Naftali and Remi Engel, the founders of The Rebbe's Choice company, have been generously donating their high-end, delicious herring for Masbia's Shabbos Kiddush every week. They recently added a new item to their line of products: a delicious, homemade style cracker, known in Yiddish as kichel (after all, how can you eat herring without kichel). Those who follow their line know that each of their unique products is inspired by the teachings of a particular Hasidic Rebbe. Their new kichel is inspired by the legendary Reb Shayele of Kerestir, renowned for feeding the needy. Check out their home page for their complete line of products.

Challah is a very basic food staple in a Jewish household. Therefore, making sure people have the ability to put challah on the table is something that is very important to us at Masbia. This is why it's included as part of the basic staples that are distributed to the needy. Challah also poses a dilemma. What type of challah should be offered? Being that it is so popular also means that there are various takes on it, or what happens to someone who does not need challah?