Challah

Challah - der Zopfli

I am shifting away from the pandemic this Shabbat. For a moment - just thinking about a ritual we try to keep on most Fridays. Shabbat dinner together. Of course, the pandemic makes together time a given. Shabbat dinner -  in some form or another depends on the mood level. This week I jumpstarted that mood by getting bakery-made Challah!

It turns out braided bread is a big thing here.  And it looks just like Challah. And so for us Jewish Ex-Pats it looks like there is fresh challah everywhere, Everyday, I can find it at the farmer's market, in the grocery stores and even in a shop in the main train station called, "Zopfli."   Technically, I know it is not challah. However, during the transition it has been comforting to see something familiar all around us. I consider it an unknown friendly gesture from our new home. Every once in a while, I look over at a display of zopfli and smile. It is like I know something that others don't , even though I really do not.

Once in Klara's German class when they were working on German food vocabulary and the teacher had a picture of zopfli. Klara said, "Oh yeah, that's challah!" She quickly realized no one knew what she was talking about!

This Friday - I got us a special treat from a gluten free bakery from Hünibach. The bakery is Barbara's Glutenfrei Geniessen. It's too far for us to travel to for lunch, but I got a delivery in the mail of few things including bagels.

So we are saying 'Zopfli" but in our hearts it's challah.  Like everything else, we are learning and adapting.

Shabbat Shalom