In a video designed to highlight the difficulties poor Israelis face when trying to prepare for the holidays, the Latet social service organization has recruited celebrity chef Haim Cohen. 

Cohen is tasked with “preparing a meal out of nothing” - as the poor would when trying to put together a meal from their meager supplies.

In advance of the upcoming High Holiday period, Latet, which is Israel's largest distributor of free food packages for the poor, is seeking to increase donations and provide more packages to meet what it says is a greater demand than ever.

To help that effort, the organization has Cohen, the host of several popular cooking shows on Israeli television, attempting to prepare a meal from ingredients a poor Israeli might have in their pantry: a half tomato, some dry bread, and a curdling bowl of cottage cheese.

Of course, Cohen is unable to fulfill his mission – and in the same way, says Latet, poor Israelis cannot feed their families with a regular meal, much less the holiday meals they would like to serve on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur Eve, and Sukkot.

Even one of the top chefs in Israel cannot create a meal if he doesn't have the ingredients,” says the video.

“Some 200,000 Israeli families don't have the basic ingredients to prepare holiday meals. Help Latet help them prepare for the holiday. Let us help them start off the year with a positive feeling.”