The Challah Lady from Album Yanky and Shabbos by Yitzy Erps

The Challah Lady

There's a wealthy lady

Who lives in my neighborhood

She has a cook to stock every shelf

But Wednesday night she yells “Hooray”

And shoos the cooks away

Because she wants to bake the challah herself.

You can tell that baking challah is her pride and joy

It’s a mitzvah she won’t ever shirk

Smells so good that I suppose

That if you follow your nose

You will find the challah lady at work.

And she kneads, kneads, kneads her challah dough

The only thing she needs is challah dough

Now this challah lady had a dinner to attend

With the wealthiest people in town

“Well if you want to attend,”

Said her fine and fancy friend

“Then you need, you need, you need a new gown.”

But the store would only sell the gowns on Wednesday night

The challah lady said, “I cannot go

I’ll put some new lace on my wrist

To give the old gown a new twist

Like the twist I give to my challah dough.”

Now the challah lady went to visit Dr. Smith,

And he told her she had to lose weight.

He said, “Here’s a nice surprise

There’s a class in exercise

For the ladies every Wednesday at eight.”

Now the challah lady said, “I just cannot come

But you say I am heavy so

I’ll just have to put more might

Into kneading Wednesday night

So that I’ll be as light as my dough.”

It was summer, and the air conditioner broke down

It was a hundred degrees in daylight

Said repair man Yerachmiel

“I’ve began a great new deal

I’ll be selling my tools Wednesday night.”

“It’s the only night I’ll fix the air conditioning

Or you’ll wait till I buy new supplies.”

The Challah Lady then did speak
And she said, “I’ll wait a week

While the heat will help my challah dough rise.”

Now the challah lady had a wig of lovely hair

And she wanted it handsomely brushed

But the stylist said she might 

Only do it Wednesday night

But at any other time she’d be rushed.

Now the challah lady said, “I just cannot go

But my sheitel needs setting I know

So I’ll just dye my wig a shade

And I’ll give it a new braid

Like the braid I give to my challah dough.”

Now the challah lady told me why her baking is 

More important than all of these things

It’s because ladies have alone

This mitzvah as their own

And so when she bakes the challah she sings…