This Friday, send the blessing of a Shabbat meal.
Bet Torah’s Shabbat Meal Program serves as a critical connection point for Bet Torah members who are isolated during the pandemic. We invite you to learn more about the program and watch the stories shared below.
Merle Winokur talks about her joy seeing “the Jewishness come through my door every week.
Dear Congregants,

In March 2020, at the start of the Pandemic, the Bet Torah Caring Committee launched the Shabbat Meal Program. The goal was simple and straightforward: provide a delicious meal and a friendly face to isolated and/or first responder members of Bet Torah, and a means of support for beloved community member, Chef René Leon.

The response was surprising and powerful. Delivering a Shabbat dinner proved to be a critical connection point at a time when people needed it most and gave a sense of doing something – anything – to those who were looking to help. The program also delivered love, connection, friendship, security, and identity. 

Participants are members you may know well, recognize as a familiar face, or have never met. Each comes to Shabbat with a unique perspective and experience, day-to-day reality and routine. Circumstances. Struggles. Spirituality. Connection to Judaism. To each other. To Bet Torah. 

The Caring Committee has created a video project that captures the voices of the folks who make this program about so much more than food – the recipients, volunteers, donors and other community members, like you. Their stories are shared in part below. 
Debbie Ragals speaks of her joy delivering to Merle Winokur each week. 
Mark and Gloria Koller look forward to the delivery of their meals that are “delicious, up-lifting, and a real morale booster.” Please click to hear Mark share his gratitude for the Bet Torah community. 
Jodi Robin shares what motivates her to make time each week for one of the unexpected gifts from this pandemic. 
Chef Rene Leon talks about how the pandemic affected his catering business and what a privilege and joy it's been to prepare meals for Bet Torah's most isolated members.
Susan Cohen Silberman became a monthly donor after seeing the devastating impact on her parents when their assisted living dining room closed.  
Nancy Fried Tanzer, a Caring Committee co-chair, on the importance of community support and engagement. 
This spirit of community engagement affects all of us by strengthening and providing a sense of security for the entire Bet Torah community. The warmth and human connections make this program about so much more than food.

We ask you to help us continue this effort. Please consider making a donation to fund this program through the upcoming winter and extended period of isolation. Any amount helps and is deeply appreciated.
With gratitude and lev echad (one heart),
The Bet Torah Caring Committee