Rising to the challenge of the Shabbos Project

On Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m., about 700 Jewish women from the Five Towns, from Orthodox to unaffiliated, will bake challah bread at the Sands Atlantic Beach.
The event is part of a larger celebration known as the Shabbos Project. The Shabbos Project is an identity movement that unites Jewish people to keep one full Shabbat, a religious day of rest, together. It originated last year in South Africa, where the majority of its diverse Jewish community came together to observe a single Shabbat.
The international Shabbos Project is scheduled to take place on Oct. 24 and 25. More than 212 cities and 33 countries around the globe will participate. The goals of the bake and project are allowing people to experience the magic of Shabbat just once, rejuvenating family and community life, restoring Jewish pride and identity, and building Jewish unity across the world.
Women from ages 12 and up, novices and experienced bakers alike will congregate to continue the tradition of making challah bread. Adina Fischlewitz, co-coordinator of the Five Towns Great Challah Bake and Far Rockaway resident, said the goal of the bake is to promote Jewish unity by sharing the beauty of Shabbat with those who have never experienced it.
“We are challenging every Orthodox woman who participates to bring a friend who is not religious,” she said. “We seek to embrace Jews of every type and bring them into our community by joining hands to do a mitzvah.” A mitzvah is a good deed performed due to religious duty.

Prior to the bake event, area high school girls will gather all the ingredients for the bread and put them into mixing bowls, preparing them for every participant. Singer Eitan Katz will perform while a live demonstration on preparing challah and spiritual insight are given, as participants blend together their 2.5 pounds of flour and pre-measured ingredients. Once the bread dough is kneaded and braided, everyone will pair up and say a special blessing on the challah, and leave with their dough to bake at home.
Challah is a taste of the world to come, or Olam Haba, according to co-coordinator Sima Gefen, a Far Rockaway resident. “Through this event, we hope to bring that taste to unaffiliated Jews,” she said. “We also hope to increase the connection between all of us as we work together to enhance our commitment to God and the mitzvot.”
Ellie Schlam, a spokeswoman for the bake and a Lawrence resident, said that she is most looking forward to performing the mitzvah of challah with hundreds of people. “Doing it as a group of Jewish women of all types reinforces that we are collectively continuing the chain of our Jewish heritage and tradition and the performance of this particular mitzvah begun by the Biblical matriarch, Sarah,” she said.
To register for the Great Challah Bake, visit www.theshabbosproject5tfr.com/challah-bake.html.