LONG ISLAND $1_TUESDAY, AUG. 31,2010 | NASSAU EDIZION.. Troops overseas get a taste of tradition = Woodmere resident sends challah for Jewish soldiers = Packages of bread, candy sent to troops in in time for holiday By JENNIFER BARRIOS Jennifer barioxnewsday om For the Jewish soldiers stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the challah that Woodmere resident Marla Turk sends to them twice a month isn't just a loaf of bread — its a welcome reminder ofhome, ‘Yesterday Turk wrapped up the last of the nearly 50 boxes destined for Jewish chaplains and lay leaders in the Middle East theater she's sending in time for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jew- ish new year, which begins at sundown ‘onSept. 8, “Thave it down to a science,” Turk said as she displayed the neatly packaged boxes in which she fit30 chaliah rolls and ‘bags of candy and dried fruits and nuts on her sunroom floor. Each package takes between 5 and 10 days to arrive, but, Turk said, the challah is stil fresh and ready for Friday night ‘Shabbat or holiday meals. “TI say God is watching over the chal- Iahs 0 Jewish soldiers can get it.” she said, Rabbi Henry Soussan, an instructor at US. Army Chaplain Center and ‘School in Fort Jackson, S.C. spent a year stationed in Kuwait. He said it would have been impossible to get kosher bread ifnot form Turk’s efforts. Tt was great — we could really re-cre- ate an atmosphere of Friday evening,” said Soussan, who also traveled to bases in Afghanistan and Iraq to serve troops there. “It was amazing. Everyone was sur- prised how fresh the challah still tasted and smelled after it shipped over there.” Jewish groups place the number of Jew- ish troops in the Middle East theater at anywhere from 700 to 17,000 — the De- partment of Defense said it does not keep Offical statistics. ‘Turk has been sending the challah to the troops for two years, having taken over the volunteer project that was start- ed by a woman in South Carolina, Rabbi Shneur Wolowik of Chabad of the Five Towns said his group handles the donations for the pachages, which cost roughly $36 each to prepare and mail. a Wolowik said the packages give 1 troops spiritual strength as well as phys cal nourishment. “If you need belief and spirituality to sgive you that boost on a good day, how ‘uch more so on the front line?" he said, “You realize how fragile your life is. You need that strength. It helps you fight the battle because you feel more upbeat.” Marla Turk ‘coin she received To sponsor a package of challah for Jewish soldiers, contact Chabad of the Five Towns at 516-295-2478 or \www.chabadfivetowns.com. ‘a certificate and her efforts.