"The first portion of your dough, Challah, you shall give a gift to the Lord in [all] your generations."

It is from this verse in Parshat Shelach that our Sages learn the Mitzvah of Challah-separating a fistful of dough before the bread is baked. In Biblical times, this piece of dough would be baked and presented to a priest in the Holy Temple. Today we still take off a small handful of dough, recite a blessing, and burn it since we have no priests working in the Holy Temple to donate it to. Doing this Mitzvah reminds us that it is G-d who provides for our daily needs, and even mundane tasks must be imbued with an aspect of holiness.

The Hebrew word עֲרִסה used in the verse to mean "dough," can also be used for "cradle." From this stems the well known Jewish tradition that children, like Challah, have to be consecrated for holiness and G-dly pursuits from the onset. However, what connection can we find to relate children to bread, other than the double meaning to a word?

The word Challah-חלה- is written with three Hebrew letters, each of which has a numerical value and symbolize the first three stages of a child's spiritual development: ח is 8, representing the 8^th day after birth when a baby boy has a Brit Milah (circumcision.)

ל equals 30, and a Pidyan Haben (Redemption of the Firstborn) takes place on the 30^th day of a baby's life.

ה is the number 5, at which age one begins to teach a child Torah.

Children are just like Challah; the more work is put in the dough, the better the bread; the more that is invested in a child's education ensures a child with a stronger Jewish identity.

Shabbat Shalom!