JSA Battles Breast Cancer in 2nd Annual Challah Bake

• Prev
• 1 of 4
• Next

On November 5th, 2019, the D’Angelo Center at St. John’s University was seen dotted with pink aprons, colored bowls, and flour bags as almost 115 young women gathered to make challah in an event funded and organized by the executive board of the Jewish Students Association (JSA). This year, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, all the money raised was donated to Sharsheret, a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of women who are living with or have a high risk of getting breast or ovarian cancer. Beginning just after sunset, students, mothers, and family friends joined the JSA family in making the holy bread that is a staple of weekly Shabbat meals.

While everyone ate shawarma and other Israeli delicacies catered by Tov-Li Shawarma, William Dayanayev, the President of JSA, opened the night with a brief speech recounting the illustrious history of the student organization that started with three students and grew to what now consists of nearly 200 students. David Mosheyev, the Social Media Chair, spoke next about the club’s other events, followed by Nina Aronov, the Philanthropy chair, who explained the fundraiser to which the money raised was going to go. President Dayanayev then introduced the Chafrashat Challah Event Leader, Leah Abramov. Mrs. Abramov is a Jewish women’s speaker who founded “Being and Becoming,” which celebrates the embracing of one’s strengths while aspiring to become a better version of themselves. Mrs. Abramov led the young women throughout the night in the proper and Kosher preparation of the Challah.

The Experience

All around the room the students wore flour-filled aprons and cheerful smiles while enjoying the welcoming atmosphere in which they were able to get in tune with their religious values and have fun with their friends and family. Recounting on the event as a whole, Michelle Aronbayev said that, “Being around all those women made me feel like I was a part of a huge family working to support one cause. Everyone’s positive and warm energy made the event so much more enjoyable.” Michelle was joined by many other participants who felt like they became one entire family enjoying the night and helping each other make the special bread. Gabriella Borukhov added that “The challah bake was such a great experience, I got to be around a great group of people, make delicious challah, and connect to G-d on a spiritual level… making challah at this event was a way for me to greet Shabbat in a positive way.”

This experience was shared by non-St. John’s students as well, since JSA opened the event for all the women of the community to attend. Queens College student Dina Inoyatov said that, “I really liked that the challah bake brought together so many girls for a great cause…Even though I do not attend St. Johns, the girls were warm and inviting… I felt like an honorary member of the club and was able to make many new friends.” Another Queens College student, Leah Aronbayev, agreed and said, “I’ve attended last year’s and this year’s, and loved both! I felt a very strong connection with everyone.” Leah also added that the location of the challah bake was “Impressive, being that it is not a Jewish private school for St. John’s to allow such a Jewish religious event to take place.” 

Preparing for the Challah Bake

The hard work and preparation that goes into every JSA event such as this one cannot be overlooked. Members of the executive board recount working non-stop to make sure the event was a success. Isabella Yunaev, the Vice-President of JSA, said “When planning such a large scale event we had to make sure everything was covered from having all the ingredients to make the challah, to having enough hot water, to having a bag for people to take home their challah in.” She continued to add that the day of the event calls for a lot of preparation as well. “We had to lay out all the ingredients for everyone so they can enjoy the event to the full extent without having to worry about anything.” Vice-President Yunaev worked closely with Daniella Bababekov, Religious Chair of JSA, who explained that the executive board had several meetings discussing every aspect of the event. “There was even a meeting at my house that took place from 12-3 AM discussing what ingredients we need, and doing a bunch of math to figure out how much of each ingredient we would need for each person, and multiplying that by 100 people.” In addition to these late-night meetings, the board managed multiple Costco runs, reserved the conference room before the start of the semester, and coordinated with Sharsheret in order to effectively donate to the cancer organization. At the end of all this preparation, Vice-President Yunaev reflected, “The night went amazing overall. The e-board [executive board] was really able to turn our dreams into reality with this event, as well as giving back to such a strong cause” to which Religious Chair Bababekov seconded, “every single member of the E-board was there, helping out, working the camera, taking care of garbage, refilling thermoses … everything went as planned and it was a really good turn out.”

Making the Challah, Got Dough?

Just as in preparing for the event, preparing the challah came with a multitude of steps as well. Mrs. Abramov led the girls through each step as they followed along using the beautifully placed bowls, ingredients, and place mats with printed instructions provided by JSA and EMET, a close educational partner of the student organization. Mrs. Abramov told the girls of the importance of making Challah while thinking of their prayers. A crucial step in the process also involves separating a portion of the dough to symbolize the dough that used to be given as an offering in Biblical Times. In current days, this portion of the dough is burned which is considered a very special mitzvah – a fact that was really emphasized this year. Religious Chair Bababekov said that “challah bakes are meant to leave women with some sort of inspiration so as the religious chair I thought it was important to incorporate an inspirational activity into our challah bake.” This was accomplished by having all the young women come together in a circle and hold hands, while a melodious Hebrew song played. The lights were turned off and Mrs. Abramov encouraged the girls to pray and think of what they hope to accomplish during this spiritual moment. “In a way we all bonded and connected with G-d and each other,” stated Gabriella Borukhov. “In that moment I felt very emotional. I remember praying to G-d and asking Him to watch over the people in my life and make sure they are healthy, happy, etc.” Leah Aronbayev also said “Looking around a lot of the women began to cry, the song had lifted our spirits to the point where we were all aware of the depth we hold within ourselves. There’s so much more to us than what society portrays, and the challah bake really allowed us to unleash it.” Religious Chair Bababekov concluded that this addition to the event “was very successful and left the girls with beautiful, inspired tears, and incredible feedback after saying that this event made them feel very spiritual and much closer to G-d.”

Braiding Forward

This event could not have taken place without those who attended, the dedication of the executive board, and sponsors of the Jewish Student Association. Due to this, JSA asks that anyone who can support the club in any way please donate to the club on their website http://donate.jsasju.org/. At the conclusion of it all, everyone went home satisfied with their five-pound challahs and some souvenirs, like the JSA custom aprons and measuring cups. The night brought many students, friends, and parents together in a welcoming environment to perform a very special deed – all while supporting the fight against cancer. JSA hopes to continue its annual challah bake tradition next semester to bring young women together on joyous occasions while spreading the light of Judaism’s values.

 By: Sharona Priyev