A family member is seriously ill. The family enters crisis mode. All energy-physical and emotional- is centered on the sick relative. Nothing remains for routine needs.
Yet routine needs remain and must be met. 
Ezer Mizion’s Food Distribution Division has undertaken the responsibility of providing hot, nourishing meals for the entire family during the duration of the crisis.
And what is Ezer Mizion’s Food Distribution Division? It is not an entity. It is not a cold, professional office. It is comprised of people. Caring people. Mothers busy with their own lives. Women who are willing to give of their time and energy to shop, peel, slice, fry, bake and package the main course for these countless meals.
Salary? There is none. Only the satisfaction of helping another Jew.
Ezer Mizion hosted a special evening honoring volunteers in the “Main Course Cook” project. The project, directed by the coordinator Ms. Goldschmidt, is organized in a pyramid structure, with 19 local coordinators organizing the work of 480 volunteers below them, who prepare hot, nourishing meals for families of the ill in Modi’in Ilit. These women, who devote time and money to cooking these main dishes on a regular basis, form an important link in the chain of Ezer Mizion’s food services.
The evening opened with words of appreciation and praise by Rabbi Lapidus, chairman of the Modi’in Ilit branch of Ezer Mizion. Rabbi Lapidus thanked the volunteers for their unflagging work, which enables the system to function smoothly and provides the patients’ families with nourishing, cooked meals.
The event was warmly emceed by Ms. Berkowitz and included a spectacular musical program, beginning with a beautiful choir of high school girls singing a moving song that was especially composed for the evening.
The talented sisters, Keren Stern and Michal Subar, performed a series of humorous, satirical skits conveying the importance of chessed and the value of providing cooked, nourishing food for families in need.
A video presentation, accompanied by a special song dedicated to Ezer Mizion in Modi’in Ilit demonstrated the path the cooked main dish takes, from cooking, to packaging, to delivery to the Ezer Mizion office. There, the side dishes prepared in the Ezer Mizion kitchen are added to the package, the meals packed up in the necessary number of portions for each family, and finally, delivered to the homes by dedicated volunteer drivers who add the final touch of an encouraging word and a compassionate smile to each package.
The volunteers were able to see ‘the other side of the story’ when a former recipient of their meals spoke, explaining that cooking may seem to be a simple, routine chore, but for families in crisis, it is an insurmountable task requiring thought and planning, shopping, cooking, and washing up afterwards. She went on to describe how a carton full of fresh, nourishing, hot food saves families this entire process and frees them to use the little energy they have to survive and rehabilitate.
The event took place at the Brachfedld Community Center, with the assistance of Ms. R. Bernfeld, director of the Modi’in Ilit Municipality’s Community Centers. The evening was sponsored by the following shops: Chic Look, Veradim, Sari Moses, Ha’tzvi Real Estate Agents, and Alei Koteret. May Hashem bless their businesses with success and repay them for their kindness!!
