Spearheading a grassroots revival of the incredible zechus of washing for Melaveh Malkah, Sara asks “What Are You Washing On?”
Illustration by Lea Kron
I’ll admit I was stumped the first time I saw #WAYWO on Sara Gochberg’s Melaveh Malkah Challenge (MMC) Initiative. Spearheading a grassroots revival of the incredible zechus of washing for Melaveh Malkah, Sara asks (and through her posts, facilitates), “What Are You Washing On?”
Using her vast marketing skills and talent with food as well as her drive to promote a mitzvah that involves eating (not fasting, phew!), Sara launched the Melaveh Malkah Challenge! So break out your carbs and sprinkle them with some melted cheese. Once you decide to join, the #WAYWO will become #WAYWF (What Are You Waiting For?).
Eating Melaveh Malkah is a meaningful and practical way to honor and properly escort the departing Shabbos Queen, nourish the luz bone, and tap into the brachos of health, prosperity, and spiritual growth that will continue into the new week. When you eat Melaveh Malkah, it lets the serenity of Shabbos linger before the demands of the new week beckon. People who have taken the Challenge say it elevates their family’s Motzaei Shabbos and upcoming week. Besides washing, it’s encouraged to also have hot food (especially bread) or a hot drink as a refuah (cure) for the body and neshamah.
I started the Melaveh Malkah Challenge in 2018 to bring brachah into my family’s life and as a personal challenge for myself. I had never been a Melaveh Malkah person, forget about washing after a whole Shabbos of eating challah! I shared with my friends what I was washing on by posting What Are You Washing On episodes, with an attached picture and “recipe” of my food. The first week was November 4, 2018, the week the clock changed. Each season starts the week the clock “falls back” — Season 5 started November 5, 2022.
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