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.

