(Our team of judges had no inkling of the names or locations of any contestants.)

The Grand Prize winner from the adult division is Tehilla Katz.

She will receive a fully-catered deluxe dinner for her plus 10 closest family members or friends, when it is safe and legal to do so.

The Second Prize winner from the adult division is Dr. Shoshi Lewin.

She will receive free pizza from Tov Pizza or any other PPP (Participating Pizza Place).

The Grand Prize winner from the junior division is Chana S. from Lakewood.

She will receive a fully-catered deluxe dinner for her plus 10 closest family members or friends, when it is safe and legal to do so.  

The Second Prize winner from the junior division is Sarah Esther B. from Baltimore.

She will receive free pizza from Tov Pizza or any other PPP (Participating Pizza Place).

All other contestants (you know who you are!) will receive our popular O'Fishel Social-Distance-Compliant, Telescoping, Back-Scratching Pen.  We will notify the contestants when supplies arrive.  Don't call us; we'll call you.

Enclosed for your reading pleasure are the winning essays.

Grand Prize Winner - Adult Division - By Tehilla Katz

Beauty in the Bleak- Finding the Chesed in Corona

It was a Motzei Shabbos when I received a frantic message to go into isolation immediately. Suddenly, COVID-19  stopped being the Other People’s problem. Purim was coming and I was alone in a foreign country. What was I to do?

Expecting misery, I discovered that in the silence of quarantine was selflessness. People’s goodness inspired and humbled me. Every action created an interlocking chain of Chesed, stronger than all the antibacterial soap in the world.  

  Every day I learned more about what it meant to give.  Friends called, teachers from my seminary sent caring messages. My hosts held their adorable grandchildren up to the banister so I could see them. My roommates sent me candy and hilarious games to make me laugh. Expecting nothing on Purim, I was touched beyond words at the vast amount of Shalach Manot I received. Having arranged to hear Megilla over the phone, I naively assumed that I would be listening in on a regular communal leining.  It was only when the Baal Korei reached the first “Haman” and I heard my lone banging on the table that I realized that this kind stranger was reading just for me. 

 I thought I had known how to do Chesed. Those two weeks I spent in solitary confinement, feeling more vulnerable than I’d ever been, showed me what a novice I was. Real kindness goes beyond indifferently tossing a coin in the Tzedaka box. It’s about truly putting yourself in the shoes of another person and thinking, what do they really need? What can I, with my unique gifts, talents and time contribute that no one else can? The chesed that was done for me sweetened the solitude and filled me with optimism. As the world outside my window changed beyond belief, my faith in people increased. 

 We’re still in lockdown. It’s impossible to know what the future holds or where we’ll be in a month or even a week. However, I’m encouraged by the Torah that is being studied around the world and the endless Chesed operations that are still flourishing to the fullest capacity (and, of course, the memes). Someday soon, when we throw our masks off and step outside again to enjoy the sun, I’ll remind myself that at my lowest moments--even when coronavirus might have forced me to be alone--I was never lonely. 

Second Prize - Adult Division - By Dr. Shoshi Lewin:

One thing I gained over this current Pesach was a sense that if a challenge

comes your way, you can rise to it. I had been fearful about the idea of making

Pesach myself, especially this year. I work, I was making a bar mitzvah, I didn't

have storage room for the requisite Pesach pots and pans. I am deeply grateful

to the relatives that my family has gotten to share Pesach with over the years,

and had planned ahead with them that this Pesach would be no different.

Except - that it was, and it had to be. It started before Purim with the

murmurings that the coronavirus pandemic was different than anything we had

experienced before, necessitating smaller gatherings and more vigilant

handwashing. Then, as Pesach began to approach, there were the questions

about whether it would be safe to travel out of state. We have no local family, so

out of state travel was the only option. It was at that point that I started to think

about buying some Pesach supplies, just in case. That led to getting some

potato starch, some matzo meal, some oil, some pots and a pan. By the time

cooking implements arrived (with gratitude to target.com), it looked like this was

going to be the real thing - going to family was not an option. We were going to

need to make Yom Tov mere weeks after making a Bar Mitzvah and in the

middle of trying to modify the working, learning, davening, and teaching

schedules for a household. But it happened. We pitched in together, cleaned a

house, got more food and supplies, and hoped for the best. I cannot think of

anything other than Siyata Dishmaya that would make such a phenomenon

possible. It taught me that even fears cannot stand up to Siyata Dishmaya,

because you never get a challenge you cannot handle.

Grand Prize - Junior Division - By Chana S.

Gratitude

There are so many things we take for granted in our life. Now, with the Coronavirus in full force, there are many things we can’t do, things we never really appreciated being able to do before.

Can you imagine not being able to do a mitzva? Unfortunately, it’s happening right now. We are being told not to daven with a minyan! How many boys just became Bar Mitzva and aren’t able to daven with a minyan yet? Sadly, there are so many people being niftar and no one can say kaddish for them!

Did we ever thank Hashem when we were able to daven with a minyan? Did we think of it as a gift, or just another mitzva that we have to keep? Im Yirtze Hashem we’ll soon have our precious mitzva back, hopefully with a little more appreciation.

Another thing we take for granted is our ability to talk to other people face to face, and enjoy their company. Did we ever thank Hashem that we can stand next to another person and schmooze, laugh, or just be with them? Now, while we’re quarantined at home and can’t come within six feet of anyone other than a household member, we notice the difference. Talking on the phone helps, but it’s not the same as talking in person.

The Coronavirus is impacting so many people’s health. We should definitely thank Hashem if we’re healthy or getting better. But did we thank Hashem when we DIDN’T have a sickness, broken bone, or other health issue? We can forget to show gratitude when we don’t have a problem.

There are millions of other things we should thank Hashem for, many of which we do not.

Maybe Hashem took away so may good things from us because we aren’t showing our appreciation enough. We must show our gratitude to Hashem for everything he does for us, and may we be zoche to the Geulah very soon!

Second Prize - Junior Division - By Sarah Esther B.

My Pesach during Corona was, I can’t say the best, but always worse stuff could happen.

The things that were good are that I spent more time with my family. First of all, I played games with them and I stayed up extra late. I am getting a better Pesach present instead of Chol Hamoed trips, and the best of all is we did a thing called the ticket puzzles! At the seder, we got tickets with different pictures on them. We got the tickets by saying divrei Torah and being quiet when my siblings were saying their divrei Torah. The more tickets we got the better the prizes. For one example, I got a prize to go to my sister and brother in law for a Shabbos meal. The reason why it is called the ticket puzzle is because all of our tickets that we used for individual prizes were also actually puzzle pieces. We worked together to put the pieces in the

picture order. The puzzle, when put together, was really a message saying that my siblings and I are going camping with my sister and brother in law. I am super excited!

Actually, I was even lucky to just be at the seder at all. This was a real Gam Zu Le Tovah story. One day just before Pesach, I woke up and I wasn’t feeling well and then I felt really sick and I got a fever. My parents did not know what to do because it was Shabbos, so they went to a doctor who lives a block away from me and he is an amazing doctor who works at the best hospital in the world – John’s Hopkins. He said I should assume that I have corona by staying in my room all day and if I wanted to come out then I had to wear a mask. On Sunday I went to John’s Hopkins and I went through a drive through testing sight. I got tested for Corona and the people were really nice but they looked like bee keepers because they were wearing haz mat

suits. I still had to stay in my room because we really thought that I had Corona. The next day I woke up feeling perfectly fine and my father said guess what? You don’t have Corona. I was so excited! I even ran downstairs right away because it had been a long time since I had been downstairs without a mask. All I can say is thank you so much to Hashem for making me not have Corona because then I wouldn’t have been able to have the seder with my family. I would have had to stay alone in my room.

I also realized how much I like school. I always thought that I hated it but not being allowed to go to school made me realize the parts that I do like about it. I also wanted to thank Hashem for another reason because Hashem taught me a really big lesson. I kept on saying I want to go play with my friends and my mother said there are lots of people dying and I am very thankful to Hashem because my family is healthy and my friends are also.