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It wasn\u2019t so bad. The laundry was all caught up. The kids had done the supper dishes. Miriam had even scrubbed the pot. She could head for bed with a clear conscience. Ahhh, heaven\u2026<\/span><\/p>\nAnd then the phone rang. <\/span><\/p>\n It was Dano, from Ezer Mizion. He was short some volunteers for tonight. The Emergency Rooms at the hospitals were filled to capacity, especially with the inclement weather. Ezer Mizion\u2019s Lottie\u2019s Kitchen delivers sandwiches and snacks to those who are sitting for hours, exhausted, filled with tension, waiting to be seen by a physician. Fleetingly, she thought of her longed-for early bedtime. But she was a Lottie\u2019s Kitchen volunteer, a soldier in the Ezer Mizion army, which consisted of over 13,000 recruits. She was made of strong stuff. She waved goodbye to her cup of tea and tackled the many chores that awaited a working mother of\u00a0 <\/span>nine till the clock would read 11. Then she and her husband would get into their well-worn Suzuki, travel through the storm \u00a0<\/span>to Ezer Mizion, pick up the sandwiches and cakes and deliver them with smiles, with compassion, with love to their fellow Jews. <\/span><\/p>\n She, her husband, and the cartons arrived at the emergency room and encountered the local version of World War III. As they made their way amid the crowded waiting rooms, the delight of reading under her delicious quilt somehow faded into the background. This was joy! This was satisfaction! This was life! <\/span><\/p>\n Oh, yes. She was still tired. Even more so than earlier that evening. As she wobbled down yet another corridor, she commented to her husband, \u201cAt least if I faint here, I\u2019ll be in the right place.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n The gratitude of the patients and their families was the vitamin pill that kept her going. They all knew Ezer Mizion\u2019s Lottie\u2019s Kitchen. Most had never been on the receiving end before and were overwhelmed the gesture. \u201cYou can\u2019t understand what this means. It was at the last waiting room that it happened. She gave a sandwich to a secular woman, obviously new to the country. The lady thanked her and she offered a Danish to the husband and asked if she could be of help in any way. \u201cDo you get paid commission for each item you sell?\u201d the lady laughingly asked.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n She just stood there gaping. She was shocked. She couldn\u2019t speak. <\/span><\/p>\n But others spoke for her. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe gets paid from her communications job during the day. This is a volunteer service, \u201csaid a mother who worked in the same office as she. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe has nine kids and must be exhausted,\u201d said a former neighbor.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no charge for the food. This is pure chessed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHer only payment will be in the next world.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy cousin volunteers in Lottie\u2019s Kitchen. They make delicious meals for families dealing with illness and they\u2019re so careful to make it look nice also.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd every single one of the volunteers is as nice as this young lady!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n The woman looked stunned.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you mean she is here after midnight after working during the day plus taking care of nine kids and she doesn\u2019t get paid??!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd all this food doesn\u2019t cost us anything. They even give out whole meals during the day??!\u201d the husband chimed in. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have to tell our friends about this. It\u2019s incredible!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And then the waiting room suddenly exploded into applause. Every person there clapped and clapped. A doctor who witnesses the Lottie\u2019s Kitchen angels every single night joined in. A maintenance crew member leaned his mop against the wall and clapped with all his might. Only in Israel!\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Her face turned purple but she knew the applause was not really for her. It was for Ezer Mizion\u2019s Lottie\u2019s Kitchen and its thousands of volunteers plus all of you out there who support Lottie\u2019s Kitchen with your generous gifts so that 4000 meals and snacks can be disbursed every single week. Founded in memory of Lottie and Haim Chalom by their four daughters, Lottie\u2019s Kitchen in Israel provides annually:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>74,400 delicious hot meals for companions of hospitalized patients<\/span><\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>2,160 food baskets for Shabbath to families<\/span><\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>81,600 sandwiches to fuel people staying with their loved one in the hospital or clinic<\/span><\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>48,000 portions of cake and hot drinks for people at hospital outpatient clinics<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u2019s Lottie\u2019s Kitchen Event\u00a0 <\/span>on behalf of Lottie\u2019s Kitchen in Israel will take place on July 11 at the home of Adele and Jody Laboz in Deal NJ.\u00a0 <\/span>Professional food demonstrations will send each guest scurrying back to her kitchen to duplicate the mouth-watering gourmet cuisine. The Kitchen Boutique will feature the newest in kitchen gadgetry. Guests will vie with each other for the fantastic prizes of the Chinese Auction. Photography by Susan Menashe will once again draw the crowds as proud Mommies bring their offspring to Susan for professional portraits to send to doting grandparents. Susan will be available both on the day of the event and on the day before to accommodate the crowds.<\/span><\/p>\n Susan\u2019s Hours: Wed, July 10\u00a0 <\/span>9:00 AM to 5:00 PM<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Thu, July 11 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lottie\u2019s Kitchen Event… the Highlight of the Summer! A Dream Day Not to be Missed!<\/span><\/p>\n Thursday, July 11th<\/sup> \u2026See you there!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was a stormy night. The wind howled, rain poured down. Inside it was quite stormy also. With nine kids, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,98],"tags":[54,51,14,53,7,50,52,40,39],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ezer-mizion","category-food-distribution","tag-bedside-charity","tag-food","tag-hospital","tag-ill","tag-israel","tag-lottie","tag-meals","tag-tzedaka","tag-tzedakkah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1306,"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions\/1306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"pr](\"http:\/\/ezermizion.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/pr-lk-2013-1615_ne_photo_stories2_20cf7.jpg\")
<\/a>They light up when the Lottie\u2019s Kitchen rep appears, whether it be midnight at the Emergency Room, lunchtime while sitting at the bedside of a hospitalized relative or at home when family routine has fallen apart due to illness. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA catastrophe that you cannot imagine,\u201d she describes. \u201cThe pediatric emergency room was packed with screaming kids, collapsing parents, and a devoted but exhausted staff, all trying to cope with General Winter\u2019s mega-weapon \u2013 the flu.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t had anything to eat since early afternoon. My hands are shaking. I can hardy hold my baby, let alone think straight as to what I have to ask the doctor when it\u2019s finally my turn,\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>said a distraught young mother. <\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIn America, a patient can stay in the hospital alone, but in Israel, a companion is a must. I spent two weeks in the hospital with my mother. I never would have made it through without Lottie\u2019s Kitchen!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\nShe stood there feeling so humbled, so overwhelmed and so grateful to be a soldier in the Lottie\u2019s Kitchen army. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"