Challah

//ˈxɑ(ː).lə// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A traditional bread eaten by Ashkenazi Jews, usually braided for the Sabbath and round for a yom tov. countable

    "[…]it is a time-honored custom that when women bake challah-loaves for Sabbath and Yom Tov use, they specifically prepare a dough large enough to be obligated in challah, so they can fulfill the mitzvah of separating challah[…]."

  2. 2
    (Judaism) a loaf of white bread containing eggs and leavened with yeast; often formed into braided loaves and glazed with eggs before baking wordnet
  3. 3
    The commandment to separate a portion of bread or bread dough for the cohanim (Numbers 15:17–21); in contemporary practice, the portion is burned until inedible. uncountable
  4. 4
    The portion separated in fulfillment of the above. countable

Etymology

From Hebrew חַלָּה (ḥallá, “loaf”), influenced by Yiddish חלה (khale).

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