Sawyer Kroll

Staff Writer

Moses and Passover. Jesus and Christmas. Mallor and Challahween.

Ms. Jessie Mallor, Jewish Studies teacher, has recently created Challahween, the blend of Challah and Halloween. The intermixed holiday has taken Milken by storm. But what exactly is Challahween?

“Challahween is the latest and greatest Jewish holiday,” Mallor said. “It’s an attempt to take something that is really secular and find a Jewish framework of fun, creativity, innovation, and community building.”

The main ritual of this cutting-edge holiday involves the judgement of challah. On Challahween day, students brought challot to class that would later be judged through a blind taste test. While some students brought challot from Ralphs, others brought challot from their favorite bakery; some even went above and beyond in baking their own. Students’ challot went through rigorous testing based on chewiness, moistness, smell, and the incredibly important “ability to grab the middle of the challah and pull out a piece” factor. 

The goal of Challahween is to teach students about the importance of Challah in Judaism. Mallor explains that she likes to educate her students about the history of challah and the lessons it teaches. 

“It’s a fun attempt to model how creative and innovative we can be in terms of experiencing our Jewish identity,” Mallor said.

The groundbreaking holiday was a hit amongst the student body. 

“Challahween was cool,” Cameron Hess ’17 said. “I ate a lot of challah.” 

What’s the future of Challahween?

“I hope it takes off,” Mallor said. “I hope kids next year come to class excited about Challahween. I’d love to develop more rituals around it.” 

Only once in every generation comes an innovator such as Mallor, and we wish her luck in the success of Challahween.