by Bari Jacobson
I love to bake! I love to share what I bake with others and see their reactions. I love challah; however, my track record for making it wasn’t great. It was actually pretty sad. I saw a posting for the Great Challah Bake sponsored by the Bensalem Outreach Center. I asked Melissa and she said she would love to go, too. She invited Stacey and the three of us went together.
We arrived at the Great Challah Bake and it was much larger than we expected. There must have been over 200 women there. The tables were full with young girls to elderly women and women who were very religious to others who weren’t observant at all. The room was filled with laughter, chatter and excitement. We went looking for three seats together and ended up at a table with some very nice observant women of all ages. The three of us had the best time baking, breading, laughing, singing and even dancing with women we’d never met before. That night we decided two things; one that we would like to have monthly or bimonthly family Shabbat dinners together with our families, and two, that we were going to organize a challah bake for Shir Ami where our children attend preschool.
The next day, we sent pictures of our challahs to each other, talked about how much fun we had, and set up our first Shabbat dinner. Our first Shabbat dinner was at Melissa’s house where she cooked us a beautiful dinner. The twelve (6 adults and 6 kids) of us joined around her table to celebrate Shabbat together. Since that night, we take turns gathering around each others tables for Shabbat dinner bimonthly, eating freshly baked challahs, talking, watching our children play, and of course eating together. Our friendships have grown, and it’s truly a special night when we’re all together- one that all of us look forward too!
Since the Great Challah Bake, Melissa gave me her famous challah recipe and it’s awesome! My husband and children love coming home to the smell of freshly baked challah. They love eating it even more.
Last spring, the three of us organized a Mom’s Night Out Challah Bake at Shir Ami. About 10 moms came together to learn how to make challah from scratch and how to braid the dough. While the dough was rising, we played games to get to know each other better. It was a fun night for everyone who attended. That night everyone took home a challah to bake for Shabbat. The next day at school everyone was talking about the program.
The love of challah brought us together and friends for life were made!
Bari Jacobson is excited to be a Parent Ambassador for the Lower Bucks County area! She and her husband have two wonderful children. Bari has a Masters Degree in Elementary Education and a bachelors degree in Sports and Recreation Management. Bari loves planning events and can’t wait to connect with jkid families!