DECEMBER 14 • 2023 | 33

ABOVE, from left: Volunteers lay out the beef on trays to fit into the dehydrators. Packages of beef jerky are sent to soldiers around the country.
FACING PAGE: Soldiers love beef jerky, often the only protein they eat aside from tuna. 

protein source he had where 
he was stationed was canned 
tuna, which he could not eat, 
or canned beans. “This was 
the first real food I have had 
in a month.” 

POPULAR WITH 
SOLDIERS
At first, the requests for beef 
jerky came primarily from 
“Anglos,” Israeli soldiers 
from English-speaking 
families, according to Malkie 
Ogorek. Once other soldiers 
had a sample, they quickly 
developed the taste. More 
and more orders came in. 
 “Malkie has the hardest 
job,” Rutenberg explains. 
“Our phones literally ring 
non-stop with requests for 
more beef jerky and larger 
quantities. Malkie needs to 
figure out how to allocate 
beef jerky with the ever-
growing demand.”

Many of the orders 
come from parents and 
grandparents of IDF 
soldiers. “They always 
request beef jerky for whole 
units, never just their own 
child,” she says. 
Contributions also come 
from the public. Some 
volunteers contributing 
hours of work at the 
synagogue in Beit Shemesh 
drop cash off for the project 
on their way out. 
Thus far, Beef Up Our 
Boys manages to produce 
and deliver about nearly 
2,000 bags of kosher beef 
jerky a day to IDF soldiers 
in the field. As donations 
build, their goal is to reach 
3,000 bags of kosher beef 
jerky a day. 
The chefs work with 
volunteers to cut briskets 
into slices. Chef Ogorek 
himself trims off most of the 

fat. They put the slices in a 
sauce made according to the 
chef’s recipe. When it has 
marinated long enough, they 
lay it out on trays to fit into 
the dehydrators. When they 
take the dried meat out of 
the dehydrators, they cut it 
into bite-sized pieces, weigh 
each portion, and vacuum 
seal it in plastic bags. 
At the social hall of the 
synagogue, volunteers 
put the right number of 
vacuum-sealed bags in 
each paper bag, using the 
locally produced product 
and packages from other 
producers of kosher beef 
jerky. At the other end of 
the room, the packages of 
beef jerky get sent on their 
way to soldiers around the 
country. 
Malkie Ogorek and her 
team correlate the orders 
coming in and the packages 

going out. The nearly 150 
volunteers working in Beit 
Shemesh range in age from 
pre-teens to active seniors. 
“Everyone is doing what 
they can to help IDF soldiers 
and keep production 
at maximum capacity,” 
Rutenberg explains.
The Ogorek family has a 
Michigan connection. In the 
summertime, Etan Ogorek 
is chef at Camp Maayan 
Midwest and Camp Matziv 
Midwest in Cassopolis. 
Malkie Ogorek says, “We’ve 
enjoyed several beautiful 
summers on the campus in 
Michigan.” 

Beef Up Our Boys runs exclusively on 

donations. One may sponsor a bag of 

beef jerky for $10. An entire unit of 120 

soldiers may be sponsored for $1,200. 

Or sponsor a unit of IDF soldiers for 

a five-day mission for $6,000. U.S. 

dollar donations may be made at: 

CauseMatch.com/BeefUpOurboys.