Challah

Last night I was about to sit down to eat dinner when I get a call from my Israeli dorm room counselor (my friend, at this point) named Gali. Thinking it had to do with the police report we had spent 2 hours translating, I picked up my phone in a panic. When I heard what she had asked, I was totally confused.... "Do you want to come with me in an hour to make Challah?"

WHAT?

I have made matzah before for Pesach. And since this wasn't even for Shabbat, I was beyond confused. But because I love and trust her, and am always up for trying new things in the Holy Land, I responded "YES" without a minute to spare.

We met outside the dorms and walked to our destination. It is called "Yehuda Bayit," exact translation is Jewish House. But I'd explain it more as a woman's home that she opens up to whoever wants to come in... Jewish, Orthodox, Conservative, REFORMED. Anyone is welcome for any of her events, and I couldn't be more appreciative of that.

Last night went like this: We got in, sat around a student who beautifully sang three songs (one of which is called Lecha Dodi and I knew from Shabbat) and then got to work. We spent an hour making Challah bread and then three more hours singing more songs in a circle on the floor until all the Challah was finished baking. By 11:15 we were ready to head home, breakfast for the next week in our hands.

The meaning of this is symbolism. In ancient days Jewish women used to bake Challah and set aside some for the Priests who were busy at work and had no time to make it themselves. This is a ritual we brought into the event yesterday: setting aside a piece as what I would assume to be a symbol for all the hard work preformed by the Priest. When I asked Gali why we do it now, she responded with "because it's the month of Elul and because it's the month before the High Holidays, all the spiritual things to better a person is done now."

She's right.

Even though I'd rather not have to limit when we do these tasks, I find more and more of them coming out around this time. I can go off on a tangent about how I feel about this, but instead I want to leave you with one note: I finally found my comfort zone.
Back home I am apart of a world I never knew existed until I turned fourteen. The reformed religious world that I have grown to be apart of and love has shaped me into who I am, and, even in Israel, I haven't found what I was looking for until last night. Though I appreciate the conservative and orthodox movements here, and love to learn about them and be apart of them, I need to feel at home where I feel comfortable. And last night taught me that it is in fact possible to find what I am looking for, I just need to look hard enough.

I thank Gali and my new friends for helping me to center myself in a way that I can't describe, and in a way I know and miss.