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others. Daughters. Sisters. Aunts. 
Grandmothers. Friends. 
More than 600 women of all ages 
gathered on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 22, to 
“bring the community together one braid at a 
time” at the annual RISE challah bake, sponsored 
by Partners Detroit in collaboration with more 
than 20 local Jewish organizations. 
Joyful music filled the air as the inspiring sold-
out event got underway at the Nancy Grosfeld 
Campus in Oak Park. We unwrapped our indi-
vidual challah-making kits, and special guest Giti 
Fredman from Just Bake It, based in St. Louis, 
walked us through each step in the process. We 
mixed flour and water, sugar, oil and yeast into 
a delicious dough. Dozens of volunteers wear-
ing “Knead Help?” T-shirts weaved their way 
between the tightly packed tables and gladly 
jumped in to lend a hand.

This night was about more than the mitzvah 
of making challah, it also was an opportunity for 
the community to come together at a time when 
our unity, sisterhood and prayer are needed more 
than ever. Following the horrors of Oct. 7, RISE 
has taken on added significance. 

A SPECIAL GUEST
As we waited for our dough to rise, we were hon-
ored to have Einav Danino, the mother of hostage 
Ori Danino, join us at the event. Her son was one 
of the six hostages killed by Hamas after being 
held captive for nearly a year in the dark tunnels 
of Gaza. This was Einav’s first time speaking pub-
licly since his brutal murder.
Ori means “my light,” and Einav shared with 
us the light that Ori brought into this world. On 
Oct. 7, he was at the Nova Music Festival with 
friends. He managed to escape from the terrorists 

RISE challah bake inspires hundreds of women 
as annual event takes on added significance. 
An Inspiration

RANDI BERRIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

YESHIVA BETH YEHUDAH

“I AM SO GRATEFUL I GOT 
TO PARTICIPATE THIS YEAR 
AT RISE WITH MY TWO 
DAUGHTERS, AFTER LAST 
YEAR I WAS HONORED TO 
SPEAK AT THE EVENT AND 
SAY THE BLESSING FOR 
HAFRASHAT CHALLAH FOR 
THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. 
IT WAS SO EMPOWERING 
TO BE SURROUNDED 
BY THIS INCREDIBLE 
COMMUNITY OF WOMEN, 
WHO CAME TOGETHER 
IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL 
AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE. 
WE WERE ALL BROUGHT 
TO TEARS BY EINAV’S 
WORDS ABOUT HER SON 
ORI, AND I WAS INSPIRED 
BY HER STRENGTH AND 
RESILIENCE.”

— LIOR ZISSER-YOGEV

12 | NOVEMBER 3 • 2024 Yeshiva Beth Yehudah Special Edition J
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ABOVE: Stephanie Berke, Nikki Newman, Terri Thav, and Stephanie Trivax get their hands dirty as they knead 
their dough. LEFT: Shelly Rubenfire, Amy Berman, Ally Berman, Suzanne Fellows, and Sherrie Singer with their 
challah dough.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 24, 2024

