Loaves made of love for Tata
In the Jewish tradition when someone is sick, the women come together to bake challah bread.
This was what Robyn Smookler and group of other women did outside Nelson Mandela’s home in Houghton. “We believe that if you give the first piece of your dough to the priest, the blessings come into your home,” said Smookler.
“We believe that if you give the first piece of your dough to the priest, the blessings come into your home,” said Smookler.
“Whatever lack you may have in your life, bread is our channel to bring blessings into the world.”
Smookler who also heads the Ort SA women’s division had contacted the Mandela family to tell them about the project.
“They told us where they would like the loaves to go, which is an old-age home in Alexandra and we will be taking them there.”
The breads were distributed on Friday last week. On the same night Smookler had organised about 100 women to come together to bake loaves of bread for non-profit organisations for Shabbat, which is the Jewish Sabbath. “The chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein has written a prayer for Madiba so we will be reciting it as we bake together.”
She also runs challah baking workshops weekly. “We do it for healing,” she said. She will be staring a challah project called Loaves of Love where underprivileged women would be employed.
“We will be employing vulnerable women who don’t have jobs to make challahs and sell homemade bread.”
The women sang the Nkosi sikelela outside the former president’s home as they mixed flour and kneaded dough into the night.
