Topekan Hannah Schifman had just finished graduate school in 2020 and, like for many others, finding a job was proving to be difficult for her. So while at a standstill in the job hunt, she decided to tap into her Jewish roots and start a business that would reconnect her with the Jewish community in Topeka.
In October 2020, Schifman started Challah by Hannah, a business that she runs out of her home. Challah is a bread special to the Jewish cuisine and typically, but not always, eaten during special occasions, such as holidays and Shabbat. I kind of used this as an opportunity to reconnect the community as well as offering a service for our older community members, Schifman said. But of course now it has expanded to non-Jewish community members and sharing more about the Jewish heritage with people.