This week the members of the Hafla mission, of Partnership2Gether Beit Shemesh - Mateh Yehuda - Washington - South Africa, of the Jewish Agency, convened for a general rehearsal prior to their departure for South Africa at the end of the month.

The mission comprises Hadas Shariki from Moshav Mata, Sari Liberto Baski from Beit Shemesh and Naomi Biri from Moshav Beit Zayit, who have been entrusted with the job of preparing ethnic desserts and appetizers, and presenting cookery workshops (kubeh and moflata) at the Jewish schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The two other members of the mission are David Fentser from Beit Shemesh and Peter Cooper from Mesillat Zion who will perform songs from the Israeli Songbook, and present music workshops at the schools.

The idea behind the mission - to make Israel accessible to Jewish communities in South Africa in an experiential way, and via the senses.

In the past, Partnership2Gether has sent ethnic cooks to food festivals abroad. This time there is a different and younger target audience, and the concept is different accordingly.

The mission will be escorted by Partnership2Gether representative Tami Kedmi.

The general rehearsal included tasting the wonderful desserts prepared by the women: tehini cookies, maamul and sesame squares, and songs from the men's repertoire.

The audience responded enthusiastically to both the songs and the desserts.