Celebrating the Sabbath with Bread!

"And the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan." Exodus 13:65 AMP

Inspired by an article in Above Rubies, my husband and I decided to observe the Sabbath or Shabbat meal by integrating some Jewish traditions. It's such a wonderful tradition. The day before the Sabbath is preparation day and is typically a day of cooking and baking for this special meal at the start of the Sabbath. All the food for the Sabbath is prepared the day before. At this meal, the husband speaks a blessing over his wife and children. It is such a joy to see my children's faces light up (even my toddler) when Daddy speaks good things to them and about them and over them. It is such a blessing to have food ready for the Sabbath so that Mom can truly rest also!

Bread is often an important part of culture and celebration. The French have their baguettes, the Italians their crusty breads, the Finnish have their pulla, a sweet egg bread with cardomon spice. I love to bake bread, as this blog proclaims, and so, when we began celebrating the sabbath meal, I was so excited to try the Challah bread that is traditionally baked for this meal. You can find the recipe I used at haydid.org but there are lots of recipes online. It is basically a mildly sweet egg bread that is braided and looks spectacular at any table!!

The Challah bread represents the manna the Israelites received in the desert (some add poppy seeds or sesame seeds as a representation of the manna). Before eating, the bread is covered with a cloth to represent the dew that fell bringing the Israelites the manna. "And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. " Numbers 11:9. And, typically 2 loaves are baked to represent the DOUBLE PORTION of manna the Israelites received before the Sabbath so they could rest on the Sabbath. Each of the 2 Challah bread loaves is usually braided (plaited) in 6 braids to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. One website explained the braiding this way: "The braided challot reminds us of the unity of Israel, and also links us to the Temple, which our own dinner table today symbolizes the altar."

Challah bread reminds us of manna, and therefore is a bread of PROVISION. But, it also reminds us of the Bread of Life, God's Word and is therefore a bread of RELATIONSHIP and PRESERVATION. Deutoronomy 8:3 says "And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you recognize and personally know that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." Challah bread is braided, making it a bread of UNITY!

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, I say a loaf of bread is worth a thousand lessons in God's Word!! For more information on the Shabbat meal, check Above Rubies for Nancy Campbell's articles or Google it!

Julie-Anne :)