In the heart of our vibrant and close-knit community, we hold fast to traditions that define us: strong family values, a deep sense of responsibility, and a commitment to both spiritual and personal success. These values have helped our community flourish across generations, blending the sacred and the practical with remarkable grace.

As our community continues to grow, so too does the need for purposeful careers – roles that not only support our families but also align with our beliefs, character, and long-term vision. For those who prioritize a balanced life, this harmony is essential: we seek integrity in our work, flexibility in our lives, and the ability to positively impact those around us.

A Career with Purpose and Flexibility

At New York Life, we understand the unique rhythm of a values-driven lifestyle. Personal commitments holidays, and time with family aren’t just “benefits” to accommodate – they are priorities to be honored. That’s why we offer career opportunities that provide the flexibility to uphold your commitments while building a future rooted in financial security and community leadership.

A career as a financial professional isn’t simply about numbers. It’s about building relationships, guiding families through important financial decisions, and becoming a trusted presence in your circle. Many of our top-performing professionals are individuals who have successfully balanced familyand professional achievement.

Why This Career Resonates with Our Values

• Family-Oriented Work: You’ll be helping families safeguard their futures – whether it’s through life insurance, retirement planning, or intergenerational wealth transfer.
• Community-Centered: Your clients are often people you already know and care about. Your integrity and understanding of their needs become key assets.
• Entrepreneurial Spirit: With the freedom to build your own practice, you’re not tied to the conventional 9–5. You control your schedule, your goals, and your impact.
• Legacy Building: Just as we pass down traditions and values, we also pass down financial stability and ethical business conduct. This is a career that honors both.

Support from a Community-Focused Team

We are actively seeking candidates who are passionate about making a difference. As a Managing Partner at New York Life Brooklyn General Office, I understand the importance of balancing personal values with professional growth. I work personally with new professionals to provide mentorship, understanding, and long-term career development.

Whether you’re exploring a new path or looking for a career that aligns with your values, I invite you to consider how a role at New York Life can empower you and those around you. Let’s build something meaningful together – something that honors our past and secures our future. For more information, please contact Managing Partner, David Hoory, dhoory@newyorklife.com, (718) 307-3400.For more information about financial professional income and benefits, please visit www.newyorklife.com.New York Life is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Excitement is mounting among the thousands of Oraysa students around the globe as they approach the end of their study of Masechet Ta’anit. The students have been working hard for the last three months, learning and reviewing this Masechet, which focuses on the fasts to be observed and prayers to be recited in situations of drought. Masechet Ta’anit also includes numerous aggadic (non-halachic) sections which present vital, fundamental concepts relevant to one’s service of Gd.

With this Masechet nearing completion, the students of Oraysa are now preparing to begin the next Masechet – Moed Katan, which deals mainly with the halachot of Hol Ha’mo’ed (the interim days of Pesach and Sukkot), and the halachot of avelut (mourning). This program affords students a unique opportunity to delve into these topics which are somewhat less familiar than many other sections of the Talmud.

Moed Katan is the second-to-last Masechet in Seder Moed, and the students are already excitedly anticipating their siyum celebrating the completion of this seder, scheduled for the beginning of Kislev, 5786 (end of November of this year). The siyum will be celebrated here in the United States, as well as in Israel and Europe. Thousands of Oraysa participants are expected to attend each event to mark this special milestone and monumental accomplishment.  This celebration of the completion of an entire seder will be the first of its kind since the Oraysa program was founded nearly six years ago, marking the culmination of 12 Masechtot – hundreds of pages of Gemara.

The Oraysa Amud V’Chazara program was developed in collaboration with leading Rosheh Yeshivah and Torah sages to meet the growing demand for a Gemara learning framework that balances consistent progression with meaningful review. This worldwide initiative is designed to unite and empower devoted students through a structured daily learning regimen that incorporates both new material and review of previously studied material. The pace is perfect for mastering the Talmud and retaining the knowledge. The structured yet flexible approach makes the program accessible to the entire spectrum of Torah learners – from kollel students to educators to laymen. Oraysa enables every participant, regardless of his background and schedule, to grow in Torah scholarship and deepen his connection to Torah learning. Numerous different resources are provided to participants on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, both digitally and in print, to help with the study, including world-class shiurim available in video or audio format.

The Oraysa project has, with Gd’s help, seen extraordinary growth with every new Masechet, as new study groups continue to form, and new participants continue to join throughout the world.

Oraysa has become a global movement, connecting approximately 30,000 participantsin 370 groups across 100 cities worldwide.

Join thousands of Oraysa students as they embark on their journey through Masechet Moed Katan. Savor the satisfaction of learning in a goal-oriented way with a built-in system for review and retention, ensuring that every pagestays with you for years to come.

To join the program, for more information, or to help establish a study group in your community, please contact Oraysa at 914.8.ORAYSA or email info@oraysa.org.

It was not a war they wanted, but when it was over, they found themselves with huge swaths of precious territory.

We refer here not to the modern miracle of Israel’s Six-Day War in 1967, but rather to our ancestors’ miraculous conquest of two large kingdoms east of the Jordan River shortly before they crossed into the Land of Israel.

Beneh Yisrael asked Sihon, ruler of the Emorite Kingdom, permission to harmlessly cross through his country to shorten their journey to their homeland.  Sihon not only refused, but quickly mobilized his army and launched an unprovoked attack.  With Gd’s help, Beneh Yisrael vanquished Sihon’s army and, in fact, his entire kingdom, seizing theterritory.  Og, king of the neighboring Bashan region, mistakenly thought he could succeed where Sihon had failed, and attacked Beneh Yisrael.  He, too, suffered defeat, and his territory – like that of Sihon – fell into Israelite hands.

Two of Beneh Yisrael’s twelve tribes – Reuven and Gad – saw the great economic potential posed by the vast, verdant pastures of the newly-conquered territory.  Herdsmen by profession, the men of these tribes approached Moshe and asked to permanently settle this region.  Rather than cross over with the other tribes into Eretz Yisrael, the land of Avraham,, Yitzhak and Yaakov, the people of Reuven and Gad preferred to remain east of the Jordan which was perfectly suited for their large flocks of cattle.

As Bad as the Spies?

Moshe responded by harshly censuring these tribes for making such a request.  He compared them to the meragelim – the ten spies whom he had sent to scout the Land of Israel nearly forty years earlier.  The spies returned with a frightening report, and discouraged the people from proceeding into the land, convincing them that they were powerless against the fearsome armies of the Canaanites in Eretz Yisrael.  The people were seized with terror, and decided not to proceed.  Gd killed the spies, and punished the nation by leading them through the desert for forty years until that entire generation perished.  Moshe charged that the tribes of Reuven and Gad were just like the spies, refusing to enter the land, preferring to remain where they were.

Reuven and Gad then clarified to Moshe that this was not their intention.  Their plan was that their men would join the other tribes across the Jordan River and assume a leading role in the war effort, in the conquest of Eretz Yisrael.  Only after the victory over the enemies and the successful capture of the land would the men return to their wives and children back east of the river, where they would permanently reside.

Moshe accepted this arrangement.  He instructed his successor, Yehoshua, that if the tribes of Reuven and Gad fulfill their promise, and join the other tribes in the military campaign to seize the Land of Israel, then they were to be given the region east of the Jordan River as their permanent territory.

Let us consider Moshe’s harsh accusation that the people of Reuven and Gad resembled the spies.  We must ask, is this really true?  Even if Moshe deemed their request inappropriate, how were they like the spies?  Did they try to frighten the people?  Did they deny Gd’s ability to help Beneh Yisrael defeat the armies of Canaan? 

To answer this question, we need to revisit the story of the spies, and, specifically, to understand who the spies were and what drove them to do what they did.

A Story of Misguided Piety

The Torah (Bamidbar 13:3) refers to the spies with the term “anashim,” which Rashi interprets as denoting men of distinction.  Moshe chose for this important mission not ordinary people, but rather some of the most important and distinguished members of the nation.  As Rashi emphasized, the meragelim were righteous men at the time they were selected for this job.  But something led them astray, and drove them to betray their mission and convince the people not to enter the Land of Israel.

Some rabbis advanced the bold, counterintuitive theory that it was specifically the spies’ piety that caused their downfall.  Precisely their fierce passion for spirituality and for closeness to Gd caused them to insist on remaining in the desert rather than proceeding to Eretz Yisrael.

In the desert, Beneh Yisrael lived a purely spiritual existence.  They were sustained supernaturally, with manna falling from the heavens, and a miraculous well traveling with them to provide water.  They were protected by Gd’s “clouds of glory” that encircled them, and their clothes never wore out.  They had no need to work for a living, and they spent their days learning Torah from Moshe and Miriam.  There was practically nothing mundane about their lives.

This would change drastically upon crossing into Eretz Yisrael.  Once in the land, they would no longer receive miraculous food and water.  They would need to farm and to build homes, cities and infrastructure.  They would need to train an army to fight wars against bitter enemies with advanced weaponry.  No longer would they spend their days immersed entirely in Torah and spiritual devotion.

And this, some explain, is what the spies feared.  They wanted to remain in the desert.  They were not prepared to forfeit their miraculous, spiritual existence, their ability to abstain entirely from mundane activities and devote their time and attention exclusively to spirituality.

But this kind of piety was gravely misguided.  We are not placed in this mundane world in order to escape it.  Rather, we are here to infuse our mundane world with spirituality.

Serving Gd in the “desert,” when all of one’s physical needs are miraculously provided for, when one has nothing to do but listen to Moshe Rabbenu’s teachings, is relatively easy.  There are few temptations and few religious challenges.  We are not meant to serve Gd under those pristine conditions, without struggle.  Instead, we are meant to embrace the challenge of engaging in the realm of the mundane while elevating this realm through strict Torah observance and by allotting considerable amounts of time for spiritual engagement. 

If a person has all his material needs cared for, he does not need to struggle to show his religious commitment.  But if a person needs to work for a living, and he wakes up early to pray with a minyan, and he learns Daf Yomi on the train, and he conducts all his business affairs ethically and courteously, and he refrains from work on Shabbat and holidays despite the loss of revenue, and he retains his beliefs and valueseven while engaging with people who do not share those beliefs and values – he truly shows his devotion to Gd.  This is how we are meant to serve Gd.

For this reason, the spies’ piety was misguided.  We are to serve Gd in the Land of Israel, within the realm of natural, mundane living, and not in the ideal conditions of the “desert.”

The Spiritual Shepherds

Possibly, this was also the mistake of Reuven and Gad.

Their desire to remain east of the Jordan River might have been spiritually driven.  Rather than cross into the land, where they would have to work as farmers, spending their days plowing, sowing, harvesting and collecting, they wanted to live as shepherds, enjoying the calm and serenity of the open pastures.

Several of our nation’s greatest spiritual giants, such as Yaakov, Moshe, and King David, worked as shepherds, and for good reason.  Shepherding, we might say, is spiritual work.  The shepherd merely walks with his herds among the fields, where he finds himself alone with his Creator.  This profession allows a person to spend his day in “hitbodedut,” in silent meditation, in solitude, speaking to and connecting with Gd. 

This might be what the people of Reuven and Gad wanted.  They sought the spiritual life of shepherding over the busy life of farming.  They wanted to bond with the Almighty the easy way – in the open pastures east of the Jordan River, rather than embracing the struggle of injecting spirituality into the farmer’s grueling workday.  This was their mistake, for which Moshe compared them to the spies.

It was only once they committed to join the war effort, to assume the challenge of infusing the realm of the mundane with spirituality, that their request was granted.

Unity Through Struggle

The message conveyed by this story, then, is that Torah isn’t supposed to be easy.  We aren’t meant to observe mitzvot only under pristine, ideal conditions.  To the contrary, we display our commitment precisely by remaining loyal to Gd when this loyalty requires struggle and sacrifice.

We might apply this message to the period we begin this month – the period of ben hametzarim, when we mourn the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash, a calamity which, tradition teaches, befell us on account of the sin of sinat hinam, hatred and strife among our nation.  This is a time customarily observed as a time for focusing on how to improve our sense of unity and togetherness, on eliminating tension and fighting, creating closer bonds with our fellow Jews.

We must remember that ahdut – unity – requires struggle.  We don’t create ahdut by loving and respecting our fellow Jews when this is easy – when we have no reason to dislike them, when we agree on everything, when we see things the same way.  We build ahdut precisely when it’s difficult, precisely when we have reason to feel resentful, when we have strong disagreements, when we rightly oppose that which someone else said or did.  This is how we achieve unity – through struggle, by overcoming our instinctive feelings of disdain and resentment, by truly loving and respecting those whom we might feel justified in disliking.

Let us embrace this struggle, and make the commitment to bond with all our fellow Jews, both within our community and beyond, so we can, once and for all, cure the destructive ill of sinhat hinam and become worthy of our final redemption, may it come speedily and in our times, amen.

QUESTION:

Dear Rabbi Ali,

I would say that this has been an issue in my marriage for as long as I could remember.  At least two to three times a week we argue about money. My wife likes spending lavishly, many times beyond our means, whereas, I like to live a more conservative lifestyle and to save money. She says that I am cheap, but I don’t think so. What does one do when two people just have different approaches to money? Is there any way to deal with this without fighting?

R’ Ali’s Response:

I will address your specific questions, but I’d like to mention a few things that people need to hear on this topic. The peer pressure of the Jewish community can be very intense. Trying to keep up with our friends and neighbors is no easy task. It’s important to understand that some people care very much about keeping up with others and some don’t care so much. If your spouse feels this pressure, it won’t help to debate it. Rather, accept it for what it is and deal with it. This is not to say that your spouse is correct. That is a completely different topic. On the other hand, some people don’t care much about what others are doing and live within their means. It’s important to acknowledge that as a sign of good character and be grateful for that. Calling your spouse “cheap” for not wanting to spend recklessly is wrong and insensitive. The spouse who is calling the other one “cheap” may be looking at a special and noble person and may not even recognize it.

Another important point that I believe all wives must hear, is that your husband cannot “make money.” All he can do is his ownhishtadlut. He works hard because that is what Hashem wants him to do. However,Hashem is the One who ultimately decides how much money he will have. I say this because many women are resentful that their husbands are not “making it” like their friends or family are. If the husband is working hard, there’s not much more that he can do. Complaining to him about his lack of wealth makes him feel horrible, worthless, and possibly makes him feel like a failure. 

Getting back to your question. You specifically asked, “What does one do when two people have different approaches?” I have seen many couples with many differences who seem to work their differences out just fine. However, I see other couples with minimal differences who struggle tremendously. It’s not about the differences, rather how you deal with them. If you have a good relationship, respect each other, and communicate nicely, most things will not become major issues. I don’t know the details about your relationship, but money is not usually an issue, even with different approaches, when the relationship is good. This is not to say that you don’t have a good relationship, I’m just giving you food for thought. Maybe you two need to work on communication, not money philosophies.

You mention that your wife keeps spending beyond your means. I’m not sure how you addressed this in the past but it obviously is not working. I have two ideas on how to deal with this specific problem. I call this a problem for obvious reasons. It seems like your wife spends money that you simply don’t have. If you had the money, that would be an entirely different question. The first idea would be to communicate to her in a different way. Until now you probably just argued with her. I have mentioned this approach in the past but it’s worth repeating. Approach your wife when there is no issue at hand. Make sure she and you are both relaxed. Tell her how you’d love to buy her everything that she wants (and mean it). However, we really need to stick to this budget for now. Hopefully, one day we will be able to spend much more. With this approach, it’s not about pointing the finger at “her spending habits,” it’s about the reality.

If this doesn’t work and she says that she needs more money, you should follow up with the next step. You should calculate the exact amount of your monthly income. Then, tell her this is how much I make and this is how much we can spend. Please understand that we cannot go over this budget for now. There are other ideas regarding setting boundaries, but I believe that anything drastic should be spoken over with a professional or a rabbi. I don’t see why you cannot sit down with your wife and a rabbi and propose the question to him. 

Wishing you much success, and, of course, if you pray to Hashem for assistance and clarity then you’re sure to have a wonderful relationship.

ByEddie Esses and Sari Setton

On the evening of May 20, nervous anticipation quickly turned into excited euphoria… that we had finally done it. That WE, as a community, had achieved something monumental. 

In a historic moment for the Sephardic Jewish Community, Sam Sutton was elected to lead the 22nd New York State Senate District with a commanding 67-32% margin – making him the first Sephardic Jew ever elected to the NY State Senate. This was much more than just a victory for Sam; it was a transformative milestone for our community, which has steadily grown in strength, unity, and civic engagement.

This victory was reached, thanks in large part to our community. Special elections in non-presidential years often see minimal voter participation, but the Sephardic Community turned out in force. Building on the momentum of Joey Saban’s groundbreaking campaign for New York State Assembly just one year ago, we once again demonstrated that we are organized, motivated, and ready to be taken seriously by elected officials at every level. Borough Park, Midwood, and Flatbush voters also came out strong for Sam by a wide margin, contributing to a diverse and powerful coalition.

The election night celebration reflected the joy and meaning of this historic achievement. Sam gathered with close friends, campaign team members, and a host of dignitaries and elected officials. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and many NYC Council Members offered heartfelt remarks, reflecting on their past work with Sam and highlighting his long standing reputation as a thoughtful, effective, and principled leader. Ronnie Tawil, Sam’s fellow co-founder of the Sephardic Community Federation, gave a moving tribute, speaking of Sam’s unwavering devotion to the community and his decades of quiet yet impactful leadership. 

In his remarks that evening, Sam made sure to thank everyone who made the victory possible – but he gave special thanks to his wife, Nancy, a community leader in her own right. Sam acknowledged how much of his communal involvement was inspired and shaped by Nancy’s tireless work, and how grateful he is for her support, wisdom, and example.

Sam’s leadership has deep roots. A lifelong community leader, he has spent decades shaping key community institutions. He served over 30 years at SBH, including five as president, helping it grow into a comprehensive social service powerhouse. He co-founded and still chairs Teach NYS, which secured a $330 per-child education tax credit and opened the door for yeshivot to receive Title I services from culturally appropriate third-party providers. As a founding board member of the SAFE Foundation, a trustee at NYU Langone Hospital, and a former CUNY Board of Trustees member, Sam has spent his life using institutional roles to deliver tangible results for our community.

Behind the scenes, the campaign ran on passion, dedication, and a clear vision. Campaign manager Joey Saban, whose own run for office catalyzed a wave of civic engagement in the community last year, worked nonstop for months to line everything up for a potential campaign. Once launched, he ensured every detail of the campaign strategy was executed with heart and precision. That same energy carried through to Election Day, where Sephardic Community voters sent a clear and powerful message: we are no longer on the sidelines—we are shaping the future.

Only one week after the election, Sam took office in a special ceremony on the floor of the State Senate. Alongside his wife Nancy and his entire family, Sam was sworn into office using the Aleppo Codex, showcasing just how monumental a feat was achieved. Sam was recognized later that day during his first legislative session with a round of applause by the entire chamber. 

True to character, Sam wasn’t looking to spend time basking in his victory. He was eager to get to work.  With just two weeks remaining before the end of the legislative session, Sam  introduced four of his own bills and passed three of them (!)  – that’s more than many legislators pass in their full terms. One bill prevents the issuing of sanitation tickets to those who put out their garbage on Friday  as opposed to during Shabbat. Another bill supports funding for treatment for those struggling with infertility. In addition to passing multiple bills at a record pace, Sam also secured significant funding for multiple community organizations. 

For our community, this endeavor was much more than an election – it was a moment of long-overdue recognition. The Sephardic community has shown that it is cohesive, active, and ready to build lasting influence with government. With Sam Sutton in the State Senate, our voice is finally where it belongs: at the table.

Ellen Geller Kamaras

“I was named after my Grandma Grace Sasson who published the first Syrian cookbook in the community.  Through her name, she passed her talents to me. B”H, I’m able to earn parnassah and bring people together through food.”~~ Grace Sitt ~~

Please meet Grace Sitt.  Her name is so appropriate for her as it connotes, kindness, charm, goodness, ease, and elegance – exactly her qualities.

As we follow Grace on her personal and professional journey, you will see that Grace’s spiritual and entrepreneurial voice grew strongly and steadily from her teens until now.

Roots

Grace Sasson Sitt, the daughter of Marcelle and Sammy Sasson, lived in Brooklyn until her family moved to Deal when she was in eighth grade. She is the oldest of five children and has three sisters and a brother.  Sadly, her sister Marjorie, a”h, passed away in her thirties due to complications from an illness. 

Grace’s paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother were from Aleppo, Syria. 

The Sassons could only afford to send one child to yeshiva, so only their son had that privilege.  Grace happily attended Talmud Torah classes at East Midwood JC in the afternoons. She learned to read and write Hebrew and learned about Jewish history, Humash, and hagim.

School studies came easily to Grace except for math and science.  She was shy in school butwith time she became more sociable as she adjusted.

Grace felt her transition from Brooklyn to Deal was fairly smooth. It helped that Marcelle’s friends’ daughters warmly welcomed Grace into their friends’ group. 

High School Years

When Grace was 14 years of age, there was no girls yeshiva high schoolin Deal.To the girls’ good fortune, a local teacher, Mrs. Jacobowitz, taught limudei kodeshto the high school girls twice a week.

During 11^{th and} 12^th grade, Grace felt engaged in the school’s co-op program.  She used her new skills at her job at the Tactical Library at Fort Monmouth.

Grace’s father began to learn with the rabbi of the shul they had joined.  Her father became observant, and Grace followed his lead, out of love and respect.

After graduating high school, Grace began working in a wholesale company in NYC.

Married Life

Grace and her husband Steven have been married for 38 years. The couple has seven children and many grandchildren. Family is a priority for Grace and Steven, and they adore seeing their children and grandchildren.

The couple moved to Deal from Brooklyn around 27 years ago.  They are proud of their community, with its wonderful schools, organizations, and centers, where they appreciate that children can spend time safely.

Steven has been an EMT since the Jersey Shore Hatzalah was established in 2002.  He is now the Executive Director, and their son Sammy recently completed his paramedic course and is one of the coordinators.  Grace has been a dispatcher since Hatzalah began responding to calls in 2003.

Grace’s Essence

Grace describes herself as caring, loyal, fun, and easy-going.She also exudes warmth, ease, and calmness, which fit perfectly with her name.

In the morning Grace asks Hashem to help her make her clients happy. Her parents and grandmothers significantly helped to  shape the woman Grace became.

Marcelle and Sammy taught Grace about independence, responsibility, respect, and ethics.  She learned from them that failing provides a lesson to learn from, and to keep moving forward. 

“Grandma Grace was my role model in the kitchen. We went there for Shabbat meals and holidays.  She had everyone’s favorites and put out a table that could feed the whole block.”

Cooking – A Family Affair

When the Sassons moved to Deal, Grandma Grace stayed with them for the summer. She was always making something delicious.

Grace had no interest in learning to cook or bake as a teenager.  Grandma Grace would beg her to join her.  “I chose my friends or the beach instead.”  Her grandmother had sons and no daughters and so she taught her daughter-in-law Marcelle how to cook, bake, and entertain.

Grace’s Grandma Marjorie worked very hard. She was always put together, smiling. and laughing. She didn’t have a lot, but she lived life to the fullest, dancing, laughing, and smiling.

Grace’s Trajectory

When Grace married, she started to cook as a creative outlet and enjoyed entertaining for Shabbat and holidays. When her children began yeshiva, Grace studied more and grew spiritually. She felt very fulfilled being a mom.

Until seventeen years ago, Grace was a full-time mom. Then,Grace decided to work to supplement her family’s income.  She wanted a job where she could still be home with her youngest, two-year-old Racheli.  She tried babysitting but didnot enjoy it.  Someone suggested she make and sell mazza out of her house. 

“My career chose me.  A book on emunah that I read, said that Hashem gives us talents, not just for ourselves but [our talents] should be shared or used to make a living or to help others.  When it was time to work, I saw Hashem’s hand in following Grandma Grace’s path of cooking.”

Grace also worked in the kitchens of local food businesses where she learned how to cook very large quantities and she learned about food safety. 

Catering by Grace

Someone asked if Grace would help them to cater a party and Catering by Grace was born. 

“I completely self-taught myself everything, from figuring out quantities of food needed for 100 vs. 200 guests, how to display the food, how to charge my clients, how to be cost efficient without compromising quality, how to create menus, and how to store and transport food.  I never went to culinary or business school.  I went online and did the research. I learned everything on the job.  It was a lot of trial and error, but I kept learning and growing every year.  I really enjoy cooking, otherwise the food doesn’t come out well.”

Many of Grace’s firstjobs were cooking for shiva houses. She cooked three meals a day for a week for mourners and extended family.  “I prepared the favorite dishes of the grandparent or wife who had passed away.  It was healing for those sittingshiva.”

The Business Grows

She began as a one-woman show, working out of her home and sometimes getting her husband, her older children, and teenagers who were off for the summer to help.

In Grace’s early catering days, she sometimes worked from 5am to 2am and then slept most of Shabbat.

Her husband and children support Grace’s career and are proud of what she has accomplished.  “I can honestly say that none of my kids would go into catering – LOL.”

As her business expanded, life normalized and Grace was able to afford a commissary, employ staff, and have an assistant help her manage parties.

Grace caters bar/bat mitzvahs, brit milot, engagements, sebets,sheva brachot, birthdays, baby namings, weddings, and pizza ovens.  She has organized parties ranging from intimate dinner parties for 20 people to events with 500 guests.

A New Partnership

Grace recently partnered with Susan and Jack Zayat under the name Hungrymom Catering.

“It was a sign from Hashem.  My commissary where I cooked was closing. The Zayats approached me wanting to enter the catering/meal prep business and they had a commissary.”

Hungrymom is the Zayat’s Instagram/baking business. The partners are in the process of rebranding.

Their menu is diverse and is made up of traditional kosher Syrian specialties, American, Italian, Mexican, Asian, and Israeli cuisine. Grace always specialized in homemade mazza, both dairy and meat.

Everything is homemade, from their doughs for mazza to their marinades and dressings.  The recipes are passed down from grandparents/parents and contain no preservatives or fillers.  “We make everything fresh to order and we treat each client’s event as if it was our own party.”

Quality is a priority for Hungrymom – the best advertising is a happy client.  Most clients come from word of mouth.

Their vision is to continue with catering events and to expand within the kosher meal prep industry.  They want to offer delicious homemade food whether it’s for vacation, or for the home where both parents work and don’t have time to cook, or just to make life easier.

Lessons Learned

“Make your best effort and leave it to Hashem.”  Grace’s secrets to success – keep learning, ask for expert advice, never compromise on quality, respect your clients, treat your employees with gratitude and deference, and be ready for the unexpected in off-premise catering.”

To de-stress, Grace loves the beach where she can watch the ocean.  She wants to make more time for self-care and for traveling.  “There is nothing better than spending time with family.  There is no greater reward than raising a family, seeing your children as adults and parents, seeing them passing on the values you instilled in them to the next generation.  I always wanted a big family. I love the noise and commotion and seeing everyone together.”

What’s Next

“We are creating a new website to facilitate meal prep orders for home, travel, and shipping.  We will have a spot at Khasky’s this summer for fresh meals takeaway, both dairy and meat during the week, and Shabbat food and mazza on Thursdays and Fridays.”

Contact Grace at gsitt@yahoo.com or on  Instagram:  Hungrymomcatering.

Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach.  Her coaching specialties include life, career, and dating coaching.  Ellen can be contacted at ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com).