2,000 South African Women Join Mass Challah Baking
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
More than 2,000 South African Jewish women converged on a street in Johannesburg’s Glenhazel neighbourhood two weeks ago to learn the intricacies of preparing challah – the bread Jews customarily eat on Friday nights when saying Kiddush to mark the onset of Shabbat.
The street had been closed Thursday evening, with permission from the city council, and the scene was set for the women-only challah bake, where they learnt to knead and shape the dough before taking it home to bake for their Shabbat.
Their degree of religiosity ranged from secular to committedly frum. The event had the feeling of a festival, but with a serious intention.
The challah bake was part of The Shabbos Project, brainchild of Orthodox Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein to entice Jews, regardless of their degree of religiosity, into observing at least some aspects of Shabbat, without finger-wagging them to keep the full package of ritual.
For more go to Haaretz
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