Re: CHAT: cross-culturation

On Tue, 4 Dec 2001 05:32:26 -0500 Robert Hailman <robert@...>
writes:
> As I understand it, having learned this from religious school as a
> small
> child who didn't pay much attention, the only differences between
> challah and "generic wheat bread" are that challah is made with
> more
> eggs, and it's made in accordance to rituals I don't remember. The
> first
> may be an Ashkenazic tradition, (which would explain why the bread
> is
> known outside of the Jewish world, ie. by Ukranians as has been
> mentioned) while the second is what seperates challah, by
> definition, from any other bread.
> Maybe one of the other Jews, or people well-versed in Judaism, on
> the
> list can add more, or correct me if I'm wrong.
> --
> Robert
-

What you're talking about is the place where "hhalah" bread got its name.
 According to traditional Jewish Law, if one makes a 'large' quantity of
dough (not being a breadmaker, i don't remember exactly what the amount
is) you have to remove a handful of the dough and burn it in the oven
until it is inedible.  That's because back in the day there was a tithe
called _hhalah_ where a voluntary (if i remember correctly) amount of
large quantities of dough was given to a member of the hereditary
priestly caste (the _kohanim_).  Since today even the kohanim aren't
ritually 'pure' and the tithes they used to get had to be eaten in a
state of ritual purity, today the dough that would have been given is
just burnt, because the person is still obligated to get rid of it even
if they can't give it to a _kohein_ (singular of _kohanim_).  So somehow
(maybe because only the bread that was made for sabbaths was made in
significant quantities to need the _hhalah_-removal ritual?) the name of
the ritual got transfered to the bread.


-Stephen (Steg)
 "there's only us / there's only this
  forget regret / or life is yours to miss"
     ~ _rent_

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