Dear Friend,
"Rabbi, what is the origin of Challah?"
It’s a question I get often. The soft eggy bread loaves customarily eaten by the Shabbat meals probably began in Europe, (many believe it was in southern Germany in the 15th century). The term Challah first appears in the Torah. While here too it refers to bread, the Torah's Challah is not a specific type of bread, but rather, a Mitzvah that pertains to bread.
...When you enter the land where I bring you, it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set aside a portion for God. Of the first of your dough you shall set aside a loaf offering (Challah) to God an offering throughout your generations. (Bamidbar 15:18)
Each time a Jew would bake bread, they were instructed to separate 1/24th of the dough (or 1/48th if you were a commercial baker) and give it to the Kohanim. It was this piece of dough that was separated and given as a gift to the Priests that was called "Challah." Only after making this separation could the rest of the loaf be eaten by the person baking the bread. (Jews later chose to call their Shabbat Bread by the same name as this special Mitzvah...)
There’s a powerful message behind the Mitzvah of Challah--separating that first piece of bread for a higher purpose. Taking challah tells us that whatever we are given is not for our use alone. If we have wisdom, money, talents, or good health, our first step is to put them towards a G‑dly purpose.
There's another important lesson here as well. Torah also refers to challah as the reishit--the first and the best--of the kneading bowl. The same should be true with our spiritual pursuits. They may occupy only a small portion, quantity-wise, of our lives, but they are "the first and the best" in us, to which we should devote the first moments of our day, the freshest of our energies, and the best of our talents.
Although the Biblical Mitzvah of Challah only applied in the land of Israel during the times of the Temple,the Sages re-instituted the practice of Challah (albeit in a different manner) to commemorate this special Mitzvah and continue its important message. You can read more about this practice done by Jewish women throughout the centuries each time they knead homemade dough in this article.
Rabbi Yisroel and Rebbetzin Chana Kotlar