It’s Kiddish Time

The sounds of prayer were complemented by the buzz of conversation as Shomrei celebrated the upcoming wedding of Jared Hurwich and Perrin Shapiro at the first indoor kiddush in almost two years.

The kiddush crew was out in full force prepping for this kiddush which was just a bit different from what they used to do. Instead of artfully arranged platters, there were trays of individual containers to grab and take to the tables. Cookies were snuggled into a foil pan with a see through tops so that the contents could be seen and labels abounded to identify the foods on display. Continue reading

MESH Report Nov 5, 2019

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From Captain Linda Ariel:

It was a brisk Tuesday evening on November 5, 2019, and we were blessed with many more volunteers than we had initially anticipated. This allowed the group of Shomrei MESH hosts to run a seamless kitchen and service crew for our 24 guests and to accommodate the four take-away dinners for people for whom we did not have room to seat.

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MESH Report 6/11/19

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From Captain Lynne Kurzweil:

On a balmy spring evening we welcomed 24 grateful guests to the Carol Starr MESH Cafe at Shomrei. We also provided 2 takeout meals. The top notch team of Steindel, Eisenberg and Hammerman was on board with Sarah and Sarita preparing a delicious and nutritious meal assisted by Charles and Lou who ably performed numerous tasks including Lou’s stellar pot, pan, dish and utensil washing. We had a new helper tonight. Sarah, the young daughter of our custodian Kevin, pitched in with plating food and serving. She was a big help! Continue reading

MESH Report 5/21/19

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From Captain Linda Ariel:

It was a lively evening at the Carol Starr MESH Cafe at Shomrei. It was a warm sunny evening, and the days were surely getting longer. We hosted 24 guests and were able to send four additional lucky people home with dinner.  Sarita Eisenberg was top chef with the many able assistants, Chaya Kotlowitz, Charles Steindel, and Sarah Steindel ably preparing a delicious and colorful feast. Jonah and Madeline were the teen volunteers who did anything and everything that was needed to help. Lou Hammerman pitched in as both a server and a pot washer par excellence.

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MESH Report 3/26/2019

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Report from Captain Linda Ariel:

With the days lengthening and the temperatures still fluctuating in early spring, we hosted twenty-four guests with three additional people who were fortunate to take away food, since there was limited space in the cafe. Sarita Eisenberg and Sarah Steindel were the chefs for the evening and were assisted by Susan Rosenblatt and Lou Hammerman as sous chefs, servers, and cleanup crew. Amalia, Noah, and Orly were teen helpers who assisted in every task of the evening. The MESH staff of Adrienne, Bonny and Joe pitched in as they always do with their expertise and familiarity with many of our guests. Continue reading

MESH Report 2/26/2019

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Report from Captain Linda Ariel:

The Carol Starr MESH Cafe welcomed twenty-four guest on this cold wintry evening. Sarita Eisenberg and Sarah Steindel were co-chefs and created a delicious and generous repast, some of which was re-purposed from the Honor Night dinner for Nick Levitin. The menu included appetizers of carrot salad, couscous, and cucumber salad with cheese and crackers on the side, the main course of middle eastern fish stew, baked salmon, roasted broccoli, rice, bread and butter, and finally fruit salad and cookies as dessert.

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MESH Report 11/13/18

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Report from Captain Alex Kent:

Shomrei’s Carol Starr MESH Cafe served a full house on Tuesday night, and also packaged up 7 additional meals for those left out in the cold.

Aileen Grossberg and Sarah Steindel stepped into the void as there was no cook signed up for Tuesday night. Sarah prepared food the day before, and Aileen had everything prepped and ready to go with detailed instructions for Captain Alex Kent to assemble and cook. Luckily there were 5 High School helpers on hand. Thank you teens! Alex and Jaden from the Montclair High Key Club, and Louis, Max, and Kendall from West Orange High School assembled salads, made fruit salad, buttered bread, served, and did dishes.

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MESH Cafe Oct 9, 2018

MeshReport from Captain Linda Ariel:

On a warm and humid evening, we welcomed 24 guests for a sumptuous meal consisting of a green salad with buttered challah on the side, Moroccan baked salmon with rice and lentils and roasted broccoli and carrots, and a dessert of fruit salad, cookies, and chocolate cake. Our chefs extraordinaires were Sarita Eisenberg and Sara Steindel with assistant chefs of Lou Hammerman and Charles Steindel. Susan Rosenblatt and Linda Ariel pitched in as well with the preparation of the many dishes.  Continue reading