28 | JUNE 20 • 2024 
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r. Marla Scafe of Metamora 
enjoys making big Shabbat 
dinners. It’s a tradition she 
started several years ago after taking 
part in a meal at the Chabad Jewish 
Center of Troy with co-directors Rabbi 
Menachem and Chana Caytak. She was 
also influenced by her cousin Shelley 
Eizelman of Oak Park, who has invited 
them to various Shabbat meals, she says.
When Scafe hosts, they light candles, 
say Kiddush and eat challah she bakes 
ahead, she explains. They have a nice 
meal, talk, hear a d’var Torah and enjoy 
each other’s company. 
“I liked the whole concept of people 
inviting people to share Shabbat,” she 
says. “I thought it would be really nice 
to get to know some of the people that 
have also started coming to events at the 
Chabad.”
So, over the past several years, 
she’s been hosting meals and seen 
connections blossom from the 
experience, she says, including making 
a friend who helps her plant and 
harvest her garden, and friends she 
shares messages of “good morning” 
and “Shabbat shalom” with throughout 
the week. “What makes it so special is 
the friendships I’ve developed with the 

people I’ve invited,” she says. 
Shabbat is different from weekdays 
because of the focus on rituals and 
setting aside a special, quiet time 
to spend with others, she explains. “It’s 
all social interaction, and that’s just so 
important.”
Scafe is known to take her Shabbat 
plans on the road as well — she loves 
spending Shabbat with her daughter, 
who lives in Holly, and her grandsons, 
ages 8, 6 and 2, she says. Sometimes 
she makes the main course, sometimes 
her daughter does; but any which way, 
it’s wonderful, she says, adding that she 
often makes meals that include salmon, 
salad, challah and pies. At her son’s 
in Oak Park, she’ll also take part in 
Havdalah with him, his wife and their 
4-year-old daughter. 
As she lights her Shabbat candles, 
Scafe says she hopes they are making the 
world brighter, adding that she draws on 
the Chabad message of adding light to 
dispel darkness, especially now.
Originally from Oak Park, Scafe 
had been living in Oklahoma for her 
Ph.D. and settled in Rochester with 
her husband, Arthur, when she moved 
back to Michigan. They were founding 
members of Congregation Shir Tikvah 

in Troy, she says, adding that her parents 
grew up Orthodox and went on to attend 
synagogue at B’nai Moshe. 
“Growing up, I can remember my 
mom making big Shabbat dinners and 
lighting candles,” she says. 
When it came to raising her own 
family, they’d eat a quick dinner and 
head to Shir Tikvah for services. “Those 
traditions have always been a part of [my 
children’s] lives,” she says. 
Her grandkids are being raised to 
be proud of their heritage, too, she 
explains. Her oldest grandson loves to 
sleep over on Friday nights after Shabbat 
dinner. On Saturdays, they spend time 
at Chabad or Shir Tikvah, as well as 
reading and relaxing. In the summer, 
they also enjoy nature and going out for 
walks. They read PJ Library books with 
her grandson, she adds. 
“I think what I’m giving my kids and 
grandkids is to know the importance of 
Shabbat, to know how special it is and 
to take advantage of the opportunity to 
shut off our phones, rest and just enjoy 
the downtime and the holiness.” 

Sharing Shabbat

Friendships bloom from sharing Shabbat meals.

KAREN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY
CELEBRATING SHABBAT

Home-baked 
challah

A PJ Library art project Marla Scafe did 
with her grandson Sully during Shabbat.

A group photo taken 
before Shabbat 
dinner with Dr. Marla 
Scafe daughter’s 
family and her 
brother and his wife.

