Challah Baking Culture

Culture plays a key role in my life. An activity in my life that connects me to my culture is known as challah baking, which is done on a weekly basis before the Sabbath meals. This activity provides me with an opportunity to participate in a commandment for women in my culture that allows me to stay spiritually connected with my family, ancestors, and G-d. It involves a routine basis of an array of performance skills, such as motor to process abilities that can be used as therapeutic activities in my future as an Occupational Therapist.

In the Jewish culture, it is a tradition for families to gather for two Sabbath meals, one on Friday night, and one on Saturday. At the beginning of the Sabbath meal, there is a commandment for the man

A difference can be within the preparation of the dough. Nowadays, many women use their Kitchen Aid mixers, which have kneading attachments, in order to automate the kneading process. This is done in order to save time and energy when preparing the dough to be baked. This form of baking would have no impact on the ingredients or the texture of the dough. Another difference is the shape in which the challah is baked. On certain holidays, women bake the challah in a round formation as opposed to braiding it. There is symbolic reasoning behind this method of a round challah. The specific holiday when this is done is known as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The round challah represents the cycle of a year as it moves into the next year. It should continue to represent a circle of life with no

The kneading of dough can be used as a therapeutic coping strategy to relieve stress. If a patient has difficulties expressing their emotions, they can knead the dough as a means of calming themselves. It also involves repetitive exercises that can be used in everyday sessions. This repetitive exercise integrates many skills to improve a particular ability over time. A therapist may use this activity to work on sensory perception, sequencing abilities, and fine motor skills. A patient may dislike the texture of certain consistencies of dough and the therapist may incorporate this into their therapy plan to help the patient overcome this phase. Sequencing abilities can also be used throughout this activity to enhance event planning and timing in a logical order. A patient may have difficulties putting the steps of baking in order and this activity can provide a great opportunity to make sequencing fun and enjoyable. Another way this activity can be used in therapeutic occupations is to enhance fine motor skills. This would involve a patient to knead and braid the dough in order to build strength in his/her fingers and hand