Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles (OBKLA) celebrated a major milestone: its 1,000th community cooking session. Held at the organization’s Pico Boulevard kitchen, the evening brought together adult volunteers for a night of service, connection, and celebration, all while preparing 1,000 kosher meals for those in Los Angeles experiencing food insecurity.
The session kicked off with opening remarks from Executive Director Yossi Segelman.
“When you signed up today, you thought it was just going to be a regular session. But what you probably didn’t know is that today, it’s our 1,000th session—and we’re going to be making 1,000 meals,” he told the crowd during the July 23 gathering.
Volunteers suited up in aprons, hats or hairnets, and gloves before getting to work. The kitchen was divided into two teams: one shaping trays of seasoned meat into meatballs, the other chopping fresh vegetables including bell peppers, carrots, and zucchini. Upbeat music and a cocktail bar set a festive tone, with gold “1,000” balloons floating to celebrate.
Throughout the evening, the room buzzed with laughter, conversation, and a shared sense of purpose. Whether people came together or met for the first time in the facility, there was a strong sense of community with everyone working side by side. Once the food was prepared, volunteers carefully packaged each meal in plastic containers, hand placing every sticker and adding a personal touch to every box.
“I am grateful for each of you who allows us to change the way that people are fed, to be fed with dignity. And because of you, over 1,000 people will be eating” Chani Lazaroff, program leader at OBKLA, said.
Before the night ended, Segelman shared the story of OBKLA’s beginnings: him, his wife Chaya, and a handful of volunteers packing and delivering meals by hand. At the end, he personally thanked each team member and ambassador by name and all of the volunteers for being part of the journey. He surprised the room by bringing out a celebratory “1,000” vanilla strawberry cake, met with cheers and applause as a perfect end to the celebration.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently met face-to-face with the heads of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in Bnei Brak, a rabbinical policy-making council based in one of the centers of the Haredi movement. Those who organized the meeting described it as “unprecedented spiritual diplomacy” as Huckabee “stepped into the heart of Israel’s Torah world.”
Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter of Dirshu, an Orthodox Jewish organization that aims to strengthen Torah study, orchestrated the visit, which offered a glimpse into how American conservatives are standing with Torah leadership in a new way. Hofsteter, based in Toronto, is the founder of a real estate investment and property management firm. He’s the son of Holocaust survivors.
Huckabee, a longstanding supporter of the State of Israel, formerly served as the governor of Arkansas and is a former presidential candidate who ran in the Republican primary. He was nominated by President Trump to be ambassador to Israel, and he has served in the role since April.
“Guns and Moses,” a new action-thriller from writer-director Sal Litvak, enjoyed a successful opening weekend at the Laemmle in Encino, beginning July 18.
Litvak, a regular contributor at the Journal, co-wrote the film — his third feature-length movie — with his wife, Nina. The two set out to make the film following the deadly shooting at the Chabad of Poway in April 2019 and sought to depict Jews different from typical Jewish characters onscreen. On July 20, following each of the screenings at the Laemmle, the two participated in Q&As about the film along with actors Mila and JuJu Brener, real-life sisters who portray sisters in the film.
The film, which premiered at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival last year, follows a gunslinging rabbi who seeks out the truth following the deadly shooting of one of his congregants. Actors Mark Feuerstein, Christopher Lloyd, Neal McDonough, and Alona Tal co-star.
