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Holocaust Martyrs 'and Heroes' Remembrance Day
"Who will take care of them if not me?": The chef who feeds the Holocaust survivors
With grandparents smiling from above, and memories of the family matzah factory echoing in your head, an exciting and powerful venture has arisen
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Holocaust and Heroism Day
New York
Walla!
Food
Wednesday, 07 April 2021, 06:00 Updated: 14:25
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Community concern.
New York Mayor talks to Holocaust survivors in city (Photo: GettyImages)
David Taif has always seen referring to the festive days of Passover as a special time on the calendar.
It was not just the sacred feeling in the air, but really the family stories and the scents that came out of them.
And we mean it in the most literal way possible.
Taif was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1974, and until the age of five was part - albeit small, but still - of a family effort to operate a traditional matzah factory located behind his grandfather's home in the city.
The family left Minsk in 1979, and Taif has since been able to develop a thriving career as a chef, but memories still pull him back at times.
They are usually sweet and nostalgic, but lately - and even more so since the Corona hit New York - they are sometimes bitterly infected by the treatment of Holocaust survivors in the city.
This is exactly what he is trying to improve.
This is also what led to his coronation as the "hero of the day" in the rugged city.
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To the full article
"In honor of grandparents."
Taif's story:
"If my grandparents were still alive, who exactly would take care of them? Who even cares about Holocaust survivors aged 90 and over today?", Taif wondered when interviewed for an exciting article for jewish telegraphic agency, "that was the moment I told myself I had to do something." .
Like countless colleagues in the food world who were badly affected by the epidemic and its aftermath, Taif - a chef who is routinely responsible for entertaining diners at LOX at the city's Jewish Heritage Museum and 2nd Ave Deli - found himself with plenty of free time and little desire to sit at home.
"I was busy 24 hours, six days a week," he recounted, "and within a few days all that schedule was completely emptied."
Similar menu, different purpose.
The restaurant at the Jewish Heritage Museum:
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A post shared by Museum of Jewish Heritage (@museumjewishheritage)
His free time sent him for walks in the empty city streets and desolate Central Park, and as he walked, thoughts quickly popped up about his grandparents, and how they would deal with the corona.
Taif leveraged his thoughts on the action, contacted the museum president and reopened the restaurant on the spot, with a similar "menu" but a completely different purpose - deliveries of Shabbat meals to Holocaust survivors.
The few employees who joined it focused on traditional foods such as challah, gefile fish and kugel, and at the same time tried to make healthier versions, with slightly less salt for example, that would meet the needs of the older customers closed in their home.
Thus, someone who grew up for years with harsh stories about the catastrophic hunger of his family members during the Holocaust, developed a new motto for the new-old business - "No survivor here will remain hungry."
Additional names are required.
Taif's Deli:
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A post shared by 2nd Ave Deli (@ 2ndavedeli)
Taif and his workers cooked for themselves and provided the shipments themselves, driving to the survivors' homes all over the huge city.
They rang the house bells and placed the packed packages outside the door, and from time to time were surprised to see a grateful face.
"Their smile said it all for me," he described.
The U.S. immunization effort - half of those aged 65 and over have already been vaccinated in New York City - is not expected to affect Taipei's activities for the time being.
In fact, he is looking for more names and addresses.
In the area where an estimated 20,000 Holocaust survivors live, each person is a world in its own right.
"When we prepare the food and when we travel with it to the houses, I remember the tremendous effort my grandfather made, and the great risk he took, to prepare matzah for the Jews of Minsk," Taif explained, "in these moments, I feel him smiling at me from above."
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