Helena Peiser is a JGU online class member.

Every Friday before Shabbos, Jewish girls volunteer to help their mother bake challah for Shabbos. These memories can be cherished for a long time. My earliest memory of when I baked challah was when I was at Gan Izzy in Nashville TN. It was a Friday and my group was making challah to take home and eat for Shabbos.

When I was little, I remember having lots of trouble braiding challah, so instead of braiding the challah I make it into a roll. There were times when I got the braiding process down, but would forget it. And now, I can braid my Challah with ease.

As a young child, a learning process may not be easy at first, but as the child continues to grow, she will always get better at it. Not everyone learns something new overnight. Often, one will first need to take baby steps in order to succeed. There is a phrase, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again”. For me, braiding challah was not an easy process to do at first, but I mastered it because I kept trying. This applies to every learning process in life.