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Delivery of kosher meals lightens post-Ike Shabbat

Wednesday, 24 September, 2008 - 3:59 pm

Posted by Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff
Full Jewish Herald Voice Article >>

<font color='red'><i>Photo by JHV: AARON HOWARD</i></font color><P align='left'>Brith Shalom school principal Rabbi Todd Thalblum, truck driver Richard Miles and Chabad Rabbi Mendy Traxler help unload kosher meals from Mauzone.

Photo by JHV: AARON HOWARD

Brith Shalom school principal Rabbi Todd Thalblum, truck driver Richard Miles and Chabad Rabbi Mendy Traxler help unload kosher meals from Mauzone.

By AARON HOWARD 25.SEP.08
No electricity. No ice. No kosher food. Considering Houston’s reality three days after Hurricane Ike and three days before Shabbat, it appeared as if the upcoming Sabbath on Sept. 19 would be something less than “a vision of the world in its perfect state.”

[...] Partnering to deliver the packaged meals in Houston were Brith Shalom, the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, the Chabad Lubavitch Center, United Orthodox Synagogues and more than 100 volunteers. Partnering to prepare and package the meals in New York were Mauzone Home Kosher Foods of Queens and students from The Rambam Mesivta of Lawrence, the Hebrew Academy of Five Towns & Rockaway and the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County.

[...] The next step: getting partners into the project. The federation immediately said “we’re in” and promised $20,000 to underwrite the costs. United Orthodox Synagogues and Chabad Lubavitch each pledged $10,000. By noon on Tuesday, Rabbi Teller and Moses had contacted all of the inner-city congregations, soliciting their advice, needs and feedback. Each meal for five actually cost about $60, but organizers agreed to sell each dinner for five for $30. There were shipping costs. Money was needed upfront. Moses handled the financial aspect with a few phone calls.

[...] For some in the community, the meal had to be glatt kosher. Others needed a Chabad heksher for their food. Project organizers made sure to obtain sufficient quantities of both types of kosher meals, so that everyone in the community could be served.

[...] Approximately 700 meals were sold. Some 150 meals were donated to Seven Acres, about 50 to Jewish Family Service and about 30 donated to Chabad. The rest of the food was donated to the Houston Food Bank, a decision made with the participation of all the rabbis present in the parking lot.

Comments on: Delivery of kosher meals lightens post-Ike Shabbat
8/13/2012

Riti wrote...

17 Donna|July 24, 2010 Lois,I enjoyed your book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus so much a year ago that I felt moved to crtaee a summer Bible study using your book as the primary base, also two other books by David Blivin, plus a few other helps and some internet information. It was well received by the women who attended. Seeing women (and men) value God's word enough to participate in reading and studying the Bible consistently is the desire of my heart. How else will we as Christians learn to value the relationship we have with God that has been restored to us though the work of Christ?I usually wind up reading specific books like yours and then crtaee questions so that people will not depend on a book other than the Bible for their answers. I have found that we people can become proud easily and begin discussing the greatness of authors, competing and comparing, rather than the greatness of our Lord. So with this in mind, I have tried to focus on finding good and godly books, such as yours, doing the research, and developing the questions myself in such a way that students must look for answers in Scripture. This has caused them to do some of the thinking themselves and connect with the Word. Then after we have gone over what they have discovered, I present a lesson gleaning information the Scriptures as well as my outside resources, thus adding to what they have gleaned first from Scripture on their own. In this way, students connect with the Scriptures more, and less with the author of a book. I hope you are not offended by my approach. I always include a reference list at the end, in case anyone wishes purchase books and delve deeper, which some have done.I guess my point in writing all this is that I have had such a deep conviction that studying the Scriptures is becoming expensive. I my own church many bible studies run $15-$25 for the study books. Some women have not been able to afford this, and while the church often steps in and helps, I feel so strongly that it would be nice if Bible study in churches and in communities could be free. I was pleased that you put your study guide online, and I drew a couple of questions from it that did not require that women have the book. So what I'm saying is could you write a book that people could buy if they wish, but also crtaee a study guide that went along with the book that was online and free, but used Scripture mostly? The book could be the leaders guide without being called a leaders guide, so anyone could purchase it for their own enrichment and reading pleasure.Sorry for the length of this. Please know I did enjoy your book and the study my Bible group benefited from by having it as a central theme. Thanks for all you do.