Challah
The Meaning of the Key-Shaped Challah: Why Jews Bake “Shlissel Challah” After Passover
A beautiful post-Passover custom symbolizes livelihood, renewal, and the reopening of heavenly gates
Some have the custom to bake a challah in the shape of a key for the Shabbat following Passover (this custom is mentioned in Imrei Pinchas, section 290).
In the book Ohev Yisrael, two explanations are given:
1. A symbol of opening the gates of livelihood
During Passover, we begin counting the Omer. It is known that from the time the Omer offering was brought onward, the Jewish people stopped eating the manna and now required natural sustenance.
The key-shaped challah symbolizes opening the gates of livelihood.
“The first explanation is the simple one: at this time, when the Jewish people ate the manna, from the bringing of the Omer onward, they no longer ate manna… From that point they began eating from the produce of the land and needed livelihood, for until then they had the manna. It is known that everything has a ‘gate,’ as we pray that the Holy One open for us the gates of livelihood. From this arose the custom to make the challah in the shape of a key, to hint that God should open for us the gate of livelihood.”
(Ohev Yisrael, Parashat Re’eh, section 82)
2. After Passover, the gates close and need to be reopened
On Passover, all the spiritual gates were open. After the holiday ends, we must make efforts to re-open them.
“As it is written: ‘Open for Me, My sister, My beloved.’ And the Sages said: ‘Open for Me an opening the size of a needle’s eye, and I will open for you an opening like the entrance of a great hall.’
On Passover, all the gates and the higher spiritual channels were open. Afterward, they closed, and we must reopen them. Therefore, on this Shabbat, people make indentations or openings in the challah using a key, symbolizing that we begin to open a little through the mitzvah of Shabbat, and the good God will open His good treasure — the heavens above, and open the gates of heaven for us, just as He gave our ancestors the manna in the month of Iyar, which we bless for on this Shabbat. This serves as a segulah for many good blessings.” (Ohev Yisrael, Torah on the Festivals, Likutei Torah for Passover)
