1,500 Women Bake Challah

By: Allison Solomon

It started with a call and ended with 1500 women, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends, in a banquet hall in Vaughan. The room was beautifully decorated as 1500 women sat down. But it wasn’t the room that people noticed, it was the energy, the sense of community, and the feeling of pride of being Jewish and participating in one of the greatest mitzvah that Hashem
commanded Jewish women, to bake their own challah.

It was a night of spiritual upliftment a night of connecting with our matriarchs, acknowledging the past and understanding that we the Jewish women of our community are the future matriarchs. We have the power to lead our families to maintain Jewish traditions and to ensure that our children continue these traditions.

Aprons were put on, flour, oil, sugar, water, salt and yeast were added and mixed. Each ingredient symbolized a moment to pause and pray for a family member, a friend, for one’s self for health, happiness, success and to maintain Jewish tradition. The women mixed and prayed and the energy in the room grew and grew. Culminating in 1500 women dancing around their tables, laughing and celebrating life. The power and energy was nothing that anyone in the room had ever experienced.

This is the power of Chabad. This is the power of 25 rebbetzins in southern Ontario who decided to hold a mega challah bake for 1,000 women which then grew to 1500 women, and many others turned away because of space constraints. This is the power of Chabad leaving 1500 women feeling a strong sense of Jewish pride, motivated to go out and be better mothers, sisters, friends and people.

So this Shabbos 1500 households across Ontario will have homemade challah on their table. It won’t be just any challah, but a challah that symbols one made with love and filled with blessings for their family and friends.

Thank you to the incredible rebbetzins of Chabad of southern Ontario for enabling all of us to experience a night that fed our mind, body and soul.

The power of Chabad lives on in each and every one of those 1500 women who attended the event. To be a part of this power and energy find the Chabad house nearest you and continue to be part of our events and lead the charge laid down by our Jewish matriachs Sara Rebecca Rachel and Leah. We are the future, we have the power to continue and maintain Jewish traditions. So let’s do it.