Description

“Challah in the Ark” is a story of a Spanish Jew who fled to the Holy Land during the Inquisition. The devout Jacobi who was attending synagogue deciphered the Hebrew words “bread” and “God” and was convinced that “Señor Dios” ate bread. So he told his wife, who was an excellent baker, to prepare loaves for God. And she did, which he places inside the Ark. Also at the synagogue was a poor man who wished for a miracle. Hoping to find his miracle inside the Ark, he opened it. And found the loaves from Jacobi and his wife. Week after week, Jacobi placed the bread in the Ark and the poor man would retrieve it. And week after week, their faith in God grew. One day, the Rabbi saw Jacobi bring God bread and he scolded, “God doesn’t eat bread!” But Jacobi told him that for thirty years, he had been bringing God bread. So they waited and watched to see what was going on. Soon, the poor man opened the Ark and removed the loafed and the Rabbi confronted both men about their sinning. As the three wept, a mystic who was in the corner observing all of this began to laugh and said to the Rabbi that the men were not sinners but devout and God had so much fun watching the exchange every Shabbat. And, he added, from then on Jacobi must bring the bread directly to the poor man instead of placing it in the Ark. And God would be pleased and continue to see joy in the occasion.