Challah_Basics

What is Challah?
The bread we call challah is a sweet bread made with eggs. It is typically
braided except for Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, and through Sukkot when
it is round.

Challah is the portion of bread (hametz) that is taken from a batch of
dough. This is a symbolic portion that is burnt instead of eaten. All kosher
bakeries must take a portion of the dough and burn it after saying the
appropriate blessing. During temple times, the priest did not work, so a
portion of food was given to them as their allotment for doing G-d's work.

Why challah?
Challah (challot in plural) are usually eaten on Shabbat (Sabbath) to show
the richness of ones life, eggs and grains together would not be a typical
fare for someone with little income. Therefore in order to show the richness
in ones life, challah should be eaten on Shabbat.

Is your challah Pas Yisroel?
Yes, our challah is Pas Yisroel along with most of our bakery products, some
items are par-baked from other suppliers and baked to completion in our
kitchen.

What is Pas Yisroel?
It means it is baked by someone who is Jewish.

How come the synagogue always serves challot in pairs?
Challah are supposed to be served in pairs on the Shabbat and holidays.
There are two reasons for this tradition, just as there are a minimum of two
challot. During Temple times there were breads laid out as "showbreads".
The other reason is during the Exodus, 40 years of roaming in the desert,
manna was not provided on Shabbat, but a double portion was provided the
day before.

How many challah do I need?
As many as you would like, challah makes an excellent french toast, plus
the more guests you have the more challah you will need.

I've heard and seen challah pronounced many ways,
which way is right?
Here is a listing of some of the spellings and their origins:
"Challah, hallah, Barches (German and western Yiddish), Barkis
(Gothenburg), Bergis (Stockholm), khala (Russian), khale (eastern Yiddish)"
extracted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah It can also just be
referred to as egg bread.

The pronunciation varies locally is hal-la, but it really just depends on how
you want to pronounce it.

Why is the challah braided in 3-strands?
Challah can be braided or shaped in many ways, but traditionally 3-strands.
Per http://shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/07-index.html:

"The three braids are symbolic of the commands to observe Shabbat that
appear in the Ten Commandments One braid represents the word "Zachor" -
"Remember." A second braid represents the word "Shamor" - "Guard." The
third braid is for "b'Dibbur Echad" - that these commands of "Remember" and
"Guard" were said by G-d simultaneously and as one unit.

Another reason is that Shabbat signifies and reminds us of three different
concepts: The Creation of the World, the Exodus from Egypt and the
Messianic Era. This is also the reason for three distinct separate Amidot -
Silent Prayers - on Shabbat, as opposed to the weekday Amidah which is of
identical wording three times a day (the theme of the fourth prayer of
Shabbat - Mussaf ("additional") is said for the additional Temple sacrifice for
Shabbat, and also applies on Festivals.) This idea also provides an
understanding for the three meals eaten on Shabbat."