Last Friday night, October 25th, thousands of community members of all ages participated in our Federation’s third annual 1,000 Shabbat Celebrations! All across Los Angeles, families and friends lit candles, said blessings, enjoyed challah and wine, ate lovely meals, had wonderful conversations and shared in one of our most cherished Jewish traditions.
Everyone who signed up to host this year received our “Shabbat in Box” complete with a thought-provoking challah cover, a refrigerator magnet, and a kid-friendly “design-your-own” tzedakah box, as well as selected blessings, readings and recipes to customize and enhance their celebrations.
We thank all of the individual hosts, synagogues, organizations and community groups who joined us in our annual tradition— together, we brightened Shabbat in Los Angeles. We also extend our deep gratitude to our dedicated 1,000 Shabbats Co-Chairs, Sue Meltzer and Laurel Warner.
If you were a host this year and have not already filled out our brief survey, please take a moment to do so now. You feedback will help us make our 1,000 Shabbat Celebrations even more meaningful in the future.
Take a look at some of the photos we have received from our community’s celebrations, and feel free to send us additional images from yours:
Below are excerpts of what some of our hosts had to say before/after their Shabbat celebrations:
Thanks for all the Shabbat goodies! We are using our challah cover from last time, too. We look forward to celebrating Shabbat with our friends this evening.
The Fagan Family
It turned into a lovely evening. Our guests were in need of rest, as they run a rigid household schedule. So I think the “REST” did well. I would do it again in a heartbeat! Tov Maod.
Jane Heyman
Thank you for the inspiration to hold a Shabbat. We have already gotten calls from people in attendance to thank us – they enjoyed the opportunity to get the “Shabbat feeling.”
Carol Weiss
1,000 Shabbats at Fountainview was very successful. We had about 50 people in attendance as we lit the candles and recited the blessings. I said a few words about the significance of 1,000 Shabbats, and the meaning of community.
Joy Picus, Fountainview Reseda
We had a beautiful Shabbat – the Platt family hosted the Benarons, Leibovics and Wolmans!
Julie Platt
Our Shabbat dinner couldn’t have been better. Good friends gathered around the Shabbat table. We’ve promised not to let too much time pass before getting together for another Shabbat.
Annette Weinberg
We had a lovely Shabbat dinner, allowing us all a moment to reflect on the week’s events and to share each other’s company. Thank you for the great box of items that helped make the event special!
Christine Kim
Hola Sue and Laurel, Thank you for all the thought you have put into this Shabbat. My friends were so excited for this Shabbat. They have not celebrated with friends and had delicious Shabbat food in a long time!
Sarah Jadidollahi
We had mostly families with young children who fell in love with the booklet and took charge in saying the kiddush and HaMotzi for us. The recipes are a great addition and we made copies for our guests to take home.
Soraya Nazarian
Loved doing it! And, more importantly, our guests loved being here.
Ronnie Stabler
1,000 Shabbats is a wonderful idea and provides the impetus for synagogues, large and small alike, to join in a community celebration of Shabbat in decentralized sites. We have been blessed for the past 2 years with gorgeous weather, which has made our outdoor Shabbat dinner and music even more enjoyable.
Judy Kollack, Co-President, Ahavat Torah Los Angeles
We loved the box and use it as part of our regular Shabbat festivities. Delicious dinner, prayers over candles, wine and bread and thoughtful conversation.
Amy Levy
We enjoyed participating and introducing our Shabbat traditions to a lovely family we recently met. We shared lighting candles, saying the kiddush and HaMotzi, and sharing the Shabbat experience. Thank you!
Sharon Gerber
My family and close friends enjoyed sharing a delicious and intimate Shabbat meal.
Valerie Fontaine
We enjoyed Shabbat with extended family. We don’t get to do that often so it was very meaningful to gather together, say the blessings and share a meal. Thank you for the materials you sent, they were great.
Steffanie Cohen
It was a fabulously fun bonding experience. I loved learning the Shabbat traditions and creating my own style of implementing them. My peers were really grateful for the dinner and want to continue celebrating future Shabbats together. I felt it made us all feel positively connected with each other and our Jewish community at large. Thank you so much for sending the Shabbat box—we used everything!
Shana Paredes
We had a lovely Shabbat dinner. My guests were thrilled that they were part of the 1,000 Shabbat Celebrations. Great idea!
Jill Blumberg Froman
The table was set with the party dinnerware, silver candlesticks, a delicious challah and wine. We said the blessings and enjoyed a wonderful evening. We sat with our guests at the table for over three hours.
Lidia Epelbaum
We had a wonderful Shabbat dinner. Thank you for getting me in the mood to celebrate Shabbat again, I got to share it with family and friends and lots of tots.
Aliza Washton
My husband, 7-year-old son and I opened our home to share Shabbat with our neighbors. We shared good food, good conversation and the peacefulness of bringing in the Sabbath. It truly was a beautiful evening full of many blessings. Thank you for encouraging us to share Shabbat with others and join together as a community.
Jennifer Richter
Thanks again to all who participated in our community-wide Shabbat celebration! For more information, please contact Shabbat@JewishLA.org.
