On October 7 our world stood still. It did not matter whether you were celebrating Simchas Torah or were at the Nova Music Festival, the atrocities that took place targeted the Jewish nation as a whole. No matter where you live, where you pray or who your friends are, all Jews were a target. Since that dreadful day, we have cried and celebrated, we have hoped and prayed, and each day we are hurting, knowing that our brothers and sisters are still in harm’s way.
Minutes, hours, days and months have passed and we have since celebrated Chanukah, Purim and Pesach. There is a feeling of guilt when we think HOW can we celebrate anything when our family is still held captive and the world around us is blinded by hate.
This year Yeshiva Derech HaTorah, a boys yeshiva in the heart of Brooklyn, put together a FAMILY Shlissel (Yiddish for “key”) Challah Bake. This meant that everyone, including grandparents, parents, sons and daughters, were invited to participate in the mitzvah of hafrashat challah. The minhag of baking a shlissel challah has been performed in Jewish homes across the world for hundreds of years. As early as the 18th-century, the sefer Ohev Yisroel by Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt, Poland mentioned this minhag. However, in recent years, social media has been abuzz with some claims that the origin of using a key might not be so “Kosher” and perhaps we should not continue this minhag. There will always be a debate on both sides of the aisle and perhaps that’s a good thing. As NCSY Rabbi Derek Gormin mentioned in his article on 4/8/21 in the Forward:
Whether you plan to make a delicious shlissel challah this year or to kvetch about those who do, don’t let the engagement and deep dive end there. A strong Jewish future depends on a thriving communal debate.
Whatever your thoughts on the use or shape of the key might be, we should all have health, bracha and parnassah in the coming year. This year’s YDH Shlissel Challah bake was done in honor of the hostages and brave soldiers. It also raised money for the school to help run the outstanding programs that take place year round.
Rabbi Mordechai Schiffman opened the event with tehillim reading for Israel, safe return of the hostages and success of our troops, calling up third grade Yosef and 7th grade Jakey to recite the tehillim. Shoshi Skolnick, from Knead the Dough, led the crowd with instructions on how to knead the best dough possible. Each baking station was set up with pre-measured ingredients, and families had a fun time adding, mixing and kneading together. Shoshi demonstrated each step with humor and precise instruction. “My favorite part was the ease of mixing the challah in one bowl with the use of a well,” said Hinda, a mother of five YDH boys.
In addition to all the hands-on baking that took place, there was also an exciting Raffle Prize station organized by YDH Parent Association, apron-decorating station, acapella music by DJ Nerya Cohen, and a photo wall featuring a FULL size foam car prop provided by Plaza Auto Mall.
It was a very memorable event, as Shari, a mother of two YDH boys put it, “I hope it becomes an annual event because I never get to bring my boys to a challah bake! We had a great time!”
To put this event together was no small task. Passover ended on a Tuesday night, and the event took place that Thursday night. This meant that all preparations and planning needed to be set in place weeks before the event. To make it possible, the YDH marketing department left no stone unturned, reaching out to countless corporations to partner and help further enhance this community event. When we asked corporations to join, we had a simple message: “As with all things in life, we are better and stronger when we have good support behind us.” Many didn’t answer, a few politely declined, BUT we are here to say a BIG thank you to the three corporate sponsors: Elite Insurance, Plaza Auto Mall and Aid Pharmacy that no doubt are a part of our community and made a big difference in how the event turned out.
The participants left this event with feelings of achdut and simcha. We, the Jewish people are united by our traditions and our roots. We have one homeland, although we have lived in many. And while we might not always agree, we are always stronger when united. In short, no matter your feelings of whether key or no key, we ALL agree that coming together as a community is most important and we ‘knead’ to always remember that. Looking forward to seeing everyone next year!!
