#blessings #parshatvayechi #parshatvayehi #sevenblessings #weddings #weddingblessings #breisheet #yaakov #blessingsofjacob
A few weeks ago my husband and I had the privilege to travel to Israel for the wedding of a family member. A few nights before the wedding the bride invited her friends and loved ones to a Hafrashat Challah ceremony in order to prepare for a special Shabbat. Hafrashat Challah is the act of separating a piece of the challah dough. This mitzvah comes from a biblical commandment.
The first portion of your kneading, you shall separate as a dough offering (challah)... In all your generations, give the first of your kneading as an elevated gift to G‑d (Numbers 15:20-21)
And so we were to witness the ceremony of Hafrashat Challah. The bride gathered us and we sat and watched as she prepared a large bowl of challah dough.
It is said that a bride and a groom are likened to tzadikim on the day of their wedding. They are erased of their sins and are able to freely bestow blessings upon those around them. Although this was not her wedding day, it was close, and I was moved beyond words as the bride, for each of the ingredients for the challah, bestowed different blessings on both those in the room and those not in the room at the time. The bride's delivery was so true from her heart, that it felt that I was witnessing something extraordinary, a moment where true blessings were bestowed and gratefully accepted.
This week, as we conclude the book of B'reisheet (Genesis), Ya'akov bestows blessings upon his grandsons and his sons. This is how we conclude (almost!) the eventful book of B'reisheet. Although not all of the blessings bestowed by Ya'akov were positive, they were instructive and they were uttered from the heart of a father. Here is where Parshat Vayichi and that special evening of Hafrashat Challah intersect, in the strength of the delivery and the kavannah with which these blessings were delivered. A blessing is alway desirable, but a blessing delivered with true kavannah is exceptional.
And with this post we complete the first book of Torah for this year. May we return to learn more from Sefer B'reisheet next year, all being well.
Seven Blessings
The dough is kneaded,
her warm hands smooth and fold, smooth and fold.
Pliant and round, the dough yields to her touch.
The aromas of yeast and honey are generously shared
as her cheeks glow as golden as the dough.
Her eyes sparkle like the water she adds to the mix,
as this bride reflects a future of dreams and hopes
at this moment,
in this room brimming with the spirit of women.
She'hecheyanu.
Gathered together from the four corners of the earth,
eggs, yeast, flour, oil, water, honey and salt
Seven ingredients combined with her hands as they unite,
yielding seven blessings,
as the dough grows firmer, rounder.
Blessings are delivered from the heart of the bride
and all are elevated,
higher and higher.
The bride is an inspired song bird at this moment,
gifted with the sweetest of music.
She is a lioness, empowered in a room filled with love.
She is a Creator on the first day of creation,
at the cusp of creating her own golden universe.
She believes in this moment, in her power to give,
for it is clearly written in her shining eyes,
as the blessings rise from deep within her,
like from the springs of Ein Gedi
She raises her slender hand
as she sings out blessings.
They rise over the table,
over the glowing loaves,
over the candles and the joyful tears,
mingling with the rich, yeasty aroma of challah.
Catch them, my sisters;
catch her blessings,
as they float over you,
for they are sweeter than the richest wine,
truer than a volume of words,
as binding as the love of the young,
as strong as the knot that binds.
Seven Blessings for the Seven Ingredients of Challah
Seven blessings- I devised this list, but I suspect that there are other lists for the seven ingredients are out there on the internet. Any similarity to another list is not intentional.
Water
May your life flow easily like water. May it flow neither too slow nor too fast.
May water never be scarce throughout your lifetime and may it always bring you blessings.
Yeast
May you increase the goodness in the world around you. May you grow in your capacity to love, to understand, to give.
Honey
May your life be fed by sweetness. May you find the sweetness in small and unexpected moments, and may you find that spot of sweetness in those around you.
Flour
May The flour of this dough bring you the the golden beauty of wheat field.
May it make you fruitful like the seeds of the field, who need but water to quench their thirst so they will grow. May you be resilient like a wheat seed, who can wait for years and when it is planted and watered, it will grow.
Salt
May the salt of the challah remind you of the salty sea. May it bring you the rhythm of the tides and the depth of understanding.
Oil
May your life together flow easily even when things are difficult.
Eggs
May you learn the blessing of the egg, that the strength that is contained within you is so much stronger and versatile than its breakable outer shell.
Bring these ingredients together and know that change will happen,
that from simple ingredients something beautiful is made, something of lasting significance
For more on the special status of a bride and groom on their wedding day.
The ceremony of Hafrashat Challah
https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/363323/jewish/Challah-a-Step-by-Step-Guide.htm
להפריש חלה מין העיסָה
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