life gleanings from rebbetzin rochie’s kitchen
The
RISING
Life
Challah Baking. Elevated.
Rochie Pinson
THE RISING LIFE © 2015 Rochie Pinson. All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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Cover and book design: RP Design and Development
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pb ISBN 978-0-9890072-1-4
Pinson, Rochie 1975-
The Rising Life: Challah Baking, Elevated.
1.Judaism 2. Spirituality 3. Food
vwwc
the
rising
life
challah baking. elevated.
Life Gleanings from
Rebbetzin Rochie’s Kitchen
This book is extracted from the cookbook
RISING! The Book of Challah
Feldheim Publishers 2015
My heart is full of gratitude.
For those who have nurtured me generously, and for those who have
generously allowed me to nurture them.
For the incredible women who have inspired me throughout the writing
of this book.
And for the women who made this book possible; Hillary Barr, Marilyn
Brill, and Susan Polis-Schutz. I am eternally grateful for your presence
and for your support.
C O N T E N T S
SECTION I:
Introduction: Challah as a Recipe for Life
11
The Gift of Challah
23
Shabbat, Challah & Woman: Three of a Kind
35
Living in the Process & Loving Every Moment
45
Setting the Stage: An Environment for Rising
55
The Ingredients: A Recipe for Rising
69
The Rising
111
Hafrashat Challah, Separating the Challah:
A Weekly Invitation to Reconnect
117
Challah Customs & Segulot:
Through the Generations & Around the Globe
137
Challah Meditations
153
SECTION II:
Excerpted from the cookbook, RISING! The Book of Challah
Grounding Intention in Practice:
This is Where it Gets Delicious
165
Anatomy of a Perfect Challah
169
Rebbetzin Rochie’s Classic Challah Recipe
172
Instructions: Step by Step
174
Braiding Your Challah: An Illustrated Guide
178
....׳הל המורת ומירת ץראה םחלמ םכלכאב היהו״
ומירת הלח םכתסרע תישאר
.״התא ומירת ןכ ןרג תמורתכ המורת
“The first of your dough, challah,
you shall offer as a gift. . . .”
— Bamidbar 15:19-20
“Reishit Arisoteichem”
The First of Your Dough
—
The word reishit indicates that which is the first, the finest, and the
purpose of all that follows it. The removal and sanctification of the
first and best of our dough illustrates a great truth of existence. That
is, that all we do in this world, however mundane and ordinary it
may seem, should begin with an acknowledgment of the Creator and
a Higher Existence.
We begin every endeavor with the proclamation that “l’Hashem
ha’aretz um’loah/ The earth is G-d’s and all that fills it” (Tehillim 24:1).
The first and best of all that we accomplish is dedicated to a higher
purpose.
We awaken in the morning and, with our first breath, sing praise to
our Creator for the new day. Those less fortunate are fed before we
take our own portion. We do not wait until we have finished with the
“necessities” of life to get around to the “holiness.”
“Reishit arisoteichem” is “challah, l’Hashem.” The first and best of our sustenance is designated as challah for Hashem/ G-d, and, as such, is
dedicated to a higher purpose.
This is our truest reason for existence: to elevate and transcend
through the work of our hands. Through making challah and sep-
arating the dough, we are perpetually bringing this awareness into
our homes and into our lives.
May we merit to live a life in which we vividly observe the Divine
unifying light in all of creation.
—
Taken from the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, OBM,
in his address to women, 17 Sivan, 5740/June 1, 1980.
R I S I N G
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
Introduction
Challah as a Recipe for Life
1 1
R I S I N G
This book is not a cookbook.
Don’t get me wrong; by the time you’ve finished reading this
book, and its sister book, RISING! , you’ll have learned how to
bake challah, gained tried-and-true tips on things like freezing,
storing, and serving, as well as added a plethora of challah reci-
pes to your repertoire.
So, why isn’t this a cookbook? Well, for one, I’m not a profes-
sionally trained chef or baker (I do put out a three-course meal
twice weekly—but that’s just because I’m a rebbetzin and when
each Friday rolls around, it’s time to cook lots of food for lots
of guests—whether or not I’ve ever actually learned to cook . . .
more on that later).
And secondly, these books set out to be substantially more
than just a collection of recipes, directions, and really pretty pic-
tures (although I’ve put in lots of those, too. I like a pretty pic-
ture as much as the next girl).
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
So, what is this book?
This is a book for those of us who find ourselves wishing for a
return to a simpler time, a slower pace, a scent of bread baking
in the home, and a sense of peace in the moment. This little
book wants to be that big alarm on the iPhone of our subcon-
scious that reminds us that the mess in our kitchen, the noise
in our brain, the stickiness of the dough underneath our finger-
nails, and the aroma of warm challah on a cold Friday afternoon
means that we are not merely alive, we are living, and that that
is a wonderful thing.
A challah dough is a living organism. It requires air, water, at-
tention, and intention. Its recipe so closely mirrors the recipe
for a well-balanced life, in fact, that as I baked my challah each
week, I kept learning new things about the care and attention
required by the living bei
ngs under my watch (children, hus-
band, community, and the like), and thus, RISING, the blog, and
eventually, the book and the cookbook, were born.
The Rising Life, as the first part in the RISING series, is a book that sets out to explore what happens when we decide to put
ourselves wholly into the nurturing process, recognizing that
the physical care and feeding of ourselves and those we love is
only one side of a sticky dough. Fold it over and you will find that
there is a whole other side that hasn’t been worked on yet. (See,
I’m starting with the challah metaphors already!)
The Perfect Challah
So, disclaimer disclaimed, I am not a professional chef, nor am I a
baker. I’m not even a licensed expert in child raising, whatever
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R I S I N G
that may be. But here’s what I’ve learned over my years of chal-
lah baking and child raising: we don’t need to earn a PhD in child
psychology before becoming parents (even if we did, it wouldn’t
necessarily be helpful!), we don’t need to be a licensed therapist
to offer a comforting hug and listening ear to a friend, and, like-
wise, we don’t need to go through culinary school to bake the
perfect challah.
The perfect challah is one that is baked with intention and
love and served in much the same way. The perfect challah is like
the perfect nurturer. Psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, observ-
er of thousands of mothers in their nurturing roles, coined the
term “the good enough mother” and recognized that the “perfect
nurturer” is not perfect at all; she is human and very real indeed.
The “good enough mother” gets back up when she falls down,
provides for her loved ones both physically and emotionally
(and, I add, spiritually), and is genuinely preoccupied with her
nurturing role. The “good enough mother” is more of a gardener
than a goddess.
The “good enough mother” recognizes that just like challah
dough, we grow in cycles. Each cycle offers a new opportuni-
ty to learn the same things. The very same lessons will come
up toward us time and again. The seasons change, the children
grow, and we ourselves mature. When we understand our role
in parenting and nurturing in this way, we can forgive ourselves
and take the pressure off of ourselves to get it right the very first
time.
The perfect mother recognizes that to give of the very best of
herself is as close as to perfection as she can get.
And therein lies the secret to the perfect challah:
It’s not a perfect challah at all.
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
It’s a “good enough challah.” It’s your challah. It is not so much
about the end result, it is about what happens during the pro-
cess. When the process of making challah is one of intention and
presence, the challah that is formed will rise and be delicious. It
may not look like it came out of a bakery, but that’s not the point.
We are looking to create something that comes from us and is
unique to who we are.
The Perfect Nurturer
When we nurture, we need to do so from the deepest part of
ourselves; trying to fit into a “cookie-cutter” mold of nurturing
will only frustrate and be harmful to both ourselves and our
loved ones, cheating them of our full nurturing potential. To
nurture is to be aware of our most true self and to give from that
place.
All of our actions and behaviors are derivatives of the emo-
tional energy and intention that drive those actions. And they
are usually received the same way they have been directed. Ever
heard the expressions, “feeling the love on the plate” or, con-
versely, “eating humble pie”? We can sense in a deep way when
the food that has been prepared for us has been done so lovingly
and with intention, just as well as we can tell when there is an-
ger or resentment in the food that is placed before us. When we
feed our loved ones, the food they receive is absorbed and trans-
ferred into actual energy. The love and intention we put into our
food preparation informs the energy that will be created from
that food! We make challah from a place of commitment to nour-
ish ourselves and our families in a way that goes beyond mere
physical feeding and watering.
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R I S I N G
There will be days when we feel fully risen and expansive and
up to facing life’s most difficult challenges, and we will gaze at
our lovely fat challahs with pride. There will also be days when
we may feel deeply deflated and incapable, and the slightly lop-
sided challah cooling on the counter may be reflective of that
state of mind. Through all the risings and the fallings, though,
the knowledge that we are good enough to nurture, exactly as
we are, will help us appreciate the yield of our efforts, and rec-
ognize the loveliness in all its yummy imperfection.
My Journey With Challah
So, how does this self-described “imperfect-but-trying-real-
ly-hard” mom end up writing a book on challah?
I kind of figured out this challah thing on my own. My moth-
er had an unfortunate experience with a challah dough in the
early days of her marriage and didn’t try again. It was strictly
bakery-made challah for us from then on.1 Not having grown up
in a challah-baking household, I always marveled at the homes I
entered on Friday that smelled like baking challah. In my mind,
this was the perfect smell for a home that was about to welcome
Shabbat.
1 As of this writing, I am thrilled to say that my mother has been inspired and encouraged by my challah baking and has since started making her very own chal-
lah after 40 years of marriage. Of course, it goes without saying that she uses the classic recipe from this book (see page 173) and her challah rivals mine most
weeks. I am truly delighted and share this fact with all my challah workshop
students as it demonstrates that it is never too late to learn to make challah or, for that matter, to master anything that frightens us.
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
When I married and started my own Shabbat traditions, I
knew that a home that smelled of baking challah needed to be
part of my new life. The question was . . . how?
Well, the answer came in the form of an emergency . . . as many
answers tend to come to me. Note: I work best under intense
pressure!
Young and newly married to a rabbi, I had excitedly accepted
the offer to travel with my husband to Kobe, Japan for the High
Holidays to bring some inspiration and Torah to the small com-
munity still remaining there.
The detail they neglected to mention, (maybe because it was
obvious to all but myself,) was that as the “rebbetzin in resi-
dence,” I was assumed to be a chef, or at least fairly proficient in
the kitchen. Maybe this was to be expected, but I was young and
naïve (come to think of it, I’m thankfully still pretty naïve – just
a little less young
) and had let others do the cooking for me for
most of my life.
Arriving in Kobe, I was informed that the community was
eagerly awaiting my delicious Rosh Hashanah meals . . . insert
slight panic mode here. Following multiple frantic (and expen-
sive!) transatlantic calls to my dear mother back in Canada,
I managed to figure out how to make the basic foods for the
holiday. And then, in all my sweet innocence, I asked our host
whether he wanted me to go and buy the challah for the holiday
or had been planning to go himself. Needless to say, he found
my question very amusing and informed me in a good-natured
way (that still sounded very intimidating to this young newly-
wed) that, of course, the rebbetzin would bake the challah for
the community. There is no kosher bakery in Kobe, apparently.
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R I S I N G
The slight panic turned into very real panic now, as Rosh Ha-
shanah was to begin the following evening and if there was one
thing I did not feel qualified to do, it was to bake challah, let
alone for some 200 people. Cue the frantic, expensive, transat-
lantic calls once more and, this time, my mother was panicking
right along with me—she had never (successfully) baked chal-
lah, either! So, my mother read the recipe to me and I faithfully
copied it down (this was pre-send-a-photo-of-the-recipe-by-
text days) and got to work.
Many hours later, I was dusted in a coating of flour. A veritable
human schnitzel, sticky pieces of dough had lodged themselves
into my hair and up my arms. My back was aching from all the
rolling and kneading, I was exhausted and exhilarated . . . and
there were 40 somewhat misshapen but fantastic-smelling chal-
lahs lined up on the counter of an unfamiliar kitchen. What can
I say? It may not sound like much fun to you, but I was hooked.
When I served that challah on Rosh Hashanah, it truly felt like
a new beginning. I had done something I hadn’t thought I could
ever do and opened the door to the possibility that I could pretty
much do anything I set my mind toward.
I came back home to the shores of “Jew York,” where kosher
bakeries are plentiful and the need to bake my own challah was
not nearly as urgent, but was determined to find a way to make
challah baking a part of my new home and life.
Full disclosure: the first week’s challahs weren’t that great.
The Rising Life Page 1
