Florida Chabad House Raises Money for Israeli Poor

As soon as you meet a fellow Jew and say shalom aleichem he already has something to argue about. His response will be just the opposite: aleichem shalom. Obviously, this is only a joke but somehow it seems we can’t agree about anything. We are a very diverse people with many different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs.

But on Aug. 26, Chabad in Lake Mary, FL hosted an evening uniting Jews from across the spectrum. Ultra-Orthodox Chassidim sat alongside agnostic Jewish families to recognize two issues close to the heart of every member of the tribe, a Holocaust commemoration and a fundraiser for the poor of Israel.

All gathered were honored to have George Barth light the memorial candle. Barth grew up in Czechoslovakia, a child of a well to do Jewish family with a great emphasis on education—both secular and religious—including Torah, Mishnah and Talmud.

The Nazis came and very soon his world was turned upside down. Laws were introduced aimed to making life unbearable for Jews. Jewish doctors and lawyers were only allowed to have Jewish clients, all Jews were forced to wear a yellow star, Jews were not allowed to be out past 6 p.m. and Jews were no longer allowed to own businesses.

With false papers he escaped to Hungry as a gentile but eventually had to hide since there were virtually no men around as they all were in the army. With the help of the Zionist group Betar he found a small hole where he hid for weeks, living off old popcorn and bread that his girlfriend managed to bring him every once in a while.

When he heard the chatter of men in Russian, he knew he had survived the war. Sadly, the rest of his family wasn’t that lucky.

The event proceeded as the crowd joined in for the singing of “Oseh Shalom,” part of the Kaddish memorial prayer, and the shofar was blown as is the custom in the month preceeding Rosh Hashanah.

Joanne Caras, author of the “Holocaust Survivor’s Cookbook” mesmerized the crowd with her stories of miracles and survival. She told of the survivors who would talk about these recipes while in the labor camps and would somehow feel their stomachs being nourished without tasting a thing.

There was one woman who was so young when she was torn away from her family, she didn’t remember what her mom looked like, but she did remember the recipe of her mama’s chicken soup and as she was filling the pot “a bissel of this and a bissel of that” images and forgotten memories all came back.

Every recipe in the cookbook is recorded exactly as it was passed down. This one got the laugh of the night: one woman wrote down in her notes “have your husband peel the vegetables.…” The Jewish princess must have not been an American invention.

“The evening was a great success,” said Rabbi Yanky Majesky, “we sold out all of the cookbooks and raised over $1,800 for the Carmei Hair soup kitchen in Jerusalem.”

Carmei Hair feeds more than 500 poor Israelis daily with the greatest dignity. “It feels like a restaurant,” Caras said.

To date, the cookbook has generated moe than $150,000 allowing Carmei Hair to keep its doors open and ensuring that these old Jewish recipes continue to help feed hundreds of hungry stomachs every single day.