There came a time last spring where those of us who had been in the house for a while were feeling a bit fed up with our big Shabbats. Sure, they’re always entertaining – 50+ people, wine, great food and good company. But hosting these Shabbats was beginning to feel like somewhat of an ordeal – rather than enjoying the food, good company, etc., we spent much of the Shabbat running around and making sure that other people were enjoying themselves, floating from conversation to conversation, not getting to talk to any one person for very long. As our Shabbats grew bigger, the task of managing them became more all-consuming. Given that Shabbats are really the cornerstone of the MHDC community, it was important for us to figure out a way to bring the joy and excitement back into these dinners. Before living in MHDC, I myself was a regular Shabbat attendee, and I so valued the laid-back atmosphere, the interesting people, the openly but not aggressively Jewish environment – we all understood that these events were of value to our whole community, and it was important for us to figure out a way to make them less of a chore and more of a community building endeavor.
So we decided to schedule one small, invite-only Shabbat each month in addition to our large, open Shabbat. This allows us to get to know new members of our community, to reconnect with people who perhaps haven’t been by in a while, to spend time with our good friends as well as new and potential friends. For our house, I feel that this has made our system of Shabbats sustainable – more rejuvenating than stressful. We can really take time to appreciate each other, the community we’ve built and the religious directive within Judaism to really and truly take a break from the everyday work of living. It makes us feel more connected to our community and more connected to Shabbat.
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