As many of you already know, I have a business that centers on challah demos – “challah experiences,” as I’ve branded them. With Hashem’s help my business is growing, and I get multiple requests per week. At this point I have lost track of how many private clients and groups I’ve been privileged to work with – yet every time I get to go to another home, another group, another shul or tour event, I thank Hashem. It’s such a special way to reach out to others while also maintaining my own business.
And then Covid-19 hit.
But not all at once, and not right away.
We heard rumblings about it already before Purim. At that point most were hoping that it would “pass over” by being more careful, using gloves and keeping distance from each other. And washing our hands over and over again. Just being careful.
But before we turned around, the whole world as we knew it came crashing down.
Yet even in all this, I experienced so much chessed from Hashem.
In fact, I may have been the very last person to perform in front of a tour group right before the entire tour group industry shut down altogether! (More on that one later!)
No business possible… or so I thought…
Pesach was fast approaching, and like so many other people, I had no business to look forward to. I mean, you can’t exactly do challah experiences for clients, hands-on and in person if we could not go anywhere, or be together, or even be in the same room with each other…
Like everyone else, it was hard.
I kept trying to strengthen myself as much as I could. The same Hashem that kept me going all these years knows how much I, as well as everyone else, needs to have parnossa, food to eat, money to pay our bills and so on. If He wants to provide for me, He will find a way. It’s out of my hands entirely.
But never did I think it would come from challah – and a request for it made on none other than Pesach!
Erev Shevi’i shel Pesach, Tuesday midday, I went to turn my computer off for yomtov. And then I saw an email from someone asking me if I could do a challah bake. Interesting topic when it was still Pesach! I opened it up thinking it was probably a promo of some kind or someone from overseas. Instead it was a new client asking me if I could do a challah bake for a family – via Zoom – and on Thursday, which in Israel was already post Pesach.
WOW! What a nice idea!
I had wanted to get into this kind of thing for a while now but with everything going on I had not yet figured out how.
Well, here it was, sitting in my inbox and not only that, I’d have to clean up and get organized to make chometz immediately after Pesach was over – no lazing around!
We emailed back and forth and then spoke by phone… and poof – just like that, Hashem gave me parnossa, in my favorite field (challah, of course 😉 AND right away. Out of the blue.
I really felt like Hashem was sending me a present, a nudge, to show me once again that even though things look hard, even though it seems like there’s “no parnossa” and no way to work properly, even so – He is always in charge and He can make it happen. I just have to trust Him more.
Actually, He was always the One making it happen. It was just cloaked in my “hishtadlus” efforts up to now…Hashem even gave me a flash of quick inspiration on what choices I could offer my new client.
Zoom family challah bake options…
Option ONE: From DOUGH to KEY Challahs!
Time: Approximately 1 hour challah bake online via Zoom
Option TWO: From FLOUR to DOUGH to amazing KEY challahs!
Time: Up to 2 hours of your personal challah bake online via Zoom
They chose option TWO and we booked our two hour session together for the next day!
So how did it go?
Well, as you can see right here, we had a great time together!
Two families got on our zoom together.
ALL the kids were involved. The moms got on too, but it was really all about the kids. 😊
Aaaaand, here’s what we did:
ü Made our challah doughs from flour to dough – together. With the help of our computer cams and the screens, I was even able to “diagnose” their doughs when they were too sticky or too floury – and they came out super!
✔ Then we spent some time learning about the minhag of shlissel key challahs (you can see that too if you like, a real short summary of it, right here)
✔ And we prepared to do hafrashas challah with a bracha, for each family, so we learned about that too.
✔ Then we set aside some time for praying – after all, especially now, this is super important.
✔ We learned why that piece of dough we separate is so holy, and what its purpose will be, one day very soon when we have back our Bais Hamikdash…
And then, we got to shape challahs!
- by starting off with a traditional challah shape
- adding in a few kinds of key challah shapes
- a fancy napkin ring
- challah tips
- baking tips
- freezing tips
[Don’t think it was limited to the girls…one of the dads got on too to knead that dough and shape along with us!]
One of the mothers on the call gave us such a nice devar Torah. She explained the meaning of the word “key” in Hebrew – called a “mafte’ach,” spelled מפתח
The מ stands for מטר, rain – the weather – only Hashem controls the rain and the weather
The פ stands forפרנסה — our livelihood
The ת stands for תחית המייתם – revival of the dead; only Hashem can do this,
And the ח stands for חיים, life. Only Hashem can create life and can give life.
This shows that these four areas of life, are all keys in the Hands of Hashem and only He has the keys to these things.
Beautiful!
All this drove home to me that now, even with the shutdown, I CAN “come” to YOU.
And I’d love to!
Let’s get YOUR family’s Jerusalem Challah Experience right over to your kitchen.
Wherever in the world you are – all you have to do is email me!
