More than 20 cities across the United States participating in this year’s international Shabbat Project will host pink challah bakes to raise awareness about the predisposition to breast cancer among Ashkenazi Jewish women.
Beth Eliyahu Congregation, located at 5012 Central Ave. in Bonita, will host an event on Nov. 14, starting at 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per person or $18 per family.
The pink challah bakes will feature educational resources from the leading molecular diagnostic company Myriad Women’s Health and the Jewish breast cancer organization Sharsheret, as well as screening and testing by local physicians for BRCA1 and BRCA2, the most well known genes linked to breast cancer risk. While about 1 in 400 people in the general U.S. population have a BRCA1/2 mutation, the mutation exist in approximately 10 percent of Ashkenazi Jewish women in America who are diagnosed with breast cancer.
“These pink challah bakes are more than just events,” said Nisa Felps, who is coordinating the initiative for the international Shabbat Project. “We are saving lives. Each person that is educated and understands their hereditary risk which is higher in the Ashkenazic community has an opportunity to be proactive and potentially change their destiny. In Jewish tradition, there is nothing more precious than life. ‘When you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world.’ Let’s change the world together and lower the hereditary risk in our community by getting tested.”
Held just two weeks after the conclusion of October’s nationwide Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States., the pink challah bakes are part of the Shabbat Project’s broader worldwide celebration of the Jewish Day of Rest. Participation in this year’s seventh annual Shabbat Project is expected to exceed last year’s numbers, which included more than 1 million participants in 101 countries across 1,511 cities and towns.
San Diego’s local congregations, community organizations, schools and youth groups have united under the Shabbat San Diego umbrella to plan a four-day experience, including six mega challah bakes (one in Tijuana), an outstanding Havdalah concert, home hosted and community dinners, prayer services and a Community Day of Learning.
Signups for all events are at shabbatsandiego.org.
