Local

Local groups collaborate for second Mega Challah Bake

(L-R): Jessica Shulem, Rachel Rush, Hilary Kelpel, Jodie Friedman and Alyssa Silva at the 2014 Mega Challah Bake at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Roland Bosma)

The Tucson Jewish Community Center and Chabad Tucson will present the 2nd Annual Mega Challah Bake on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Tucson J ballroom. The event is part of the global Shabbos Project. Other local partners include numerous synagogues, the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, Tucson Hebrew Academy, Tucson Hebrew High, the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, Chabad at University and Jewish Arizonans on Campus.

The evening provides an opportunity for a multi-generational group of women and girls to learn to make, knead and braid challah, the traditional bread of Jewish holiday and ritual.

Baking challah is a time-honored mitzvah, or commandment, dating back to the Jewish matriarchs. Traditionally, a woman makes blessings while preparing the dough, and these are believed to bring joy into her home and into the lives of friends and family, explains Feigie Ceitlin, program coordinator of Chabad Tucson.

The event is open to women and girls, ages nine and up. Admission is $18. Sponsorship of a full table ($180) enables those who may not have the means to also participate. Register at ChabadTucson.com/rsvp. For more information, contact Julie Zorn, Jewish living and learning specialist at the J, at 299-3000, x236 or jzorn@tucsonjcc.org.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Ceitlin at 869-4971 or feigies@gmail.com.

The Shabbos Project encourages Jews around the world to keep Shabbat on Oct. 24-25. More information is available at theshabbosproject.org.