26 | FEBRUARY 8 • 2024 J
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hella Bluth-Rosenberg and her
husband, Jeremy Rosenberg, love
having people over on Friday
nights. On any given week, she says, they’ll
have anywhere from a handful to a dozen
guests over for Shabbat dinner.
Guests often include friends of friends,
people recommended by Chabad, someone
from a Hillel or who came to them through
The Well, says Bluth-Rosenberg.
“We just really want to build community.
That’s what it’s about for us, building a sense
of home and community,
” she says. “We
have all different types of Jews, and we’re
cool with that; we want that. It’s so hard to
make friends as an adult — people come
over and make friends.
”
Shabbat dinner is an opportunity for
all of that and more, she says, adding that
the meal itself often includes schnitzel or
Moroccan chicken, chicken soup with
matzah balls, or steak and vegetables along
with challah.
“I’m really big on food, and I’m really
big on connecting people through food,
”
she explains. “I think Shabbat is this really
great opportunity to do this breaking bread
together; it’s this great vehicle, this great
action of preservation of identity and cul-
ture through this action of food, through
this action of communal eating.
”
As for their experience of Shabbat as a
whole, the couple considers themselves tra-
ditional with their observance. They refrain
from driving or using electronics, for exam-
ple, and spend Shabbat reading and playing
board games, having friends over and
taking part in self-care.
“What makes Shabbat special is the ability
to turn off and turn inwards, so it’s the com-
bination of extracting yourself from the noise
and being free within your own thoughts,
”
she says. “The whole thing with Shabbat,
you’re not supposed to create, you’re not
supposed to do melachah (forbidden work),
but I think there’s this aspect of spiritual
connectivity that propels us into creating
and manifesting in the upcoming week.
”
The couple’s typical Shabbat has
evolved since they started dating back in
2018, says Bluth-Rosenberg, explaining
Breaking Bread
Together
Couple hosts guests
for weekly Shabbat dinner.
KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
OUR COMMUNITY
CELEBRATING SHABBAT
LEFT: Chella Bluth-
Rosenberg and
Jeremy Rosenberg.
BELOW: The
Shabbat table.