A Jewish family's history stitched together by challah covers

'I wanted to bring back beauty to the Shabbat table while also honoring women,' says Liora Haruni.

By FERN ALLEN DECEMBER 16, 2024 11:31 Updated: DECEMBER 16, 2024 11:44

A Malqeta challah cover. (photo credit: JOSHUA HARUNI)

There was little time for Rivka Haruni, a child bride, to pack her belongings during the 1936 Iranian pogroms as she hurriedly escaped to India. But she refused to leave behind her wedding dress – with its exquisite royal zardozi embroidery. 

Almost a century later, Rivka’s great-grandson David Haruni was astounded when he saw the elaborate stitching on the dress – which had made its way to Israel – currently on loan to the ANU Museum by his extended family. It was the same ornamentation technique that he and his mother have been using in their luxury line of challah covers.

“The more I look at our challah covers with their ancient sewing techniques, the more I feel connected to my father’s heritage,” David, 23, said. 

“It’s literally embroidered into my family’s history.” 

His mother, Liora, recalled, “We had shivers when we saw the family dress that had survived the Persian pogroms of 100 years ago.”

The mother-and-son challah cover enterprise, called Malqeta (Aramaic for “queen”; malka in Hebrew), began in 2022. 

Zardozi embroidery on a Malqeta challah cover design. (credit: JOSHUA HARUNI)

Challah covers and Shabbat

For 20 years, Liora, a native of Belgium who married into the Haruni family and is a master mosaic artist, has been teaching mosaics at her Color Room studio in Jerusalem. But being a creative handmaiden for others came at the price of her own creativity, and two years ago she began to search for a project that would combine her love of aesthetics with her pride in Jewish tradition.

“The gift of Shabbat is a gift for all civilization, whether you are religious or not. On Shabbat, the family sits around the table, and there is a connection of being together,” said the 54-year-old artist, who made aliyah in 1993.

“I wanted to enhance that and bring back beauty to the Shabbat table while also honoring women, who are such an important part of creating a Shabbat atmosphere,” added Liora, whose mosaic creations adorn the synagogue ark of the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

The handmade challah covers are breathtaking one-of-a-kind creations. Crafting each challah cover with the ancient zardozi hand embroidery technique can take up to 100 hours. This intense attention to detail elevates the challah covers from the functional to elegant and evocative works of art.

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“Zardozi” is a combination of two Persian words: zar for “gold,” and dozi for “sewing.” The technique dates back to the 14th century and is an important handicraft in Iranian culture. Traditionally, zardozi designs are created using gold and silver threads and can also incorporate pearls, beads, and precious stones.

The technique was used extensively by Persian royalty and adopted by the Iranian Jewish community to decorate wedding dresses for local Jewish brides. Persian Jews then brought zardozi embroidery to India when they began migrating there over a century ago, many fleeing antisemitic attacks by the local Iranian population.

IN ADDITION to the zardozi stitching, Liora’s creations incorporate embroidery from Indian saris. Before her son joined her this past year – after finishing an eight-month stint of reserve duty in Gaza – Liora had spent years traveling to India by herself. There, she would hunt for embroidery on saris that could be incorporated into her challah cover designs.

Those early days of Malqeta were not easy. Liora recalled that traveling alone took an emotional toll on her as she searched for sari dealers in India’s cities, and then had to negotiate with them. 

“It became too challenging for a woman there. David brought me back to life,” she reflected. “Everything switched when he started working with me this past April.”

Now they travel to India together, visiting sari dealers, as well as the studio they set up in New Dehli. There, a local team of six creates the challah covers from Liora’s designs, laboring over each stitch, bead placement, sequin, fabric choice, and color.

David admitted that he never thought he would be working professionally with his mother. However, the two have always been very close, and her offer tempted him, as it gave him the opportunity to combine his creative and business skills. Now he handles all the business shipments, accounting, financial transactions, and website updates. Inspired by the project, he has even designed his own challah cover, bringing his personal interest in art to the family challah cover enterprise.

“I love art,” said David, who designs clothing. “Being involved in this has to do with Jewish pride – and bringing more beauty into the world of modern Judaism.”

I caught up with him by phone after he had received yet another military order – this time, to serve in Lebanon. He stressed, as he drove north, that his commitment to the Jewish state, his heritage, and his family were inextricably intertwined. 

“I make beautiful challah covers for my people – and I stand on the borders for my country – and I have the honor of doing it with my mom. It’s a great adventure.”

The elegantly wrapped challah covers come with instructions for the tradition of ritually separating the challah dough as a tithing, known as hafrashat challah.

The handmade challah covers come with a steep price tag, ranging from NIS 680 to NIS 1,800. The company also offers a selection of machine-made challah covers for NIS 280. 

So some practical advice may also be in order: When a Malqeta challah cover is on the Shabbat table, be sure to keep the Kiddush cup and the red wine far away! 

To view the company’s range of challah cover designs, visit malqeta.com.