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[rchallah] Cortesy of: [http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/pesach/5761/
vol7no04.html] [http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/pesach/5761/
vol7no04.html] Torah.org
By Rabbi Yehuda Prero
                      Giving Thanks for Doors Opened
Scavenger hunts usually do not find their way on to the Shabbos preparation
"To Do" list maintained by my family. Yet, last week, my wife spent the
better part of Friday afternoon running from grocery store to supermarket
in the pursuit of . . . dough. We had both forgotten what was unique about
this Shabbos. By the time we realized we needed dough, it was too late in
the afternoon to start whipping up our own batch, so we had to go with the
ready-made sort. After a few stores, my wife was successful and she happily
returned home with a more-than-slightly frozen dough. Why, do you ask, we
were looking for dough? In two words, the answer is "Schlissel challah."
A custom of old is discussed in a number of places. The Sefer Ohev Yisroel
writes there is a custom, the first Shabbos after Pesach, to pierce the
Shabbos challah, the loaves, with a key. One reason for this stems from
events that occurred in the days after Yehoshua (Joshua) took over the
leadership of the nation of Israel. Sefer Yehoshua (5-11,12) states: "and
they ate of the old grain of the land on the next day after Pesach,
unleavened cakes, and parched grain in the same day; and the manna ceased
on the next day after they had eaten of the old grain of the land; nor did
the people of Israel have manna any more; but they ate of the fruit of the
land of Cana'an that year."
Not long after entering the land of Israel, at the time of Pesach, the
nation of Israel was no longer provided with manna from heaven. The nation
began to eat from that which grew naturally in the land of Cana'an, the
land of Israel. At that point, the nation of Israel had to depend on G-d
for the provision of sustenance in a new fashion. Until now, it had been
miraculous. Now, each person had to labor and toil and work the land so
that their families would be provided for. Sustenance was on the minds of
everyone.
There is a metaphorical description of that place in heaven from where
blessings come. G-d's blessings, such as health and wealth, are stored
behind gates. On the high holidays, we ask G-d to open the gates of heaven
for our prayers. At this time of year, right after Pesach, we ask G-d to
recall how He opened the gates of sustenance for the entire nation of
Israel in the days of Joshua after Pesach. By impressing a key into our
challah, we are asking that we too should have the key we need to open the
gates of sustenance properly placed and turned for us. The "schlissel,"
which is the Yiddish word for "key," should unlock the gates of sustenance
for us just as it was for the nation of Israel after their first Pesach in
the promised land.
Our entry into the land of Israel brought our nation into a new status. We
now had to work for our livelihoods, and our success would not come without
divine providence. Whereas the divine providence had been outward and
miraculous, now it would be more covert, hiding under the cover of what we
term "nature." With Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, before us,
this is a lesson to keep in the forefront. Just as our initial entry into
the land of Israel brought the nation of Israel to a new level of
appreciating divine providence, so too should the events surrounding the
birth of the nation of Israel. Some events were clearly miraculous, others
appeared to be natural. Regardless of how the events played out, we must
remember, be thankful, appreciate, and pray for the continuance of G-d's
heavenly assistance, in sustaining us as individuals and a nation,
physically and spiritually.
         --------------------------------------------------------
Collected from other articles
As it have seen, the braiding of the bread has a Germanic origin, but over
time, as this version of challah became integral to Jewish observance, its
shape accrued new symbolic meanings. Many Jewish bakers braided their
challah to have six humps, which, when served in the traditional two loaves
(itself a symbolic act), would represent the 12 tribes of Israel; or,
instead, they used additional strands of dough to create intricately
braided loaves with 12 humps apiece.
In Ukraine - where the elaborate shaping of challah became a sort of folk
art - loaves for the pre-Yom Kippur meal were fashioned into the shape of
birds ("May our sins fly away like birds," Isaiah 31:5) and ladders,
symbolizing the ascension to Heaven. For the Sabbath after Passover,
key-shaped loaves expressed the hope of opening the heavenly gates.
For the Sabbath after Pesach, when the approaching start of the month Iyar
was announced, challah was sometimes made in the shape of a key. Sprinkled
with sesame seeds representing the mahn (manna) that began to fall in Iyar
(after the Exodus from Egypt, as related in the Torah), the challah stood
for the key to our livelihood, which is in God's hands.
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