Our founder
The person this started with
Healing Challahs was founded by Michele Jones. She had baked challah for years until cancer treatment left her too unwell to do it. Baking again afterwards — this time for other people — is what started this organization.
Why challah
Challah is the braided bread of Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Baking it takes time, and it is traditionally made to be shared. That is the whole idea here: someone nearby spends an afternoon on something, by hand, for a person they may never have met — and brings it to their door.
A diagnosis can be isolating. Treatment often means fewer visitors and fewer home-cooked meals. Healing Challahs exists so that healing happens with a community around it, not alone.
In Michele’s words
I have baked challah for years — it was a regular part of my week. During my cancer treatment, I wasn’t well enough to.
When I started feeling better, I began baking challah for other people. It gave me a great sense of joy, and that is where Healing Challahs comes from.
Where it goes from here
Healing Challahs is starting in San Francisco and growing outward from there — the Bay Area, then California, then further. An advisory board supports the work.
Know someone who could use one?
Requesting a challah is free, for yourself or for someone else. There is nothing to pay and nothing to prove.