Our First Shabbat

And an impromptu challah DIY

Shabbat was one of the reasons I wanted to convert to Judaism. I love rituals of many kinds, and I find this one to be so beautiful and important.

It is simply a day of rest, beginning at sundown Friday. The dinner is ritualized with a Hebrew prayer, lighting candles, drinking wine in a special cup (called a kiddish cup), and challah bread.

There is no work on Shabbat, and a common modern idea is to put away the phones, which I love. Of course more conservative Jews don’t even use electricity, but we are not that. For us it’s just about taking an evening to appreciate life and all of its riches, to really sit and just be together, to be present, to connect.

As with any other ritual, ancient or otherwise, I am of the mindset that you can and should make it your own. Modern Judaism encourages this. Make it work for your family. Say the prayer in Hebrew, or English, or you could even make up your own.

For me, though, it wouldn’t feel like Shabbat without a challah. Which is funny because I was driving all around our little town yesterday, up into the next one even, trying to find a loaf of challah. An even bigger issue when you’re dragging your one-year-old around with you, just before her lunchtime, who doesn’t exactly appreciate a good joy ride yet.

I got home undeterred. I had yeast, flour, eggs — why not make it myself? Well, because I already had a cake planned, and a good amount of textile work to do, so I didn’t want to lose my entire day to food prep, even if it was our first little family Shabbat. But you know me, once I have an idea in my head… I was not going to settle for no challah on our first Shabbat.

It was surprisingly easy to make. (Though I have made bread before, so I imagine if you’re completely new to it you might feel differently.) It takes some time to rise in between, but if you are working from home it’s very doable. Plus there are lots of options out there to start it the night before with an overnight rise in the fridge, if you need to.

I looked a a few recipes to get the overall idea and decided on this one, with a few tweaks (olive oil instead of vegetable, half bread flour), mainly because it looked like a clean recipe for one loaf. No room in my freezer for a second loaf, though now I do regret that choice a bit as we have a party tonight and it would have been a nice gift, to bring them a challah.

Every part about this, from the idea behind Shabbat itself to the making of the challah, makes me so excited for Violet to get to experience all of this, to grow up with these rituals.

Not to mention the best part of having leftover challah on hand, which is that Daddy will make you French toast with it on Sunday.

I was most intimidated by the braiding of it, but I found this superb YouTube tutorial that made it easy — and fun!

I think overall, it was really good, though maybe a bit heavy around the edges, and I’d like to get a shinier crust, so I will dig deeper on the egg wash next time. And see about how I can get it lighter, but maybe that will just come with time.

I am looking forward to a lifetime of practice.

Shabbat shalom,

Sarah 🪬