Challah Boards | Challah knifes | Jewish Gifts

A Challah board is a special tray, which Jewish people use every Shabbat meal.
They put two whole loaves of Challah on the Challah board, which is usually a
decorative cutting board.

The Challahs on the challah board are covered with Challah cover while we say
Kiddush. Two reasons are given for this:
The first one is as a remembrance of the dew that covered the mahn, both above
and below. What is the mahn? When God brought the Jewish people out of
Egypt, they spent 40 years in the desert on their way to the Land of Israel. Their
survival during this time was totally from the Almighty. He provided a constant
source of water and protection. And for food there was mahn a crystal-like
substance that fell from the heavens each day. The mahn fell with a covering of
dew, on top and below. The dew was a sort of preservative, as well as
insurance that the freshness remains intact, keeping the taste new and stimulating.
Thus, by placing the challahs between the protective layers of the challah board
from underneath and the challah cover from above, we invoke this beautiful
symbolism each Shabbat at our meal.
The second reason is so as not to "embarrass" the bread while we bless over the
whine. Of course, inanimate objects don't become "embarrassed"; but we can
learn a powerful lesson (mussar haskel) from this - if we are so careful about not
embarrassing the bread, and for that we put it covered on a challah board, how
much more must we be careful with the feelings of other people.

After the blessing over the Challah, the Challah cover is taken off. At that point,
the challah is removed from the Challah board and passed around so that each
person would be able to tear a small piece off and eat it.
After the Kiddush, the remains of the challah are putted on the challah board
again so that everyone could enjoy it during the meal.

Accordingly, there are Challah boards and knives made especially for the
Shabbat table, often made out of olive wood or stone. Also, many boards have
slated tray for bread crumbs to fall through and make for an easy cleanup.