By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter
On Sunday, September 15, community members joined the Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center and Chabad of Pacific Palisades for a Pre-Rosh Hashanah Family Challah bake.
Challah bread is known to be steeped in meaning for the Jewish tradition: Made with eggs, it has various sizes and shapes. Round loaves where there is no beginning and no end are often baked for Rosh Hashanah to symbolize continuity
“We have the round bread on Rosh Hashanah to have a complete year,” said Zisi Cunin, co-director of Chabad, to the Palisadian-Post, “a blessed year with no end, only ongoing goodness.”
“On Rosh Hashanah, we do an extra step of dipping the challah in the honey so that the New Year should be sweet,” Zisi said.
More than 130 people attended the event.
“There was an infant up to a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor who joined us,” Zisi added.
“There is so much that can be inspired just by coming around the table and baking challah bread,” added Rabbi Zushe Cunin. “We encourage to bake them at home and share them with those who can use some empathy and love.”
At the event, families baked challah from scratch, then had time to mingle and socialize. Everybody came back together and were shown how to shape the loaves, Zisi explained.
“Our first Family Challah Bake this past January was a resounding success,” Zushe shared in a statement. “Therefore, we decided to once again have a family Challah Bake in preparation for the Jewish New Year.”
They plan to continue the tradition again next year.
“It was a fun, family event with a sense of tradition,” a Palisadian who attended the event shared.
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