By Eliena Mahgerefteh
It’s been a long week andyou’ve spent countless hours studying for that midterm you’ve been dreading since the first week of school. You even managed to write a paper for one of you GE classes, and while things started looking grim, you managed to attendto what some may call having a LIFE, a.k.a (getting some food into your body, showering, spending time with friends, etc.). As a current UCI student, I’ve been one to experience this many times, and when the week reaches Thursday, my friends and I look for the best place to be that night. Sometimes it’s a party, other times it’s a kickback, but when we really want to just relax and enjoy each other’s company and warmth, it’s Chabad. Yup, not where most people would imagine being on a Thursday night, but if you think about it, how could you not?
You first walk into the warm Rabbi’s house, with the smell of fresh risen bread dough awaiting you, along with an array of sweet munchies and an assortment of chocolate, rainbow sprinkles, and lots of other little condiments just waiting for you to add to the dough. Then as we all gather around the table, with the guidance of Miriam, we are able to hand braid the dough, and turn it into our own challah creation. Not only do I enjoy hand crafting what is to be some yummy bread, but there’s more to the night than that. Gathering around the table with other Jewish girls, we are able to share together a piece of our tradition. Way back during the times of the Temple, Jews would bake bread every week and give it to the Kohanim as a thanks for their service to the Jewish people. Although that has changed over the years, we are now able to gather and remind ourselves of the rich heritage we have, intertwined with the warmth of baking challah, or what I call: modern day “soul food.” Let’s not forget that part that comes after the braiding, when it goes into the oven and the “magic happens,” where soon you start to smell fresh baked bread, mmmmmmmmm sooooo good! When you eat one of your challot and put a smile on someone’s face it’s only half the fun, but when you put piece of that fresh, hot-off-the-oven, sweet bread into your mouth it’s the best.
Looking back at the time I have spent at UCI, I won’t hesitate to say that many of the best times I’ve had here have been with Chabad. I don’t know of very many other places I can go near campus and feel such warm hospitality where I feel as though I’m at home, and not only have the opportunity to bake one challah for myself, but also to bake another one for a friend. It’s that overall feeling of standing around the table, sharing stories from the week, talking about an important topic, laughing with your friends, meeting new people, and best of all creating your very own braided bread that keeps me going back for more.