Chumash Students Make Shlissel Challah in Class

Morah Shira Sedek’s fifth- and sixth-grade Chumash classes made challah for the first Shabbat after Pesach. They made their loaves into fun shapes, including the shape of a key (known as a “shlissel challah”). They learned that, for Ashkenazim, this special challah week is traditional for three reasons:

1. It marks the first time after being freed from slavery that Jews were able to let dough rise and to perform mitzvot without being rushed.
2. It reminds us of the manna that fell from the sky to feed the Jewish people when they left Egypt.
3. Baking it in the shape of a key (“shlissel”) signifies the opening of doors in the new year, and we pray to unlock parnassa since it is currently harvesttime.

The students loved participating in this tradition—learning about the religious and cultural context while expressing their creativity, working together with their peers, and eating delicious challot!