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Concept
Challah
Summary
Challah (ˈxɑːlə, חַלָּה ḥallā χa'la or ħɑl'la; plural: challot, Challoth or challos) is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable challah is made of dough from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering. Challah may also refer to the dough offering. The word is biblical in origin, though originally referred only to the dough offering. Similar braided breads such as kalach and vánočka are found across Central and Eastern Europe.
Dough offering
The term challah in Biblical Hebrew meant a kind of loaf or cake. The Aramaic word given for its translation is גריצא (pl. גריצן), and which word (var. ܓܪܝܨܐ / ܓܪܝܣܐ) Payne Smith defines as "a cake or loaf," or "morsel of bread." In Hebrew, the word challah is derived from the root chet-lamed-lamed (hallal) which means “hollow,” “space” or “pierced.”
In Rabbinic terminology, challah often refers to the portion of dough which must be separated before baking, and set aside as a tithe for the Kohen, since the biblical verse which commands this practice refers to the separated dough as a "challah". The practice of separating this dough sometimes became known as separating challah (הפרשת חלה) or taking challah. The food made from the balance of the dough is also called challah. The obligation applies to any loaf of bread, not only to the Shabbat bread. Nevertheless, separating challah may have been more common when baking the Shabbat bread than at other times, because separating challah is only required for large batches of dough (using over 10 cups of flour), such as might be prepared for special occasions.
Challah may also be referred to as cholla bread. In Poland it is commonly known as chałka (diminutive of chała, pronounced ), in Ukraine as 'kolach' or 'khala' and khala () in Belarus, Russia.
Yiddish communities in different regions of Europe called the bread khale, berkhes or barches, bukhte, dacher, kitke, koylatch or koilitsh, or shtritsl.
Official source
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