On June 9, 40 2nd-grade girls from RYNJ gathered at Keter Torah for their third TCC event this year. TCC, which stands for The Chesed Connection, is a new program formed this past winter by a group of RYNJ parents to introduce the young students to various organizations and chesed projects both locally and beyond. The goal of TCC is to get the girls involved in chesed projects at a young age with the hope of it becoming a natural and regular part of their routine and lives.
The most recent project that the girls took on was baking challah, which will be included in the Tomchei Shabbos packages this week. The evening began with Sara Walzman telling the girls about the wonderful work Tomchei Shabbos does for Bergen County and how the girls can become more involved with the packaging and distributing of food to people in need. The discussion then continued with Orite Rubenstein and Meital Teitelman explaining to the girls the different aspects of the mitzvah of hafrashas challah, along with its meaning and significance.
After saying the bracha on the challah, and taking off a piece to burn, Alisa Weinberg showed the girls a demonstration of different braiding techniques using three and four pieces of dough. Each girl was then given a portion of dough, made by Lisa Mincis, and then given the opportunity to create her own challah masterpiece. Once the challah was all prepared for baking, the girls were each handed a frame to decorate along with a copy of the bracha and tefillos of hafrashas challah to place inside the frame. Delicious cookies and apple juice were provided by Kenny Yager of Five Star Caterers, who was instrumental in coordinating the event for the girls.
At the end of each event, each student is presented with a special heart charm engraved with the name of the organization she worked with, that is added to a necklace that was given to each participant at the program’s inception. At this time the girls have one for Yad Leah and one for Tomchei Shabbos. The girls truly walk away with a great feeling of pride and accomplishment along with a beautiful keepsake reminding them of their efforts and hard work. The girls are looking forward to adding many more charms to their necklaces as they hope to continue TCC when they move up to 3rd grade at RYNJ this fall.
For more information email: tccathe[email protected].
By Aviva Markowitz Photos by Nina Eizikovitz
