38 | SEPTEMBER 17 • 2020 

T

he 2020 High 
Holidays, like much 
else in the world right 
now, are going to be com-
pletely different than they’
ve 
ever been before. Jews all 
around the world are pre-
paring to celebrate either 
virtually or socially distanced 
when in person. 
Jewish platforms such as 
OneTable (onetable.org) and 
its offshoot HereFor (herefor.
com) are catering to these 
changing needs perfectly.
OneTable is a national 
nonprofit that focuses on 
how young adults (ages 
21-39) can connect with 
Jewish community wisdom, 
traditions and rituals, spe-
cifically based around the 
Friday night Shabbat dinner 
table. 
OneTable, which bills itself 
the “AirBnB for Shabbat din-
ners,” has platform guides to 
help hosts with planning and 

promoting their customized 
dinners. Hosts create online 
profiles, post their dinners, 
and can share the dedicat-
ed link with whoever they 
decide to invite. 
Approved dinner hosts are 
eligible for credit to part-
nered companies for resourc-
es such as groceries, food 
delivery, books and decor to 
help with costs.
OneTable also connects 
users with online Jewish 
resources such as recordings, 
ritual guides, tips for hosting 
and more.
With a grant from 
the Charles and Lynn 
Schusterman Family 
Foundation and through the 
Jewish Community Response 
and Impact Fund (JCRIF), 
OneTable launched HereFor, 
a collaborative platform for 
people to create their own 
events, find events and con-
nect with the resources to 

make the High Holidays pos-
sible and fulfilling for them 
this year.
Al Rosenberg, OneTable’
s 
director of strategy and 
communications, said that 
while OneTable 
will continue 
supporting young 
adults for Shabbat 
during the 
High Holidays, 
HereFor focuses 
specifically on the 
High Holidays and is aimed 
toward more than just one 
age group.
“In addressing some of the 
current needs in the com-
munity, we realized that the 
High Holidays were coming 
up very soon,” Rosenberg 
said. “We wanted to take the 
wisdom and expertise we had 
gained over the past six years 
running OneTable and offer 
it to the broader community, 
not just our demographic, 

for the High Holidays.”
For Passover this year, 
OneTable created Seder2020.
org, and saw about 38,000 
people engaged through that 
platform. Rosenberg and 
OneTable are hoping to see 
similar numbers for HereFor.
“It’
s not going to be the 
same as any year previous 
to now, and so I think there 
needs to be a lot of room for 
experimentation and access, 
so that we can really find the 
things that make us feel good 
and make the High Holidays 
feel meaningful,” Rosenberg 
said.
HereFor works with 
more than 50 partners 
to identify resources for 
each of the holidays with-
in the holiday season, and 
is very much a collabora-
tion with JCRIF partners, 
including Hillel, Reboot, 
Jewish Emergent Network, 
Moishe House, Center for 

Meaningful Feasts

Jewish websites offer guides for High Holiday and Shabbat dinners.

Lauren Hoffman 
at a dinner before 
the pandemic

ONETABLE

Al Rosenberg

LAUREN HOFFMAN

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

Rosh Hashanah 5781