The Joy of Baking

Available for over a year

Good Morning Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of baking on Fridays with my mother. It seems like a small thing but baking Sabbath bread is an important thing for a Jewish mother and daughter to do. While kneading dough is the first step, it needs strength and isn’t easy for little children. I watched, fascinated. Later, there was the wonder of peeping beneath the cloth to see how much the dough had risen. Jewish challah (ritual bread) is plaited intricately before baking. It was in that process of learning to plait, that I first felt tradition, quite literally passing through my hands. There was something magical in having my mother’s fingers gently guide mine, teaching me how to layer each strand over the next. One day, she told me that her mother had done exactly the same. When I complete this ritual task now, I can feel a chain of hands linking the generations. This isn’t just a Jewish thing. The same takes place whenever a parent transfers treasured customs on to their children. But as we pass on traditions, we exchange beliefs and values too. I have my own beliefs, based on, but different to my mother’s. I don’t plait bread exactly like her either, but I do thank her. I passed on similar skills and beliefs to my own children. Lord, teach us to value the traditions of those around us and those who came before. Help us to understand their true meaning while interpreting them new and personal ways. Above all, guide us in using the past to inform our future, passing on to others the wisdom we all hold. Amen