Chabad of Westchester Hosts Challah Bake at Aleph Bet Preschool
A significant Challah Bake by Chabad of Westchester was held at Aleph Bet Preschool Harrison, 130 Union Avenue, Harrison, New York on November 8 with more than one hundred women from across southern Westchester communities participating (New Rochelle, Scarsdale, White Plains, and Harrison).
“The vision of this event was to attract Jewish women of all ages,” according to Alef Bet preschool parent Melanie Meer, “. . . an evening of unity fulfilling a time-honored mitzvah . . . power in numbers draw[ing] blessing and peace to the Jewish people.”
“All the women had the opportunity to make two Challahs that they could take home,” Meer continued. “We followed along a traditional family recipe together with different women from the community leading different parts of the recipe. There is a special mitzvah called hafrashat challah, separating the first of your dough. We recite this blessing as a community while we allow the dough to rest and rise. Then, we braided the challah, and the women chose from a variety of toppings to complete the challah.”
According to Meer, “Chabad hosts many Challah Bakes throughout the year, but this was the largest community Challah Bake event. Last year, the event was limited to Aleph Bet’s parents and served as a school community-building event in the form of a moms’ night out. This year, we wanted an opportunity for the entire community to unite and join together for this mitzvah. The event was circulated through word of mouth, on social media, and by email, but [it] was mostly a grassroots effort to spread the word.”
For programs at Aleph Bet Preschool, including Chabad Hebrew School and Friendship Circle at Chabad Lubavitch of Westchester, located in New Rochelle, visit www.chabadofwestchester.com, or phone 914-712-8332.