A Taste of Beit Shemesh

Last night’s Israel program, “A Taste of Beit Shemesh,” was a huge success; we had approx. 150 attendees who sampled the SUPERB dishes prepared by our visiting guests from Beit Shemesh, the Greater DC area’s Partnership 2000 sister city in Israel. The food was delicious, the background stories helped to provide affirmation of the incredible ethnic diversity of Israel and the evening was enjoyed by all.

Many thanks to the hard work of many volunteers who organized, purchased food, helped with kitchen prep and/or cleanup, etc: Mickey & Mordy Feinberg, Ellen Elow-Mintz, David Moses, Jan Feldman, David Friedman, Barbara Gerber, Rosalind Goldfarb Levitt, Martin & Donna Goldman, Sarah Hyams, Sherry & Ron Kabran, Sarah Kagan, Helene Kahan, Dora Klayman, Marilyn Polon, Jacqueline Rams, Marla Satinsky, Benson Silverman; Lisa Silverman. Special thanks also to Hannah Burke and to Farlee Wade-Farber for providing day-long oversight for the kitchen. (And my apologies if anyone’s efforts were overlooked!)

Kudos to the team from Beit Shemesh: Smadar Kaplinsky, who coordinated the effort from Israel, and each of the cooks:
· Ety Edlund (Egyptian)
· Rachel Hadar (Persian)
· Naomi Levy (Tunisian)
· Malka Nahmani (Moroccan)
· Leah Siboni (Kurdistan)
· Rachel Sopher (Cochin/Indian)

And thanks also to the staff at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Gilad Golani and Lisa Kleppel for bringing this wonderful opportunity to Ohr Kodesh.