Community Magazine January 2019

TEVET - SHEVAT 5779 JANUARY 2019 69 Before the event, Linda elatedly told to me that none of the attendees would go away empty-handed. She had arranged for enough sponsored “give aways” for each woman, in addition to the fabric aprons described above. Sponsors also donated the auctioned items, which were displayed on beautifully decorated carts. Yours truly received a bright yellow pashmina shawl and a black beaded bracelet, as well as a shiny red bucket with all the ingredients needed to bake six to nine challot, just in time for Hanukah. Claudia Bildirici (recipe developer, chef, and caterer), microphone in hand, kicked off the Challah Bake, walking around the room and engaging the crowd. She confided, “We all basically use the same recipe to bake challah.” Kay Robyn Ashkenazi, a key MOMs member and a food blogger, also addressed the women and delighted them with pointers and personal stories. Large screens allowed women throughout the room to see Claudia and Kay Robyn easily. The energy in the room was rousing and contagious. Women were chatting, laughing, kneading dough ardently, taking pictures, and having pure fun. Women who had never met, both Ashkenazi and Sephardic, connected and united to bake challah! I spoke with women and young girls who had never baked challah before and with others who bake challah every week. Some had never attended a Challah Bake, while others come every year. Many expressed their gratitude for uniting with friends and family for such a worthy mitzvah. I met local women from Brooklyn as well as those who had traveled from Deal, Queens, and Long Island for this special event. A woman named Beth was there with two lovely daughters-in-law on each side of her. Two young women in their twenties, high school friends, were at theCenter for their first Challah Bake. A lovely young French woman, Sarah R., introduced herself and divulged that she had written to the Lubavitcher Rebbe about finding her naseeb. I met the recently appointed Civil Court Judge Gina Levy Abadi, who was proud to participate in her first MOMS Challah Bake. Rebbetzin Violet Chkouri recited the special beracha for the hafrashat challah , the separating of the challah dough. Hafrashat challah is one of the three unique mitzvot assigned to women (the others are lighting the Shabbat candles and taharat hamishpacha ). The hafrasha takes place before the dough has been formed into any sort of shape. Many believe that the time before reciting the beracha is a fortunate time for personal requests and tefillot . I walked around the social hall in search of the community’s Instagram stars. I was happy to see Michelle Mozes, a new MOMs member who designed the Challah Bake poster. Michelle is a talented artist and young mother who I met several years ago! Rachel Ostroy, owner of Pink Label, was responsible for gathering many of the wonderful items for the auction and gifts for the attendees. I chatted with Chagit Sofiev Leviev, mother of four and a businesswoman, who told me about the school her father established for his fellow Bukharan Jews in Elmhurst, the Queens Gymnasia.Hisgoalwastomakeitpossibleforall Jewish children in New York to attend religious schools instead of public schools. I found and introduced myself to culinary experts Aliza Salem and Emily Massry. I recognized other food stylists and stars, Vanessa Haberman, Sabrina Ovadia, Paulina Ashkenazi, and Gitty, creator of Valour Magazine . I brought along a close friend, Fran Bast, who had never been to a Challah Bake of this magnitude. Her overall impressions were positive and joyful: “I entered into a large spacewhere all I could seewere red dish tubs! The venuewas filledwithwomen chatting and putting on aprons and hugging one another. I was a bit reticent until a woman next to me, Yehudit, immediately became my best friend. The Instagram stars were very funny, giving us simple directions, spicing it up with antidotes, and encouraging comradery. One new aspect for me was the reciting of the prayer of ‘taking challah.’ A participant led each table in the prayer, often in memory or in honor of someone in their lives. It was moving and uniting at the same time. So, I carried home this enormous tub with an enormous challah dough ready for Shabbat. The challah was delicious!” An added bonus for the women was the beautiful voice of singer Nechama Cohen who reached out to Linda to sing at the Bake. Linda sums up her feelings about being Jewish and baking challah as follows: “Being Jewish shouldn’t be something anyone hides. We should be proud. Maybe it’s the ubiquitous appeal of challah that also attracted me to take on the Bake as an annual MOMS event. America developed a little crush on the chosen people. Jews are officially cool. That’s the feeling I want our participants to have. For the older generations, being Jewish meant identifying with Israel, remembering the Holocaust, and fighting assimilation and intermarriage. For our generation I’m hoping it means that and taking pride. When we do events of this nature – bringing 100 people or more together for a quality Jewish experience, I’m hoping to make it a positive unifying experience. My goal is to increase Jewish identity and content and to mainstream Jewish pride by enrichment.” Tizku l’mitzvot dear Linda! Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach. Ellen helps people find their passion, purpose, and positivity in life and relationships, and conducts personal growth workshops throughout the year. Ellen can be contacted at ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com ).