(With Thanks to Tslil Kalish)
Since the beginning of the war, more than a year and a half ago, Israel has seen chesed initiatives spring up like poppies on the Gilboa.
Chamal Batzek (Dough War Room – loses a bit in translation) is one of these initiatives, Begun by Nezer Cohen and Asaf Yemin, soon after Oct. 7, it has a couple of unique attributes.
The soldiers in battle, miss the comforts of home so they decided to form a group that would meet on Thursday nights with the purpose of baking challot, cakes and cookies, and making care packages for the soldiers, literally giving them a taste of home.
Having worked out the logistics with the army of getting the care packages to the soldiers every week, they were offered the home of one of the families, who had been transferred to a hotel because their home in Ashkelon had suffered a direct hit. The meeting now moves around the country so that people from different cities can participate, and meet others.
But baking challah alone was not enough. Cohen and Yemin decided to give the group a few more layers of chesed.
Designated for 28-37 year old religious singles, Chamal Batzek became an opportunity for singles to meet one another in a laid-back environment. Volunteers interact in an atmosphere that brings out the best in them, and shows who they are much better than a dating app can.
The meetings used to take place every week but, since it’s expanded, it’s become every two weeks to cut costs. Along with the fresh-baked cookies, cakes, and challot, packages are packed with other snacks.
An additional aspect of the group is that every meeting, a different family who has lost a loved one in the war, comes to speak to the group about the people that they’ve lost, telling stories that give a real sense of who their loved one was. The group then makes a card with the soldier’s picture and information about him (or her) and adds it to that week’s care packages.
This is such a positive experience for the families that there is a waiting list to host the group.
The soldiers, who receive the packages, send back lots of appreciation and feedback, to help make the packages more relevant to their needs.
Each time, they use six kilos of flour and four kilos of yeast to create about 50 packages filled with doughy goodness and lots of love.
“The Chamal is a home – for soldiers, for single people, for bereaved families. That’s the feeling we want to impart to everyone who gives, everyone who receives, and everyone who takes part,” says Cohen.
Of course to make challot there’s hafrashat challah, which is made with prayers for the hostages, the injured, and illui neshama for the soldiers who have died al Kiddush Hashem in this war.
Each meeting, there are between 35-60 participants. There have been some couples who have gone out, and there has already been one wedding.
This initiative unites so many different sectors of Israel – the soldiers, the bereaved families, the yet-to-be-marrieds – and the volunteers get much more than they give.
There are so many mitzvahs involved in this project that the angels being created are forming their own iron dome.
To get in touch or make a donation: [email protected].
