There is a custom in Jewish communities to bake a Shlissel Challah (Yiddish for “key”) for the Shabbos after Pesach. These Challos are best known as a segula for parnasa and livelihood, though there are other reasons for it.
Some bake the challah with an actual key inside, some make the challah in the shape of a key and some put sesame seeds on top in the form of a key. There are those who make the challah flat to look like matzos. We will discuss this later on. The Ohev Yisroel says about shlisel challah that “the minhagim of our fathers are most definitely Torah”.
There are many reasons given for this minhag of baking shlissel challah; we will go through some of them. (Some of the items written below can also be found in Taamei Minhagim, Nitei Gavriel, Sefer Hatoda’a and Minhag Yisroel Torah).
First of all, the second mishna in Rosh Hashanah says on Pesach we are judged on the grains, parnasa. Rabbeinu Nissim asks if we are judged on Rosh Hashana then how are we judged on Pesach? He answers that on Pesach it is determined how much grain there will be in the coming year for the world, but on Rosh Hashana it is decided how much of that grain each individual receives. The Meiri, however, says that on Rosh Hashana it is decided if one will live or die, suffer or not and other such things, but on Pesach is when we are judged on the grains. Based on this there are customs in Sephardic communities to do things Motzei Pesach as a sign that we want Hashem to give us livelihood.
In Aram Soba (Syria) and Turkey they put wheat kernels in all four corners of the house on Motzei Pesach as a sign of prosperity for the coming year. (Moed L’kol Chai -R’ Chaim Palagi, Beis Habichira). From a mishna we already see that there is a connection between Pesach and parnasa.
Different ways of making Shlissel Challah
As mentioned above there are those that make the challah round and flattish for this Shabbos, in the image of matza.
Some make the challah in the shape of a key.
Some attach a piece of dough in the shape of a key. Breslov Customs for Pesach (page 57) says this is the minhag of the family of Reb Elazar Kenig shlita and of Manistritch.
Sefer Hatoda’ah mentions making the image of a key with sesame seeds on top of the challah. These first three customs can, perhaps, be seen from the wording of the Ohev Yisroel in one place where he says we put the image of a key on the challah.
Some place an actual key in the challah. Perhaps this is done because of the wording in many places of indenting the challah with a key.
Either way it is done the key or image of the key is usually on top. An interesting observation about this. The Gemara quoted by the Yismach Yisroel (reason 6), about the key, is at the top of daf 31b. At the bottom of the daf is the mishna mentioning the women’s mitzvah of challah. Here too, the key is on top and the challah on the bottom.
How to make Challah in the shape of a key
Step by step tutorial on how to shape your challah dough into a key by Joy of Kosher.
Click here for Jamie Geller’s famous Challah Recipe.
Now, how to shape the key, see photos below for step by step instructions (using play dough for illustration purposes, but it is also fun to play with):
Key Veshaim Kodshoi Votochnu The Schlissel Challah Segulah has been widely accepted amongst many Bnos Yisroel. The first & only source for this Minhag is from the Sefer Ohev Yisroel who claimed Schlissel Challah to be an old Minhag B’Yisroel . The Sefer Ohev Yisroel is a collection of Divrei Torah from R. Avrohom Yehoshua Heshil zt”l, known as the Apte Rov (Rebbe). *The Rebbe’s son R. Yitzchok Mier zt”l writes in the Hakdama, “He realized, people were writing and saying over in the name of his father (Apter) things he never said, they were also quoting inaccurately Toirehs from… Read more »
Ever herd of the concept פותח על שתי הסעיפים .on you I say the posuk כי אותי עזבו מקור מיים חיים לחצוב להם בארות בארות נשברות.מיר האבן אונזער רבין and that’s it .
I thought it was just stupidly dangerous and was proven right when I almost bit down hard on one a few years ago. Apparently it wasn’t a segula for Shalom Bayis since I was very upset that I almost lost a tooth. I suppose it is a segula for parnassa for your——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- DENTIST!!!
Who says it’s not a Chabad minhag?
We mention this segulah every week after havdolah in ויתן לך.
כי בשמחה תצאו
“With your key shall go out with joy”
I learnt that we don’t eat shapes of objects on Shabbos so we use a real key but that’s also interesting about Borer. I suppose that means you take the challo off the key and not vice versa?
With regard to the minhag not being Chabad I don’t think a minor delightful custom like this is worth making such a fuss about especially if one’s been doing it for years b4 knowing that it’s been mentioned as not being our Minhag
I am so shocked this conversation is actually happening. It’s a challah in a shape of a key. That’s it. Breathe Chassidim, just breathe.
Is also a beautiful minhag, but it’s not our minhag. I can’t see what’s wrong with it, but… Must be a good reason.
There are many beautiful minhagim in many Jewish communities. There are very few that the Rebbe writes specifically that it is not our minhag including “shlisel challa” and lighting Shabbos candles on olive oil. Minhagim are always beautiful to adapt, but if the Rebbe writes that it is not our minhag there is reason for that not necessarily know to us simple soldiers.
🙂
Shabbat Shalom to all
If your wife puts a key in your chala, show her appreciation and give her all the brochos in world. Regardless of whether this is your minhag or not.
The Frierdiker Rebbe and Rebbe speak about this. I did see letters, but don’t have the source.
There are thousands of beautiful segulos and minhogim by different backgrounds of Yidden, and I do not put them down, and they SHOULD do their minhogim.
BUT, it is NOT the way of Lubavitch. Our Rebbeim are OUR EXAMPLE.
Stop wasting time trying to prove that it’s not minhag chabad. Making a challa key is a beautiful segula. Any segula fire parnassa suits me.
Arguing and putting others down is definitely not minhag chabad either.
The Rebbe would rather you make a shlissel challa than argue that you’re holier than though.
Miriam
The reason why this min hag has popped up in later years I think is like many things amongst us. We want an easy and quick way to achieve gashmiyus. This is most likely a polisher minhag (or at least it fits to be). Like polisher chassidim.
There is also in Hayom Yom a Segulah for parnassa, by having in mind in Shmone Esrei by the words “veis lol minei sevuoso letovo” to think about Esrog for sukos Wheat for matza and Wine for Kidush then rest will automatically follow.
i was told by my rav that one must be careful with boreir if putting key inside challa. he did mention” not our our minhag”
According to Otzar Minhogei Chabad (Nissan p. 243), this is not our minhog.
Just because it may not be a chabad minhag, doesn’t mean it’s an issue d’oraisa. If you don’t want to take advantage of a special segulah like this one, that’s your choice. Making a shlissel challah certainly wouldn’t harm anyone.
לגבי חלת מפתח המנהג המקורי הוא לא צורת החלה אלא בתוך
החלה להכניס מפתח בעל חשיבות דהיינו דלת ראשית ולאפות
It says in otsar haminhagim chabad that it is not our minhag to do shlissel challah. It is right in the beginning of the section מפסח לאצרת in the section about Shabbos mevorchim iyar
I too wonder at the extraordinary publicity and emphasis this minhag receives every year on Chabad web sites and publications. It’s certainly a genuine minhag yisroel, and as such deserves respect, but it’s not OUR minhog. There are literally tens of thousands of wonderful minhagei Yisroel that most of us are unaware of, because they’re not ours, and our publications and web sites don’t go out of their way to publicize them. So why this one? Until about 30 years ago it was unheard of in Chabad; why is it now so emphasized that a newcomer would surely imagine it… Read more »
wow!! geza shebgeza, so you would probably be the “go to guy” if i want to know about any chabad minhagim.
we are privileged to have people like you around.
As to the why: Read what Eli Wolf wrote above. From someone whose ancestors came from Lubavitch, I can only say that I too never heard of it nor saw it being practiced at home or in other Lubavitch circles and not even in Crown Heights until many many years later, after a whole “new wave” of americanized chassidim came around and brought new practices from outside communities inc some that are bringing down our standards (& I don’t mean shlissel challah). The only practice I know of that The Rebbe instructed us to look into others to see how… Read more »
האים זה מנהג חב”די ואיפה זה כתוב
never known to be a minhag chabad exclusively at all
Is this a Minhag Chabad? I was raised in a Chabad Family, Geza Shebgeza, never heard about it until years ago, when I came to NY.
מאת אלי וולף: ישנו סיפור על הבעש”ט שהורה לאחד מתלמידיו שיהיה ה’בעל תוקע’ בראש השנה. התלמיד ביקש מהבעש”ט שילמד אותו הכוונות שיש לכוון בעת התקיעות. בבוקר ר”ה, ראה הבעש”ט שהתלמיד מגיע עם נייר מסודר עליו רשומים הכוונות, והדבר לא מצא חן בעיניו. בהגיע עת התקיעות – חיפש התלמיד את הנייר, ולא מצא. רוחו נשברה מכך. הוא תקע את התקיעות בלי ה’כוונות-של-נייר’, רק עם לב שבור. אח”כ אמר לו הבעש”ט, שכוונות אלו מפתחות פרטיים. לכל דלת ומנעול יש את המפתח המיוחד לו. אבל לב נשבר – הרי הוא כגרזן וקרדום הפותח ופורץ את כל הדלתות כולם. סגולות שונות יש לפרנסה. חלות… Read more »