Congregation Shaare Shalom’s 12th Annual Bake Sale

With much antici-pation, Congregation Shaare Shalom recently held its 12th annual bake sale in the lovely home of Elie and Ilene Sakkal. The warmth and closeness of the congregants were evident as many came to support Shaare Shalom in this much anticipated yearly event. The pleasant evening continued into the next day, as many women gathered for an afternoon emphasizing the importance of being kind to your mind, body and soul.

Rabbi Joseph Dweck imparted, “This year’s Bake sale was extraordinary. Elie and Ilene Sakkal opened their home with warm and welcoming hearts and the team who planned it did a beautiful job. I really enjoyed the orchestra and spending the night with great friends. It’s what Shaare Shalom is all about!”

Under the leadership of Rabbi Dweck, Shaare Shalom has thrived and expanded into a close and loving congregation. There is a wonderful youth Minyan run by Rabbi Abraham Ben Hamu and the shul has continued to thrive with the addition of Rabbi Daniel Kahane.

The night kicked off with a bake sale and Chinese Auction with a succulent dinner prepared by Chef Adam Dweck and singing by Hazan Yahai Cohen. The daytime provided an opportunity for the women to invest in themselves with a series of lectures throughout the day.

Michal Cheney started the day off with a Turbulence exercise class, Rita Shrem led a Mommy ‘n Me class, Stephanie Zakay gave an interesting raw food demonstration, and in accordance with the theme of the event, nutritionist Laura Shammah spoke about how to be kind with your food; Michael Cheney talked to the crowd about being kind to their bodies and  Vicky Harari, taught everyone how to be kind to their minds.

“It was our pleasure and honor to open up our home to help support this wonderful and caring shul. May Hashem bless our community with health, happiness and success,” said Elie and Ilene Sakkal.

Congregation Shaare Shalom was officially formed in 1998. With the amount of congregants increasing rapidly, it was apparent that an expansion would be necessary. Since that first bake sale in 2002, many members have dedicated many hours to making sure the bake sales succeed in raising the funds needed to keep the shul running throughout the year.

The bake sale is a much anticipated event for the Shaare Shalom family. They gather and enjoy each other’s company as they prepare for the summer. Everyone has added a component, whether it is baking cookies, donating an hour packaging lunches, or soliciting for the Chinese auction. It is not only working on a bake sale for a few months of the year, but it is closeness between friends that grows from one year to the next.

Through the vision of Joey Torgueman the shul continues to grow. “This year, more than ever, our family at Shaare Shalom was full of excitement and dedication. Our bake sale committee worked hard and with much love. We hope and pray that the affection our congregation has for one another only grows stronger. I have always felt that our shul is one of a kind,” said President of Shaare Shalom, Joey Torgueman.

Thank you to Elie and Ilene Sakkal for graciously opening up their home, and to the bake sale committee: Hadas Lindner, Sharon Mann, Nicole Oved, Casey Rothschild, Debra Shiloach, and Natalie Suede for their hard work and dedication.

By Randi Shomer, a mother of four children, a community member, and a freelance writer. Photos provided by Lawrence Goetz.