Challah on Sabbath

Historically

Although in the 1400s Challah was a simple type of airy bread, as time passed traditional challah became known as the egg washed braided bread more common today.

Challah gets its name from the story of Moses and the tradition of burning a piece of the dough it comes from.

Challah is typically served in two loaves which is symbolic of the story of collecting double portions of food on Friday so as to not need to collect food during the Sabbath. The six strands between the two loaves are also symbolic of the six days before the Sabbath and the twelve humps of each loaf represent the twelve ceremonial loaves kept in the temple for the twelve tribes.

Typically the challah is covered with a decorated cloth until after the wine has been blessed

In Fiddler on the Roof

The families singing in "Sabbath Prayer" will wait for the matriarch of the family to begin prayers over the candles and challah. This will then be uncovered later on in the song to align with this tradition.