Food for the Soul

Over the past three years, I've had the privilege of watching my students do some pretty amazing things. I cherish the opportunities that I have to sit back and watch as they impact the world around them.

One of the groups that I advise is called Challah for Hunger. Every Thursday night, they gather to bake challah bread (in some delicious varieties, I might add). Every Friday, they sell the freshly baked loaves to raise money for the two charities that they support: the American Jewish World Service Sudan Relief and Advocacy Fund and the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry. They also use this unique opportunity to educate their peers about food insecurity and global hunger. To learn more about the work they do, check out their website: https://www.sites.google.com/a/challahforhunger.org/washu/

As we were baking last week, we noticed that we had some extra dough. We were presented with an opportunity to share the challah that brought students on campus so much joy with people in our community who really needed it. I drove over to a local transitional shelter the very next day with nine loaves that smelled like they were fresh out of the oven. I was greeted with smiles and thank yous before heading back to work for one of our largest Shabbat dinners of the year, Interfaith Shabbat.

Over 200 students from different faith backgrounds came together to break bread and learn about our shared traditions. We enjoyed a meal full of all of the Shabbat classics: roasted chicken, potato kugel, green beans, salad, challah and brownies. Once we had our fill, we realized that we were blessed with too much food. So just five hours after my last visit, I hopped in the car with two of my students and headed back to the shelter to share the rest of our meals. The students were pleasantly surprised with how simple it was for them to make a difference.

While it would have felt good just to know that the food was going somewhere that it would be eaten; we felt better about the fact that it was going to a community. So much about baking and cooking and eating is about shared experiences. We can all afford to share the food, the stories, and the joy that nourish our souls through acts of lovingkindness.