EXCLUSIVE: She Bakes, She Dances - But ‘Challah Mom’ Is Hiding a Bigger Mission

At 41 years old, Anat Ishai, the woman known across social media as “Challah Mom,” has become more than a Friday tradition. What started as a personal coping mechanism during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into a powerful digital platform blending faith, motherhood, and Jewish wisdom: with a side of dancing and dough.

A Challah-Centered Journey

"It was in the height of COVID. Do you remember the sourdough craze?" she recalls with a smile. "I kept failing the recipe and didn’t understand why. So I moved to challah!”

While many were turning to baking for comfort, she turned it into a mission.

"Four kids at home, a bat mitzvah canceled, I didn’t know how to homeschool four kids. So I wanted to do something I was good at, and I realised baking chalot, besides a pleasure of mine, could be what I was looking for.”

In a world on hold, where people were locked at home with their own companies and thoughts, every person managed to find their own way to survive the uncertainty and keep moving on, day by day, week after week. And it wasn’t different for Anat. “I waited for Shabat, prepared myself for it, and planned my chalot calendar. I started counting weeks this way. And suddenly, I became the Willy Wonka of challah. I started to dance with my challah, talking about Shabbat, Chagim, Jewish wisdom. And it took off."

Her videos soon went viral, combining humor and joy with deep spiritual commentary. “I became known as the ‘Challah Mom’ because my flagship was all about challah. I’d put captions above my head on what was happening in my life and in the world, from modesty to kashrut, being a Jewish woman, etc, while I was baking chalot. People would stick around long enough to watch me make challah, dance, and open a window into my life to share Jewish wisdom.”

Faith as a Foundation

Her work is deeply rooted in a personal spiritual journey, one she says every Jew must take for themselves.

"Every single Jewish person goes on a Lech Lecha journey," she says, referencing Abraham’s spiritual path. "Every Jew seeks Hashem personally, independently of how they were raised. When I was in the age of finding Hashem for myself, I realized He was with me all along, just waiting for me to talk to Him, have a coffee with Him, laugh with Him."

Though she didn’t grow up speaking what she calls “Torah language,” her life today is guided by it. “I’ve learned a language to articulate what I always felt and thought. You are a soul in a body, and everything you do has a relationship with that, with your relationship with Hashem.”

Challah became her channel for spiritual connection.

"I chose challah as my special way to connect. Among the 613 mitzvot, making challah was the least threatening way to sit and create peace with people. I try to model myself after our Avot (patriarchs), taking a little piece of their spiritual DNA."

The Power of Torah and the Fight Against Hate

She finds constant inspiration in the Torah itself.

"When Hashem gave us the Torah, He knew that Lech Lecha would be written for me too," she says. "When I learn new things about our Jewish heritage, I’m amazed that I have something so beautiful already articulated for me. The hard part is to live by it. But if I do my best to connect, I’ll live the best version of myself."

Her message is not without resistance.

"Yes, I receive a lot of hate and antisemitism, which is part of being responsible for a large account which spreads Jewish wisdom. But how much hate can someone handle every day?" she asks. “Some days I feel I can’t handle it. People ask, ‘How can you dance while innocent children are starving in Gaza?’”

Regarding antisemitism, Anat relates to it under her skin, being the daughter of two Russian parents, who made aliyah from Russia in the 1970s due to a necessity of running away from antisemitism. “They felt antisemitism in their skin.”

She emphasizes that Jewish strength is generational. “Every generation has to rise to defeat the enemy. I’m raising my kids to see the privilege of being a Jew, and it comes with a big responsibility. I’m the generation stopping generational trauma.” Differently from her parents, who carried the jewish heritage with weight and fear, Anat sees it as a joyful and blessed identity, which should be freely celebrated and embraced. That is what she teaches her kids.

More than the thousands of followers she inspires, she says, her real impact is at home. “The greatest influence I’ll ever have is to the four beautiful kids I have in my house. That’s where I’ll build Jewish warriors.”

Rooted in Israel, Looking Ahead

Although born in Petah Tikva, Anat spent much of her life in Toronto, Canada, to where her family moved when she was five years old. Still, she says, “Israel is my home, it healed me.” The Challah Mom always knew that the Land of Honey and Milk was her home to be.  

"I came to Israel in 2022 for a one-year family adventure: to have the bat mitzvah of my kid, which never happened because of COVID. We chose to live this journey in a steroid way: conquering it all, climbing every mountain, tasting every food, praying everywhere... That year, I really got to experience Israel through my own eyes, not the eyes or biases of others. And she showed me the best of herself.”

The return to Canada was painful. “When we left Israel, a piece of me was broken. I understood that Israel was our place.” Seven weeks later, the family was back on the airplane to do aliyah. 

Even after October 7, which happened only one month after Anat’s family did alyah, when asked if she regrets her decision to immigrate, she answers firmly: “I don’t regret it. When you get married and tough things happen, do you regret it? Life is messy and complicated. You can’t give up or regret every time it gets hard.”

Differently from her parents, Anat explains, her family’s immigration to Israel was a reborn experience. “We didn’t run away when we made aliyah. We were running towards Israel. We took the aliyah decision from a place of strength.”

Looking Forward

When asked what’s next, her eyes light up.

"Becoming an author is the next item to check from my list. I’m working on my book. I want to expand the ‘Challah Mom’ brand. As long as I keep myself open, I’ll see Hashem’s way."

But her biggest hope lies in the generation she’s raising.

"My hope is in the next generation. They are going to bring Mashiach by holding back the trauma and understanding who we are."