Chana Bracha Siegelbaum, who heads the B'erot Bat Ayin girls' seminary, spoke with Israel National Radio's Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher about the spiritual power of baking Hebrew bread from wheat grown in the Land of Israel.
"Shavuot is the time of the sacrifice of the two wheat challot," Siegelbaum said, referring to the loaves of bread offered at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem before its destruction 2,000 years ago. "We have to understand the deep symbolic nature of challah. Women all over the world have begun to realize the power of baking their own challah and have been getting together to do so for the sake of healing someone or appealing to G-d to fulfill a specific prayer."
Challah bread, generally featuring eggs, oil and sugar, is today enjoyed at Jewish Sabbath tables across the globe.
At the Bat Ayin Hebrew bread baking, a prayer was said for the Jews of Gush Katif and the northern Shomron, as well as for the integrity of the Land of Israel. A piece of the dough was then separated and burned, in commemoration of the obligation to give part of the bread to a Kohen (priest).
The women then said the Hallel prayer, sung on the first day of every Jewish month, after which they practiced the art of challah braiding.
Bat Ayin is home to many organic wheat fields and a flour mill - an anomaly in Israel, as most of the bread in the Jewish state is produced from flour imported from the United States. "The Rambam talks about the importance of whole wheat as opposed to white flour," Siegelbaum said, adding that wheat from the Land of Israel is a spiritual antidote.
"Baking your own bread is a big thing. Shavuot is the culmination of our personal refinement," Siegelbaum said. "The process that goes into making wheat challah is what we go through on a psychological plane before receiving the Torah. In addition to learning about the meaning of the wheat, we also want to involve people in the process of how to get there. "
Click here to listen to the complete interview on Israel National Radio
"Shavuot is the time of the sacrifice of the two wheat challot," Siegelbaum said, referring to the loaves of bread offered at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem before its destruction 2,000 years ago. "We have to understand the deep symbolic nature of challah. Women all over the world have begun to realize the power of baking their own challah and have been getting together to do so for the sake of healing someone or appealing to G-d to fulfill a specific prayer."
Challah bread, generally featuring eggs, oil and sugar, is today enjoyed at Jewish Sabbath tables across the globe.
At the Bat Ayin Hebrew bread baking, a prayer was said for the Jews of Gush Katif and the northern Shomron, as well as for the integrity of the Land of Israel. A piece of the dough was then separated and burned, in commemoration of the obligation to give part of the bread to a Kohen (priest).
The women then said the Hallel prayer, sung on the first day of every Jewish month, after which they practiced the art of challah braiding.
Bat Ayin is home to many organic wheat fields and a flour mill - an anomaly in Israel, as most of the bread in the Jewish state is produced from flour imported from the United States. "The Rambam talks about the importance of whole wheat as opposed to white flour," Siegelbaum said, adding that wheat from the Land of Israel is a spiritual antidote.
"Baking your own bread is a big thing. Shavuot is the culmination of our personal refinement," Siegelbaum said. "The process that goes into making wheat challah is what we go through on a psychological plane before receiving the Torah. In addition to learning about the meaning of the wheat, we also want to involve people in the process of how to get there. "
Click here to listen to the complete interview on Israel National Radio