22 | MAY 2 • 2024 
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habbat dinner at the Goldis 
house brings the whole fam-
ily together. Arica and Jason, 
their kids Reagan, 5, Griffin, 3, and 
Archer, 6 months, regularly welcome 
grandparents, great-grandmothers, 
aunt, uncle and cousins to the table. 
Their dinners can be the five 
of them, a group of 12 or even 
20, Arica Goldis says, adding that 
they’ve been known to Zoom out of 
towners in as well. “When we’re all 
around the table saying blessings, 
that moment when we’re finally all 
together and everyone’s done run-
ning around and you exhale at the 
end of the week, that’s really special.
” 
 
 
Getting ready for the meal, which 
they host at their Bloomfield Hills 
home, is a team effort. Sometimes 
the grandmothers will bring food, 
or the Goldis family will cook. Yet 

other times, they choose carryout. 
“I think it’s just nice to be together,
” 
says Arica Goldis, who grew up in 
Farmington Hills having Shabbat 
dinner with both sets of her grand-
parents, alternating between their 
houses and then eventually her par-
ents’ house.
“Growing up, being Jewish was 
a significant part of our lives,
” says 
Goldis, who attended Hillel Day 
School along with her husband, 
Jason. “Having Shabbat dinner was 
just a very normal thing, and I think 
it just really kept us connected to 
Judaism and to each other.
” 
Now she carries on the tradition, 
having her parents and in-laws come 
to dinner. After a busy week, it’s a 
time when they know they’ll see 
each other and be able to connect. 
 “I grew up thinking that every-

Shabbat dinner keeps the 
generations connected.

Carrying on 
 Traditions

KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY
CELEBRATING SHABBAT

Griffin 
Goldis

Reagan Goldis, Archer 
Goldis, Arica Goldis and 
Griffin Goldis

Jason Goldis, 
Griffin Goldis and 
Archer Goldis