The two largest bakeries in Eretz Yisroel, Angel’s and Berman’s, stopped baking simple white bread on Thursday morning, leaving a possibility that regular Challah will not be available for Shabbos – according to Arutz 7.
The problem is that the Israeli government subsidizes simple bread and controls its price. The types of bread under price supervision include plain white bread, plain brown bread and regular challah – all of them sold whole or sliced.
The bakers claim that the price of wheat has gone up drastically around the world and they pay more for flour. Therefore they cannot continue selling the bread at the same prices, they claim.
Yeshivaworld had recently reported (HERE) that the government refused to allow the price increase. Prime Minister Olmert and Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) signed an order this week (reported HERE on YW) extending the current price schedule for another three months.
The “Orot Chesed” organization has asked the government to intervene so that challah will be available for the Shabbos.
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19 Responses
Wow, imagine everyone in israel eating Matzo’s on Shabbos, not bad for a change.
Ever heard of baking your own?
Shame on you! – A.B.K
Here in Israel the poverty level is very high and many families can barley but bread or challah for their Shabbos table. Try living like us for a Shabbos or two, then Say that you are sorry for your comment. Try making Shabbos with $50 or less. If challa goes up one Shekel and you buy 5 of them, one child might not get a piece of fish!
Fresser – Try giving up your bowl of cholent for a Shabbos or two.
Well how about instead of eating matzos bake your own challah B’H that is what I did & many others do that too I’m sure.
There are plenty of challas here just that Angel decided to screw over the consumers and baked round sweet challahs the kind they bake for Tishrei and charged 7.50 Shekels for a challah. I personally bought challas from Abadi and paid 5.50 shekels for each. There are many smaller bakeries that have a good supply of challa. Abadi, Nechama, Shibollim , Neeman to name a few.
So now challa can be classified as Lechem Oni teh bread of the poor.
In the end the women will go back to baking their own and fulfill the mitzvah of taking challah!
I was at two different “makolets'” this friday morning and there didn’t seem to be any shortage of challah whatsoever.
Gevald!! How will everyone eat chumus and tehina with no challah!!
Hey drfeivel not everyone can afford a $300 mixer to bake challah!!
not everyone can bake by hand
Once again the poor are the one’s who will pay the price. Angel & Berman Bakeries make very fancy cakes etc. they can afford to raise the price on those products, since only those who can afford them, buy them. Its a shame that those who don’t have much more than Challah to put on their table, should have to pay up to 2$ more per Bakery Challah.
while it is certainly true that not everyone can bake by hand, the vast majority of people can. I have been blessed by HASHEM that I have a $300 mixer and my wife still bakes challah by hand.
Before the naysayers have their word I will pointt out that my wife works full time as a professional. She bakes CHallah once a month and puts it in the freezer.
If you don’t have room in the freezer set up a rotation with a few friends and each of you takes turns baking challah 1 week and give the 3/4 to the other members of your group.
There are solutions to all of these problems if we stop looking for the easiest way out. We don’t always need the the biggest brand anmes “Angel’s” in order to have challah. In fact it is more mehudar al pi torah to make challah in your home on Erev Shabbos.
Hatzlocha Rabbah and Gut Shabbos to all.
What was the price of challah until now?
If everyone would just go to Ma’afia Nechama next to the Mir, they would not have a problem
LoyalReader
you make a good point I don’t think many people think about.
what about yaaleh bakery. it is much better anyways.
You can’t stay in business if your costs,especially,the main ingredient goes up and you’re forced to maintain the price. That is simple economics and capitalism.Bake smaller challos,and keep the going price per unit (not weight) like they’re doing here in USA> Notice that a cup of yogurt is now 7 oz., a quart of mayon.,is now 30 oz. So make the challos smaller,and charge the same as it was before,per unit.
What is the price of challah, and what was it before the price hike?
Good idea,,,KAJWHguy
There will still be a demo against smaller & more petite challahs.
Wow, So Whats Going 2 Be With The Chalah?