This Shabbat we will be welcoming friends and family into our homes for the first night of Pesach. We will retell the story of the exodus from Egypt, the youngest child will ask, “why is this night from all other night?” and we will share a festive meal. Why not share a festive meal with your fellow Beth Ami family for Guess Who’s Coming to Shabbat? Our new program launched on March 13th and was well received by guests and hosts alike. As we prepare to host our first night Seder for Pesach and invite friends and family into our homes, I would like to invite you to extend that invitation to other Beth Ami members by hosting a Shabbat dinner in your home on May 8th.
Here’s how it works:
Our goal is for each and every member between now and January 2016, to share a Friday night Shabbat dinner at a member’s home. Every two months, six times a year, we will look for five to ten people who are willing to host from two to eight guests. We are currently searching congregants to host Friday night Shabbat dinners in their homes, with a mixture of friends and people who are not yet friends. Then our Shabbat Shadchens (matchmakers) Judi Hyman and JoAnne Bressick will help the hosts put together a group to invite, with the goals of 1) an enjoyable evening for the host and 2) including everyone (100%) in the congregation by the time the year is over.
Thank you to all the hosts who already opened their homes to guests of our Beth Ami family on March 13th. Hosts and guests all remarked how much fun they had and how connected they feel to each other after sharing a Shabbat together.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you’d like to host. Judi Hyman can be reached via email at judihyman@att.net or via phone at 484-8970 and JoAnne Bressick can be reached via email at bressick50@gmail.com or via phone at 579-5747.
This quote from USCJ’s spring 2015 Magazine, sums it up best for me:
“It’s about showing that Judaism doesn’t end in the four walls of our synagogue, when we take our tallis off – it begins in that moment.” Guess Who’s Coming to Shabbat?” meets and welcomes people (members) where we are – in our homes, our neighborhoods and communities – and weaves the threads that connect us to build a stronger, thriving kehillah.
Chag Sameach,
Laura Alexander
