Challah for Friday Night Dinner by taffy

Challah for Friday Night Dinner

ONS4 is "culture and cuisine" today, a Friday, so I started planning this morning for a photo of the bread, wine, and candles -- present at any traditional Friday night (Jewish) Sabbath dinner. I knew the wine would be easy and I had one pair of color Sabbath candles left from a box I’d bought online because they went with the candlesticks my close friend had given me when we traveled together in Israel. I hadn't made challah in years, so worked at home for the day so I’d be around for the different steps. I couldn’t help but compare my little ‘adventure’ with making bread -- starting in a bread machine, and between risings, working on a PowerPoint, making photocopies, having a student meet me at home instead of my office, phone calls – with my grandmother’s. She would have actually prepared for the Sabbath, not a photo op. She would have been getting a traditional dinner together as a widow at the age of 44, with 9 children from ages 4 (my mom) to 23. She wouldn’t have her partner grilling pork chops (she would have kept kosher). What a difference two generations make!
I like your shot and the story and traditions behind it. Beautifully composed and lit.
March 23rd, 2013  
Deb
Lovely shot. I love the lighting. :-)
March 23rd, 2013  
Wow. First, it's a great photo, I love the balance in it, between the tall bright candlesticks and the shorter, darker wine glass and carafe. Second, I love your musings comparing your preparations for a special photo-op thing with it being what your grandmother would have done every single Friday.

My grandmother made a bread that's a bit like challah, and made it for everyone's birthday and every family party. (With no electrical appliances). I can hardly manage to make a batch every two years.
March 23rd, 2013  
Nice balance. The DOF with the focus on the candles the bread and glass of wine is on the mark. Well exeuted.
March 23rd, 2013  
I love reading about family traditions - this combined with the beautiful composition/colors/dof make it a fav.
March 23rd, 2013  
lovely capture, I especially like the way you have positioned the bread which leads me to the wine and candles, lovely
March 23rd, 2013  
What a beautiful composition ! Love the light in it
March 23rd, 2013  
What a lovely composition of a meal setting the bread looks good enough to eat just from the photo.
March 23rd, 2013  
A lovely composition and great info on tradition!!
March 23rd, 2013  
Kim
This is a very inviting picture.
March 23rd, 2013  
It's a beautiful Sabbath shot! We were part of a congregation that celebrated the Sabbath together for a long time and one of the ladies made the best challah! The beauty of any tradition is that it can be both enduring and adapted to each generation. You may not have a completely kosher Sabbath, but I think your grandmother would be pleased to know that you're celebrating it! Once again- a beautifully composed and taken picture!
March 23rd, 2013  
Lovely story and a great pic...love the athmosphere!
March 23rd, 2013  
What a warm photo and a great story. Looks like the perfect Friday night in!
March 23rd, 2013  
I love the mood! Great composition! Love those candle sticks!
March 23rd, 2013  
@kwind @scarlettau Thank you for commenting and noticing the lighting. Something I was trying to 'get right.'
March 23rd, 2013  
@anwan Thanks Annette. It was one of the few times I've thought of a shot to take and then planned it and made it happen. So, it did strike me as soooo different than really planning for a family dinner. And the next best thing is challah French toast for breakfast on Sunday!
March 23rd, 2013  
@arthurk Thanks Arthur. I like the 85mm for the DOF I can count on.
March 23rd, 2013  
@jankoos Jan, thanks so much for the fav! I appreciate your comment re the photo and the story behind it.
March 23rd, 2013  
@ness50 @sjouk @salemslot @carolmw Thank you Vanessa, Sjouk, Paul, and Carol. I appreciate the visit and the comments.
March 23rd, 2013  
@kimshots Thanks Kim!
March 23rd, 2013  
@olivetreeann Thanks Anne -- I hope my grandmother would be glad, and maybe appreciate the irony!
March 23rd, 2013  
@lakruijf @fueast @orangecrush Thank you la Kruijf, Alison, and Jerry. I was hoping to convey a soft, happy, relaxing mood and appreciate your comments.
March 23rd, 2013  
Wonderful shot! The mood is perfect and the focus on the bread is fantastic! Fav
March 23rd, 2013  
Very nice
March 24th, 2013  
Beautiful and so inviting!
March 24th, 2013  
@danielwsc @kerristephens @michaelelliott Thanks Daniel, Kerri, and Michael! I was hoping the mood would be inviting. Daniel, the bread -- if I do say so myself -- was quite tasty! Thanks so much for faving the photo!
March 24th, 2013  
What a beautiful photo! I love it - and I love how much forethought went into producing it. And I love your memories of your grandmother. She must have been quite a woman. A fav for sure.
March 24th, 2013  
Lovely atmosphere with the warm colours and light.
March 24th, 2013  
@barbsmith Thanks Barb! There are so many stories my mom has told me of her -- I only knew her as an older woman, and one of my strongest memories is when we visited, she always made us little bite-sized chocolate chip cookies. A major addiction of mine til today!
March 24th, 2013  
@boxplayer Thank you so much for viewing and commenting.
March 24th, 2013  
A beautifully composed and executed still life.
March 24th, 2013  
@seanoneill Thanks Sean. I appreciate your viewing & commenting.
March 24th, 2013  
Very nice narrative and great shot for the theme. I think about my grandmothers life and my experience with her a lot too.
March 25th, 2013  
@bardejov Thanks! I'm glad you could connect to it as well.
March 25th, 2013  
Lovely composition! The candlelight is beautiful.
March 25th, 2013  
great shot makes me want some challah... arr a few hours in and im already sick of matzah!
March 26th, 2013  
Beautifully done!
March 27th, 2013  
@colie I was going to say the same exact words. So nice, Taffy!
March 28th, 2013  
@pflaume @lfrans @colie @amandal Thanks (a little belatedly for some) Lisa, Liane, Colie, and Amanda. Your comments are so encouraging.
March 28th, 2013  
very inviting. i'm not sure how i missed this post. already said numerous times, but great composition.
March 30th, 2013  
@vankrey Thanks Michael...I'm about to toast the last little bit of it and have a peanut butter sandwich.
March 30th, 2013  
Your story is reflective in a way that captures the essence of "culture and cuisine" so perfectly. I like how generations keep yet adapt both culture and cuisine. Lovely photo, and indeed, very inviting.
April 1st, 2013  
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