A Taste Of Shabbos- Parashat Chayei Sara

Ever wondered why there is a special term for the bread of Shabbat and holidays? Instead of the usual word ‘lechem’ which means bread, the unique term of ‘challah’ envelopes our double Shabbat loaves like a lovely cloth, like the cloth that tradition suggests we cover the challah top and bottom. This setting reminds us of the heavenly manna that fell each day- except for Shabbat- during the Israelites forty year trek through the desert. The coverings reflect the two layers of dew- one over the manna and the other under, that kept the delicious manna fresh and clean. As in the verse, ‘Let us lift our hearts into our hands,’ the more mindfulness we can put into our preparations, the more we can tap into the mystique of that original manna.

There is an earlier Biblical reference to the sacredness of challah, in fact from this week’s Torah portion. In Genesis 25:67 we read: ‘Isaac brought Rebecca to the tent of Sarah his mother’. The Hebrew can actually mean: ’to the tent, behold, it was Sarah his mother’. The sages explain that during the life of Sarah, there were three miracles in her tent: there was an ethereal cloud hovering over her tent even in the hottest weather, the candles she kindled stayed lit from one Sabbath to the next, and the bread she baked on Friday would stay fresh the entire week. These miracles went dormant when Sarah passed but were reactivated when young Rebecca entered the tent, suggesting to Avraham that she may have actually been a reincarnation of his mother.

There is deeper dimension to the twin aspects in this parasha: Chayei Sara opens: the YEARS of the life of Sara were one hundred and twenty and seven.’ However in Hebrew, the word for ‘years’ is ‘shenei’ which also means ‘two.’ So, the verse could be read as..’the DOUBLE life of Sara was 127,’ What can this possibly mean? On one hand, Sara being ten years younger than her childhood bashert-soul mate, went through even more tribulations than Avraham in some respects. However, Rashi, commenting on her years writes, ‘kulan shavim l’tova=they were all equally good.’ Both bi-ops can be an accurate description of her life, if we posit that she lived on two levels- an earthly plane and on a transcendent plane. In terms of our focus, we could say that she lived in a Shabbat context even during the week- hence the accuracy of her candle remaining lit and her challah staying fresh all week!; though her circumstances seem very unique, there may actually be a special relevance to our times. The precarious situations of these days make it extra vital for us to tap into the transcendent world that hovers over us and is most accessible during the 25 hours of Shabbos. And it comes every week so if we can’t tune in one week, we have only seven days to have another chance!

In Boulder, this coming Thursday evening provides a wonderful opportunity for women to literally have a ‘hands on’ chance to prepare this heavenly challah together with many other women at the JCC. By reviving this ancient custom with our own creative ingredients and shapes, even now, through the inspired and sacred act of baking and eating Challah on Shabbat we can bring infinite blessings into our homes for the entire week. We really ‘kneed’ it!:)