Hallot
The braided loaves baked for the Sabbath and festival meals are called hallot. According to tradition, one portion of the dough is left aside. This practice, called "hafrashat hallah", gave the bread its name. Not all Jewish traditions use braided loaves. Iraqi Jews use twelve flat breads, resembling pita, to represent the Temple showbreads.
Hallah for a Bar Mitzvah celebration
When a Jewish boy comes of age at thirteen he becomes obliged to perform adult religious duties, such as putting on tefillin (phylacteries). Some ultra-Orthodox communities bake hallot with this motif for the festive Bar Mitzvah meal.
Hallah in the shape of a key for the first Sabbath after Passover
In the ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi community, key-shaped hallot (shlissel halle) are baked as a propitious sign for livelihood. Some make an impression of a key on top of the hallah before baking; some place a key-shaped piece of dough on top of the hallah; and others bake an actual key inside the bread.
Hallah with tefillin motifs for a Bar Mitzvah celebration, Shmuel Vardi, Beate Kelm
