When you’re sick, nothing feels better than a hot bowl of chicken soup. Not just any soup – homemade Jewish mama soup is a warm hug when you need it most. And thanks to Miriam’s Well, a new women’s group at Temple Beth El, there’s a freezer full of soup!
The idea grew out of a conversation between Miriam’s Well founder Joy Miller and Melanie Baron. Joy brought the idea to her co-leaders, Tracey Adams and Jennifer Clark, and a Temple-wide project—Miriam’s Wellness, Soup to Go!—was born. We interviewed Melanie to learn a little background:
How did you think of the idea of making soup for congregants?
I wish I could take credit for this idea! I’ve heard of soup delivery services for students who are sick on college campuses, and I think other organizations do it too. But really the inspiration came from TBE – during the COVID quarantines, Rabbi Klass dreamed up a challah delivery project. Congregants made hundreds of loaves of challah at home and dropped them off at the Temple, and other congregants delivered one challah to every TBE family. It was so simple in theory and overcame so many real and imagined hurdles to happen – and the result was a warm feeling of togetherness and cooperation at a time when the whole world needed to feel that.
Why Miriam’s Well?
I was at a planning meeting earlier this year and Tracey mentioned the idea of side initiatives for Miriam’s Well, including Miriam’s Wellness. She was probably thinking about fitness or mindfulness but I looked around the room and all I could see was a lot of Jewish mothers making soup!
Please tell us about your soup recipe! Is it a family recipe?
Ha! Yes, it definitely is. I grew up eating my mother’s chicken soup, and that’s what I first learned to make – it’s made with dill. I made it a few times for my husband while we were dating, and I thought it was great. But then we went to his mother’s house for a holiday meal and I had her soup. I had to admit, it was better.
Apparently there are two schools of chicken soup – soup with dill and soup with parsnips. Before we got married, Jeff’s mother asked me to come to her house alone, bring an apron, and plan to stay all day. That was the day I learned to make her soup with parsnips. It’s easy, delicious, and made with love. And we’re no longer a soup-divided family – even my own mother has switched to parsnips!
What are your hopes for Miriam’s Wellness?
I hope it takes off! I hope we try lots of recipes, and that a year from now there’s a Send Over Soup hotline any congregant can text when they’re sick and in a few years nobody will even remember a time when there wasn’t soup for whoever needs it. Our mothers were right – there really is no better medicine.
How the Miriam’s Wellness Soup Project Works
It’s simple! Miriam’s Wellness volunteers make the soup in the Temple kitchen, and any congregant who isn’t feeling well can request soup here. If you live within 10 miles of Shalom Park, a volunteer will deliver soup to you. Otherwise, you can pick it up at the Temple.
How To Help
This project depends on volunteers, and what we need most right now is drivers. Interested in delivering soup within a 10 mile radius of Shalom Park? Sign up here!
