Every week at the Swarthmore Chabad House, one block away from Swarthmore’s Cunningham Fields, the smell of freshly baked challah distinctly fills the air. Students across campus and community gather around the Chabad kitchen island to knead dough, braid challah loaves, and learn about the Jewish value of “tzedakah,” a word often translated into charity, but whose deeper meaning is something akin to justice.
Rooted in the belief that giving is not an act or generosity but a moral responsibility, the “Loaves of Love” Chabad program invites students of all backgrounds — Jewish and non-Jewish — to engage with this foundational value of giving back. During the program, participants make two loaves of challah: one to take back with them and one to donate to the Family Management Center, a small organization in Chester, PA, supporting families experiencing housing instability. Alongside loaves, students are offered the opportunity to write personal notes to accompany the bread to families.
“Giving is not just for philanthropy, it’s a core part of Jewish tradition,” said Reizel Wolf, who leads the Loaves of Love program and the Swarthmore Chabad chapter with her husband, Rabbi Mordi Wolf.
The program also explored the meaning of challah itself, literally translating to “portion.” This term refers to the piece of dough traditionally being separated and given away as an offering, an agent of relation connection. In this way, each loaf connects students to an ancient ritual of bread making and of gratitude and giving.
The Chabad House also organizes with Swarthmore athletic teams to participate in the challah baking process. Teams often go in groups and learn with Reizel, who prepares all the necessary ingredients for every athlete.
Participants often leave with more than just mere bread: players from the baseball team reflected on how much they enjoyed this program and how it enriched their team bonding, while learning about Jewish culture and the history of challah. They also added that, even more importantly, they were glad to support a local Chester organization through the process of bread making. Finally, they referenced Reizel and Rabbi Mordi Wolf as being incredibly welcoming hosts for this event.
The Swarthmore men’s soccer team had similar reflections on their team experience. Some of the players expressed that the experience was quite fun for them and they enjoyed learning about the cultural importance of challah-making in Jewish tradition and how it unites. Further, some added that the experience of donating bread made the experience that much more meaningful (and, of course, delicious, too).
For some, like Gillian Will ’26, women’s lacrosse team member and student ambassador for “Loaves of Love,” the experience has been transformative. “‘Loaves of Love’ has been one of the most meaningful and fulfilling parts of my time at Swarthmore. I grew up with a Jewish background but have reconnected to my heritage more fully through the Chabad House here.”
Will continued with this sentiment by asserting, “This program, rooted in the Jewish value of tzedakah, offers an opportunity to build community, learn, and give meaningfully. We gather to bake challah, learn about Jewish giving, and share with those experiencing housing instability. It’s been a privilege to run this program and to share both challah and the heart of Jewish tradition with students from all backgrounds.”
The initiative, which “soft-launched” last year, has grown steadily, drawing interest from across campus and running on a weekly basis this fall and hopefully into the spring. With an effort from Chabad to distinctly incorporate athletic teams, the program combines education, real action, and team building, blending the spiritual and the practical. From trivia about Jewish giving, like why donations are often made in multiples of eighteen, representing chai or “life,” to conversations about justice or charity, “Loaves of Love” creates a low-stakes, welcoming environment for anyone curious about Jewish tradition and charity.
For many athletes and on-campus teams, this program has become more than a volunteer opportunity. It is a reminder of the power of teamwork and collective action. Just as sports bring people together through shared goals and effort, this program channels that similar spirit into giving back. Through baking bread for members of the Chester community, athletes get to connect the values of collaboration, empathy, and service. This is a beautiful example of the transcendent power of sports that extends far beyond a field or court.
