Finding Connection at an Unlikely Challah Baking Event

Just two days ago, Rebbetzin Hagit Shira Swissa found herself at an extraordinary Challah baking event. First, it was held in a kibbutz—so far removed from Jewish traditions that there isn't even a synagogue there. Second, the woman who invited her begged not to mention Hashem too much and certainly not to preach. Third, when she arrived, she found most women standing at the edge of the room, indicating: 'I'm here for five minutes, that's it.'

"Occasionally, I get to visit places like this," Swissa shares. "Even in the most distant locations, there is often someone who has started to reconnect, and she creates the link and invites me. In this case, it was a kibbutz member who began her return to faith a year and a half ago."

Swissa came at the request of the uplifting kibbutz member to hold the Challah event for the healing of an elderly kibbutz member with health struggles. "The young woman who invited me was full of apprehensions, pleaded with me not to preach...and I, as always, prayed to Hashem to be a conduit."

On observing the women standing at the hall's edge, she gently asked them to come closer and sit down. "We started the evening, and slowly they settled down. We talked about Yom Kippur. I spoke about the significance of the Ne'ilah prayer and invited them to this prayer arranged by the newly observant kibbutz member. We recited Shema Yisrael and several verses together."

The kibbutz, Swissa explains, is so distant from Judaism that most women never even considered fasting on Yom Kippur. She took the opportunity to reach their hearts and encouraged some to fast.

But that was not all.

"By the end of the evening, I approached each woman and asked if they were married. For those who were, I requested their contact details so that Hidabrut's 'Connecting' department could reach out to teach family purity. Most declined, but seven women agreed. I know from experience—if the right women approach them, with Hashem's help, they'll begin observing."

Even those who refused to fast on Yom Kippur or invite discussions on purity, Swissa says, still illustrated for her that there truly aren't distant Jews. "There was a great awakening for everyone. I asked them to light candles during the evening for the righteous, and most did. By the event's end, everyone recited Shema Yisrael. When the gathering concluded, the kibbutz women came over to hug and kiss me, saying they never imagined it would be like this. The girl who invited me noted that even women she was sure would leave in a hurry stayed until the end."

Even after the women dispersed, Swissa hadn't completed her mission. "The event, as mentioned, was for the recovery of an elderly woman," she recounts. "She attended the beginning of the night and went home in the middle. At 11 PM, when everything ended, I went to her home and implored her to carry out one small act of repair right away. I haven’t succeeded yet, but we’re working on it. These are distant places that are hard to describe."

It wasn't the first time Rebbetzin Swissa had faced a completely secular audience, be it in a kibbutz or Tel Aviv. "Several times a year, I encounter women who are very far removed, who only came because a friend organized the event, perhaps for a housewarming or before a birth. They come for the friend. But I always say: there is no such thing as a truly distant Jew."

For instance, she recalls being invited recently to a housewarming event, where the hostess's close friend initially refused to attend but finally agreed after much persuading, with the condition that she'd leave within five minutes. "I entered and saw someone sitting right on the edge," Swissa describes. "In the end, not only did she stay all evening, but she cried throughout. When I asked who wanted to collaborate with Hidabrut, she was the first to raise her hand. Later, she came to me, cried, hugged me, and asked me to pray for her brother. That same week she received good news regarding her brother and called the friend who organized the evening, overwhelmed with excitement, to announce, 'I've simply connected.' In the end, those who seem most distant can indeed connect."

But when you go to make Challah in a radically secular kibbutz, it must be a culture shock for them...

"A real culture shock. To make dough, to gather around it, to talk about Judaism and how much Hashem loves us, to light candles... I speak to their souls, and it works. Sometimes I just put on the first song, look at the audience, and already see tears in their eyes. Because there isn’t anyone who doesn’t feel they are lacking something—everyone wants the same things: well-adjusted children that bring pride, joy, harmony at home. Everyone wants this, regardless of religion."

Kibbutz (Illustration: shutterstock)

"In every such encounter, seeds are sown. Sometimes I meet someone like this a year later, and she hugs me and says, 'I’ve immersed.' Each time I tell them about Hidabrut and encourage them to visit the website on their phones as we speak, and I know even after I leave, they’ll check the site from time to time. Any Jewish connection is an achievement. I firmly believe that eventually, the tiny seeds we plant will come to life. Because truly, the souls are connected."

The reactions she gets after such meetings say it all.

"Thank you for an amazing organization, it was very powerful," wrote one kibbutz member to her. Another added: "It was very moving, and the energy was excellent." A third summed up the entire process that attendees underwent, from skepticism to complete connection: "It was a lovely, moving, and powerful evening. There was women’s camaraderie and a feeling of the divine spirit.... I’m glad I came despite my fear!"

Home Gatherings and Challah Separation Dept. – to book a home gathering or Challah separation: Tel. 073-2221290, Email aviva@htv.co.il