Who moved my challah? Evolving practices and innovations in traditional Jewish bread

Challah bread represents one of the most prominent symbols in Jewish tradition, through its visual ritualistic presence, the fact that it is an edible product, and the blessing recited over it, which constitutes a Jewish performance. It is traditionally eaten as part of the Kiddush ceremony preceding Shabbat and holiday meals. Just as liturgical text can be deconstructed and infused with different interpretations, so too can challah as a material symbol. Its place is not only at the Shabbat table and not only in its familiar form; rather, it can be relocated and reshaped to different designs, places, and times. Based on ethnographic fieldwork examining various alternative forms of challah, such as Rainbow Challah for Gay Pride, or Star of David Challah for memorial days, as well as various non-Orthodox performative practices for blessing the challah, like a human chain during Shabbat service, I conclude that challah is a material agent for developing an individual’s dialogue with their religious and gender/sexual identity, as well as a means for fostering a sense of community belonging and embarkment upon Jewish tradition and ethno-national Jewish peoplehood. Thus, I show how the interaction between religiosity and food can establish traditional creativity.