Blending flavors and friendship, Challah for Change yields sweetness for local college students
'It’s a really welcoming environment for anyone on campus who wants to come and just create challah, buy challah and give back to the community'
Jewish communal life in Oakland is growing — better yet, rising — thanks to students who regularly bake and braid challah on Thursday nights at Hillel JUC. Twice a month, nearly 100 young adults gather inside the organization’s Forbes Avenue building for a familiar activity that fosters connection and growth.
Challah for Change is “one of the most impactful events” available to students on campus, Hillel JUC Executive Director Dan Marcus said. “It’s about Jewish heritage. It’s about socialization, and it’s something that students can learn to do now and take into their future lives.”
Participants need not be bakers or even know how to read a recipe. All that’s required, Jacob Ross explained, is a commitment to wearing gloves and giving back.
The University of Pittsburgh student and Challah for Change president said he first became active in the group five semesters ago as a freshman. At the time, “I was just braiding and I didn’t really know anyone.”
Ross missed having his own oven and baking, so he asked about getting more involved. He was told about an open position on the Challah for Change board, and that the position enabled him to work in the kitchen. The mechanical engineering student eagerly accepted. Two years later, he now oversees the group and strategizes with staff on innovative ways to enhance the experience.
With nearly 100 students routinely braiding and baking challahs on Hillel JUC’s third floor, Sami Weiss said games and raffles add to the uplifting vibe.
“It’s just a good time,” Weiss, Hillel JUC’s Greek life and IACT coordinator, said during a Nov. 13 program. “People come, have fun, braid up some interesting flavored challahs, and really enjoy spending time in community.”
Flavors at the recent event included plain, dill pickle, caramel apple and Neapolitan. Previous varieties have included salt, everything but the bagel, garlic and s’mores.
A spreadsheet system ensures enough challahs are made for students to both purchase a loaf immediately following the event ($3 for plain, $4 for flavored) or even the next day on campus.
This semester, about 210 students have volunteered to either braid, bake or sell challah, Ross said.
Pitt freshman Abby Rothstein called Challah for Change a “really good way to be involved with Jewish life here on campus.” Not only does the event afford a “chill space to go to hang out with friends, but I have the opportunity to give back to my community.”
Challah sale proceeds support the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry and other charities, Hannah Feldman, Hillel JUC’s Jewish student life director, said.
Harrison Romero, a Pitt student majoring in political science, said the “social factor” is certainly a draw, but “it’s just great that we’re able to do this for a good cause and make a difference.”
The two-hour event gives students a “break from our schoolwork and the stress from school,” said Pitt freshman Kira Friedel.
Since arriving at Pitt in the fall, Friedel has attended several Challah for Change events. She said she and her friends have enjoyed them so much they’ve brought non-Jewish peers as well.
“We’ve taught them how to braid challah,” Friedel said.
The program’s openness is part of its appeal, Rothstein said. “Challah for Change is a space that a lot of people can come to — whether you’re Jewish or not — it’s a really welcoming environment for anyone on campus who wants to come and just create challah, buy challah and give back to the community.”
Betsy Tinsley, a Pitt student majoring in molecular biology, said she started participating after hearing about it from friends.
“I have a lot of fun doing it. I am not Jewish, so I never experienced this growing up,” she said.
“A lot of my friends are Jewish, so it’s nice to see what this is like for them.”
Tinsley credited the recurring event with providing a “good opportunity to actually get involved in the community, and, just in general, with community service.”
Students participate for various reasons: some because they enjoy ritual; some because they miss making challah with their families; some because they’re interested in baking. Regardless of why they attend, students discover this is a “great opportunity to hang out with friends and get a break from the monotony of the normal school day,” Feldman said.
The joy of braiding, baking and being together should be savored, she continued.
Often, people fixate on the “negative things” that circulate about Jewish life on campus. As opposed to focusing on antisemitism or anti-Zionism, it’s nice for people to know that at Hillel JUC “we’re still doing programs, and we have both Jews and non-Jews who are in this building braiding challah and bringing this ritual of Jewish practice to our community.”
Before evening’s end, with fresh baked challahs cooling on a nearby table, Marcus remarked on the scene.
“One of the most impressive things about the Challah for Change community is that it meets the ethos of Hillel JUC,” Marcus said. “It is peer-led and it is peer-run with guidance and support from the staff. Students here are learning not just how to be leaders in the present, but how to be leaders in the future.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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