OneTable, The Oldest New Way to Do Friday Night

Growing up it was the norm for many of my friends to have a mandatory Shabbat dinner with their families every Friday night. For those not familiar with this Jewish tradition, Shabbat is defined as the Jewish day of rest and the seventh day of the week on which religious Jews will observe the holiday by refraining from all work activities. To mark the beginning of Shabbat, a dinner is held where candles are lit and blessings are recited. Even for non-orthodox or religious Jews, Shabbat dinner marks a special time for families to get together at the end of the week and enjoy a meal and meaningful conversation.

As we grew older, and our social lives became a bit livelier, unfortunately Shabbat dinners became less of a priority for our families. Thankfully, one organization is hoping to bring Shabbat back into our lives. OneTable wants to help people in their 20s and 30s find, enjoy and share Shabbat dinners to make the most of their Friday night and enjoy the best of life together. They believe there’s nothing better than a great dinner with people you love and want you to see that too.

OneTable offers three options for your Shabbat dinner; an intimate dinner at home, a Shabbat dinner event partnership, or for welcoming spaces. For the individual dinners at home, OneTable offers support for hosts through “Nourishment Credit” which can be applied to resources to make hosting easier, like on-demand grocery or prepared food delivery. One of my friends recently hosted a Shabbat dinner and was able to order groceries from the online service Insta Cart that were delivered straight to her door. She prepared a beautiful meal, which consisted of salmon, chicken, Mac and cheese, salad, and roasted veggies. And of course Challah! For these individual dinners you simply create an online profile and an event page for your Shabbat dinner on Feastly, a social dining platform: eatfeastly.com/onetable.

Another option is the Shabbat dinner event partnership. OneTable provides financial support for entrepreneurial hosts to create their own Shabbat dinner events, often held in restaurants or other private dining venues, for 25-60 people with ticket prices ranging from $10-$100. For example, Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz, founders of the Jewish foodie business, The Gefilteria, created a farm-to-table Shabbat dinner for 50 people in Brooklyn.

And the final option is the “Welcoming Spaces.” For multiple, individually hosted dinners taking place at the same time: for instance, the rooftop of the JCC in Manhattan where 15 hosts can reserve a table, invite friends, and OneTable will provide you with wine, challah and dessert, plus live music and the opportunity to mingle and meet more than 100 other hosts and guests.

And the best part about it all is that anybody can be a guest or a host! OneTable is really just inviting people to explore new ways to create Jewish space in your life. And what better way to do so than over a delicious meal with good company? It’s the perfect excuse to unwind from your hectic workweek and take a moment to be present.

“When you join around the table, you sit side-by-side, as equals, as friends, new and old. At Shabbat dinner, you share a connection with the people in the room, in the broader community and around the world. Shabbat dinner creates the space to share the Jewish experience and belong to something bigger.” OneTable

Now’s your chance to become a host or a guest and create wonderful memories and deeper connections with the people you love most. For more information about OneTable, please follow this link.