On a beautiful day of sunshine, our synagogue hosted a luncheon in our Sukkah. We invited as our guests Pastor David Noble and his congregation at the Central Presbyterian Church to thank them for hosting us during our time of need when our synagogue was flooded. Approximately 20 of his congregation family joined 50 of ours sharing a heartfelt afternoon of prayers, singing, food, and friendship.
Our delicious meal was prepared by Bara and Khulood, two recently resettled refugees from Syria. We had previously enjoyed delicious meals prepared by Bara and it was a pleasure to add Khulood and her culinary talents to our family of cooks for this event and for any event congregants might want to hire them for hereafter. This event was presented free of charge, with suggested donations; due to the generosity of Temple sponsors, we were able to cover the event’s expenses and then provide our cooks with a significant payment.
We enjoyed socializing with Bara and Khulood’s beautiful families and sharing this spiritual holiday with them. The menu consisted of some of our favorite Syrian dishes such as stuffed grape leaves, hummus, and baba ganoush as well as some new dishes such as stuffed cheese and spinach pockets, vegetable stew, and Pakistani sweet pasta – all of which were delicious.
In true Jewish fashion, there was way too much food, but it never goes to waste! Families were able to take home some food, and the rest was saved for MESH as well as for kiddushes after Sukkot services for the next few days. Rabbi Greenstein gave an inspirational welcome and introduction and Pastor Noble spoke beautifully and sincerely stating how happy he and his congregants were to join us.
I’d like to thank all the volunteers who helped created this event, and to all the generous sponsors who enabled the event to be offered to all who wanted to attend regardless of whether they were able to pay. This Hamish event brought together people of three wonderful communities in what we hope to be lasting friendships.
To view the Photo Album, click here.
Thank you to the volunteers, who helped create this event:
Volunteers:
Karen Altman, Judith Antelman, Bill Batkay, Debra Caplan, Sarita Eisenberg, Arden Epstein, Sara Ann Erichson, Shirley Grill, Aileen Grossberg, Fern Heinig, Beryl Hiller, Adrienne Lasiter, John Lasiter, Mike Legman, Dale Russakoff, Andy Silver, Merrill Silver, Rita Singer, Gail Stocks, Ian Stocks, Sharon Streicher, Fred Vafaie, Hajer Yanes. (Apologies to anyone we may have inadvertently omitted.)
The lunch has been offered free of charge thanks to the following generous sponsors:
Judith Antelman, Linda Ariel, William Batkay, Linda and Gerald Blume, Nancy and Charles Breslin, Debra Caplan and Nick Taft, Maria and Jerry Czin, Sarita Eisenberg and Lou Hammerman, Sara Ann and Howard Erichson, Shirley and David Grill, Aileen and Marc Grossberg, Lisa Haber-Chalom and Marc Chalom, Megan Harr and Emil Shteinberg, Fern Heinig, Laura Kaufman, Adrienne and John Lasiter, Fran and Mike Legman, Meredith and Carlos Lopez, Rose Petretti, Dale Russakoff and Matt Purdy, Wilma Selefriend, Merrill and Andy Silver, Gail and Ian Stocks, Karen Wirtshafter and Kevin Buckley, Josie Zeman
Net proceeds from the lunch will help provide support for Bara’a’s and Khulood’s families.
- Attending in person Shabbat Services at Shomrei - Wed, Jun 23, 2021
- A Day of Sunshine: Syrian Lunch in the Sukkah - Thu, Oct 11, 2018
I think it should be an annual event for Sukkot with Shomrei members and church members joining together.