Shalom Club breaks the fast together

Co-chairs of the event Roberta Bowers, Florence Messer, Sherry Weiss, and Kim Schweitzer.

Co-chairs of the event Roberta Bowers, Florence Messer, Sherry Weiss, and Kim Schweitzer.

Phil Barish leads the traditional blessing over the bread.

Phil Barish leads the traditional blessing over the bread.

Kim Schweitzer

For the second year in a row, nearly 30 Shalom Club members “broke challah and bagels” together in the Hacienda Club. The occasion—the end of a fast day and Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. It marks the culmination of the 10 Days of Awe, a period of introspection and repentance that follows Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. The holiday is observed by a 25-hour period of fasting and reflection, followed by an easy-on-the stomach meal.

A special thank you to Heather Stanford and Victoria Enciso who set up the room and displayed the wonderful holiday fare as beautiful looking as it tasted. We attended a fabulous buffet of traditional foods, such as bagels, lox, cream cheese, noodle kugel, cheese, and pastries—light fare after 25 hours of fasting.

Florence Messer and Roberta Bowers did an amazing job of decorating the room, with lit hurricane lamps filled with apples, a traditional holiday fruit. Sherry Weiss once again supervised the preparation of the special noodle kugel (pudding) to ensure that the chef prepared it to our standards! And it was! Chef Jose, you outdid yourself! It was yummy!

On Yom Kippur, it is customary to say “have an easy fast,” rather than something jovial like “happy holidays.” But if you say “happy holidays,” don’t worry — the holiday will become happy later that evening with a meal to break the fast.

We will be having a brainstorming meeting very soon and your ideas and leadership are welcome. To be added to the mailing list, contact: Sherry Weiss at [email protected].