12 | OCTOBER 12 • 2023 J
N
OUR COMMUNITY
T
his fall, Jewish families
around Metro Detroit
are getting excited
about Shabbat with the
help of Sharing Shabbat, a
10-month program run by
The J’s JFamily that connects
community members for
monthly Shabbat meals and
mega-events. As part of the
program, which is running
for the second year, families
are placed in four-to-five
family cohorts, and over the
course of the program’s cycle,
each family hosts their group
at their home for a meal.
Families are given $75
gift cards to help cover
the cost of the meal and
are also given a gift card
to buy challah. They will
additionally take part in
larger group events such as
a parents’ night out, challah
bake, Jewish art workshop
and Havdalah celebration
during the year.
Abi Berlin of Huntington
Woods has joined the current
cohort of 35 families with
her husband, Eric, and
kids Talia, 2, and Jack, 14
months old. The Berlin
family lights candles and
This JFamily program enables families to meet and
celebrate Shabbat together throughout the year.
Sharing Shabbat
& Making Friends
KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Ovadia Tuman,
Jonathan and
Jamie Panzer
light Hanukkah
candles at
the home of
one of the
families from
their Sharing
Shabbat cohort
(December
2022).