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Anyone who has spent a Shabbat in the Jerusalem area has very possibly experienced the bliss of sinking his teeth into a Challah (bread baked for the Sabbath) from Herby's Bake Shop, located in my home town Bet El.
The recipe is obviously a trademark secret, but read on.
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| Herby carefully guards the challahs from the camera's eye lest the secret be revealed |
Phillip and Herby studied together at University of Tennessee in Knoxville, a town that has about as many Jews as a small bowling alley has bowling balls. Back in those days, it was against university protocol to have any type of stove in the dorms, but Herby, being the only Kashrut stringent student, struggled to get special privileges to have a closet where he could keep a hot plate and some kosher food.
It was difficult, but he was willing to do whatever it takes to learn at university and keep kosher.
When Shabbat came around, Herby wanted to get to synagogue, but the house of prayer was a hefty 3.5 miles away! And so, Herby would often walk the walk, in order to attend services.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we take a leap closer to the secret. There was only one family that was really shomer Shabbat (observant of the laws of Shabbat) in town, and the two students would occasionally be invited to their home for a meal. The family, the Goodsteins, served a mean challah, home-baked by the Mrs.
In this little hic hub, in the only religious home, history was made: Herby asked for the recipe from Mrs. Goodstein and began baking his own challahs.
Upon his return to Memphis, friends and neighbors at his Mom's home expressed interest in the delicious challahs, and Herby's Mom's kitchen became a makeshift bakery to supply the demand.
When Herby finished college and the challah orders were increasing, he soon placed his law degree on a back burner and became a Baker at Law, opening a shop on Bethel street in Memphis.
In the late 1980's after Herby had made aliyah, I went to his son's bris in the absorption center in Mevasseret Zion, just outside of Jerusalem, where Herby's family had been absorbed. They were looking for where to take up permanent residence, and I invited them to check out Bet El, enthusiastically telling about the fine town folk there.
The Herby Dan family indeed moved the Bet El, and the Goodstein challahs found a new venue for dissemination until this day.
I have never met or even heard about Mrs. Goodstein until this morning, but anyone who takes the trouble to track her down and copy the challah recipe, will own a document that could be auctioned on eBay for millions. In the meantime, check out Herby's site: http://www.herbysbakeshop.com
Now when Herby reads this article, I will post his confirmation or denial of the above tales right below, so:
Y'all come back now!
Good luck and Shabbat Shalom!
