as well due to co-mingling of communities and day-to-day social intercourse. The Meiri, however, says that on Rosh Hashana it is decided if one will live or die, suffer or not and other such things, but on Pesach is when we are judged on the grains. 158 (It’s been supposed the British custom of ‘cross-buns,’ small rolls with a cross on them eaten on the Christian holiday of Good Friday {the Day of the Cross}, probably arose from this.). (פ״ת is bread, representing the “hamets” and מ׳ is for matsa- these allude to Hilkhot Hamets uMatsa, and the ח׳ is the 8 mitsvot involved). New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. At weddings, there are many different types of segulot , such as a single woman wearing the bride's jewelry while she stands underneath the chuppah in order to merit a husband. 1726), a student of the Baal Shem Tov, taught that the gates of heaven are open during Pesach and for a short period following. I believe in a direct connection to G-d, Who is always available to listen. Further, modern commentators have exploited the name of HaRambam (Maimonides), to indicate that he demonstrates an association between the idea of a key with challah. There are also other reasons to this custom in Klal Yisroel. It is alleged to be a segulah for parnassah(sustenance). Then sprinkle them with There, a ‘baby Jesus’ toys baked into a whole cake, and whoever finds the baby in their piece has to buy the next day's cake. These first three customs can, perhaps, be seen from the wording of the Ohev Yisroel in one place where he says we put the image of a key on the challah. This was when Christianity emerged in Roman Judea as a Jewish religious sect which gradually spread out of Jerusalem. bbalah And Interpretation. There is an interesting custom that reoccurred recently – the custom of baking a “Shlissel Challah” on the Shabbos immediately following Passover. [10] Another account mentions a key in a loaf: “In other parts of Esthonia [sic], again, the Christmas Boar [cake], as it is called, is baked of the first rye cut at harvest; it has a conical shape and a cross is impressed on it with a pig’s bone or a key, or three dints are made in it with a buckle or a piece of charcoal. Part 5. See: Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. Some opinions indicate rabbinic evidence shows that in Jerusalem the Jewish paschal lamb was offered in a manner which resembled a crucifixion. The Golden Bough. They were able to understand reasons for every little action we do as a way of serving Hashem. Bloomington, Indiana University, 1965. [36] Purportedly we learn from the “Tzvi LaTzadik” that he lists at the beginning of his Hilkhot Hamets uMatsa, that there are 8 mitsvot (3 positive and 5 negative) involved with connecting the idea of a key with challah. Shelomo Alfassa is a Judaic studies educator and author who focuses on history, rabbinics and talmud. Just because people DO things doesn't mean they believe in or even think about the reasons why these things were (allegedly or truly Every minhag and of course every mitzvah has many holy reasons behind it and it’s not done just because someone decided this is a nice thing to do, as some say. Shlissel challah For the Shabbat Mevarchim preceding Rosh Chodesh Iyar (i.e., first Shabbat after the end of Passover ), some Ashkenazi Jews have the custom of baking shlissel [30] challah ("key challah") as a segula (propitious sign) for parnassa (livelihood). This shlissel challah thing has been spreading like wildfire this weekend. 3/4 (Jan.-Apr., 1996), pp. This week is the week to bake shlissel challah, challah imprinted with or shaped like a key. The key is supposed to allow the opening of the gates of heaven for money and making a living. Both represent prayers for abundance and good fortune. Judaism allows and encourages the use of our minds. [36] Such alleged connections are baseless and are only meager attempts to legitimize the idea of shlissel challah. The more I looked into shlissel challah the more I found in seforim written by Rabbonim who were geonim in every part of Torah, nistar and nigleh, and tzadikim in every aspect, between “man and God” and “between man and man”. Many even shape their challah to look like a key. VII. When it begins to bubble, add the yeast mixture to the larger bowl with the hole in the center of the flour. 302 (Thanks go to Rabbi Yossie Azose who led me to this mention. In Spain, there is a tradition of placing a small Jesus doll inside a cake and whoever finds it must take it to the nearest church on February 2, Candlemas Day (Día de la Candelaria), which celebrates the presentation of Jesus in Jerusalem. Made either in the shape of a key or with a key baked inside, the special bread is known as shlissel challah , with shlissel being the Yiddish word for "key." 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