Hi Sci, just letting you know that we had a union meeting, and all the pickles on the shelf agree that you're one heck-ofa-guy, now matter how often you post.
May Hashem bless you VERY SOON with a GEVALDIKE job and parnose.
Did you know that there is a minhag when baking the first challos after pesach, the ones for THIS COMING SHABBOS, to put your house key into the dough and bake it like that? (My wife cleans it first, and we take it out after passing out the first pieces to everyone, so the challah stays whole at the time of the beracha). A key is a schlissel in Yiddish, so this is called a Schlissel-Challah.
The reason, brought down in a sefer called "Tamei HaMinhaggim" (Reasons for the Customs) is that it's like a prayer and an omen for increased parnose and sustanance. This is the time of the year when Hashem's beracha in the the growing grains begins to become apparent, as the wheat and barley finish growing in the spring before the summer harvest. So we use a key in our first challah, and ask Hashem Who holds the key to Sustenance, to unlock His Storehouse of Goodness for us and all our brethren, and for the world, and pour down his blessings for us through His Bounty.
So if your wife can bake a schlissel challah, and offer that prayer while doing so, it would be a beautiful action to show that you both recognize where your livelihood comes from, and a great lesson for your kids when they ask "Why is this Challah different from all the other challos of the whole year?"
And how could Hashem not respond to THAT?
Love,
Steve
