Bergenfield–Tomchei Shabbos, a local tzedakah organization that provides Shabbos and Yom Tov food to needy families in Bergen County, is welcoming community members this year to its new Bergenfield warehouse on 13 Foster Street, on Sunday, September 28, for kapporos. In the past, the event has taken place at various locations around Teaneck, including at Congregation Zichron Mordechai, Chabad of Teaneck, and Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls.
“We view this as a nice opportunity for members of the community to both do the mitzvah of kapporos while also visiting our [new] warehouse, which our volunteers have spent a lot of time making comfortable and welcoming for the packers. And even when packing and pickups are not going on, you can walk through and get a sense of what has been going on,” said Sara Zilberstein, a Tomchei Shabbos volunteer.
The ritual of kapporos, which translates as “atonement,” involves a person holding a chicken or a bundle of coins and moving it in a circular motion over one’s head three times, symbolically transferring one’s sins to the chicken or coins. If a chicken is used, it is then donated to the poor.
Community members Elchanan Dulitz and Danny Senter have been working on the kapporos program for the past 20 years. All proceeds raised through kapporos, both through donations and the chickens themselves, go to benefit the recipients of Tomchei Shabbos in Bergen County, said Dulitz.
Tomchei Shabbos, which began using its new permanent Bergenfield location last spring, has been taking advantage of the extra space to organize and streamline its processes. “Over the summer, we sent a questionnaire out to all the Bergenfield warehouse recipients (which covers all Bergen County towns except Fair Lawn). We’ve been working to get a better sense of what they want, what they don’t want, in what quantities, and how frequently,” Zilberstein said.
“We don’t want food to be wasted, but we want people to be getting enough of the right items. We were pleasantly surprised by the feedback. When we know what items people want and need, we will be able to expand a little bit on what we offer,” she said.
For example, “If we’re not getting 500 heads of celery every week, if we’re only getting 150, we can expand our offerings by providing other, less basic types of vegetables, like eggplant, broccoli, and mushrooms,” which are popular items that don’t normally end up in boxes every week, she said.
Zilberstein explained that for Rosh Hashanah and Sukkos, Tomchei Shabbos plans on preparing individualized menus and then instituting this on a weekly basis after the chagim. More items are added to each basket for the Yom Tovim, including beef, gefilte fish, and oil, as well as certain things in greater quantities, such as challah, chicken, and grape juice.
“Up until now it’s kind of been a guessing game. But an elderly couple has vastly different needs than a family with little kids,” Zilberstein said.
Kapporos to benefit Tomchei Shabbos will be held in two locations: In the parking lot of 13 Foster Street, in Bergenfield, from 10 a.m.–1 p.m., and at Congregation Ahavath Torah, at 245 Broad Street, in Englewood, from 9:45–noon. At Ahavath Torah, kapporos will be held at the back of the parking lot near the ballroom entrance. Learn more about Tomchei Shabbos and donate online at http://www.tomcheishabbosofbergencounty.org.
By Elizabeth Kratz
