Chava: Connecting Back to the Source

“The world was created in the merit of three things — challah, tithes, and first fruits.”¹

Hafrashat challah (separating the dough) is so essential, that it was built into the very fabric of creation. This mitzvah is especially unique in that it is primarily the responsibility of the woman. Rashi² explains why women are given priority in this mitzvah. It is because Chava, the first woman, spoiled the “challah” of the world — she caused the first man to die.

There is much depth to this statement that we need to try and understand. What is the connection between man and challah? The Sifsei Chaim, quoting the Maharal, explains that dough is made up of various ingredients which are united to form one entity. Each ingredient serves a special purpose as part of this whole. Similarly, humans are made of various character traits which are combined into their unique personality. And just as challah is the portion separated off for a holy purpose, man too is given a special role to fulfill in this world; that makes him “challah”. 

We all know what happens when fresh food sits around for too long – it spoils. Spoiling is a demonstration that something is finite, limited. The possibility of everlasting existence is only attributable to what is above nature, unlimited and infinite. Infinity is the demarcation of true holiness and spirituality.

When Chava caused Adam to sin, she also brought the reality of death to the world. She made it inevitable that the “challah” would “spoil” — that man’s life would now be limited to a number of years. 

The Purpose of Punishment

Hashem does not simply punish us with painful reminders of our mistakes. The fact that women are given the mitzvah of challah is meant to be a rectification, a way to fix what led to the mistake so that women can elevate themselves and reclaim what was lost. What is the essence of this mitzvah, and how does it connect back to what Chava did?

When Chava caused Adam to sin, she also brought the reality of death to the world. She made it inevitable that the “challah” would “spoil” — that man’s life would now be limited to a number of years 

First, let us take a look at the initial incident: “And G-d commanded man saying: From all the trees of the garden you shall eat, and from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.”³

Before Chava was created, Adam was told directly by Hashem not to eat from a particular tree. It was Adam who later relayed the command to Chava. Unfortunately, Chava was misled by the snake to disobey the command, and she convinced Adam to as well. Her mistake was essentially different than that of Adam, and as such, required a different rectification.

Man heard straight from Hashem and had complete clarity in his mission, yet he failed. In turn, man is given clear and direct mitzvot. His spiritual service consists of a structured set of laws which continually govern his day: kriat shema, tefillin, minyan, etc. Man has a brit milah, signifying in a very tangible way the connection to his Creator. All of this serves to fix the original bond which was damaged with his first sin. He is also given the curse of “by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread”.⁴ Man must work in the field and rely solely on Hashem to send him the perfect weather conditions to grow his crop. He sees he is helpless without Hashem involved. This dependency serves to further concretize his relationship with his Creator.

Chava, on the other hand, heard the command indirectly, but she was expected to observe it just as well. This is the nature of a woman’s service: amidst a lack of complete clarity, she can make the connection back to the original source and fulfill her task. A woman therefore has mitzvot which develop her relationship with Hashem through the more physical aspects of life: challah, niddah (family purity), and Shabbos candles. 

Challah is a mitzvah performed over the food, the physical sustenance of the home. Niddah is a set of laws governing the intimate, physical relationship of a husband and wife. The Shabbos candles illuminate the home, the physical shelter which the woman makes aesthetically pleasing. While all of these tasks are, at surface level, disconnected from spirituality, a woman sees past the physical veneer and elevates these aspects of life to the highest realms of holiness. In recognizing and demonstrating that everything in life has a spiritual element, she rectifies the original mistake which led to Chava’s sin. 

A Special Moment

As opposed to other tithes which are taken from raw produce, challah is taken from fully formed dough. While we might expect it to come from the wheat, instead we take it at a much later stage in the process of making bread. What is the purpose of this?

Imagine a modern-day kitchen. A woman goes to the store and buys flour, oil, eggs and yeast. She comes home, sets aside a good few hours for a long process. She has the recipe selected, one it has taken her many years to perfect. She mixes, kneads, waits, braids… and places the beautiful loaves in the oven. The whole house is filled with the amazing aroma of fresh challah, when her husband walks in and remarks how delicious they will be. What is her response? Does she take tremendous pride in her labor? 

The moment she paused in the middle of the whole process and separated a piece of dough with a blessing to Hashem, is a powerful reminder of Who is really in control of this process. She toiled, but she also davened – that her bread should come out tasting delicious and satisfy her family. She davened for her family’s success, for her friends and neighbors to recover from illness, for all those suffering to be healed.

Kitchen mishaps are common, and often out of our hands. We know that the success of any recipe — or any task — is actually completely dependent on Hashem. But it is easy to get caught in all of the physical aspects and forget where our blessing is coming from. The mitzvah of challah connects us back to the Ultimate Source as we make our bread, so we can remember to do that in all areas of our lives.

¹ Bereishit Rabbah 1:4

² On Gemara Shabbos 32b

³  Bereishit 2:16-17

⁴ Bereishit 3:19