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A Year Later, A New Tradition in CIncinnati Revisited by Newcomers
By: Ethan Levine, Emma Edelman & Edana Appel
1/4/2011 

You may recall that just over a year ago, David’s Voice ran an article on a group of Jewish young adults who began to organize casual and informal Shabbat dinners once a month at different people’s homes. Over the past year this tradition has become a staple for many; some of the dinners have even exceeded 50 people.

David’s Voice has been able to capture the perspective of some of the young adults whose lives have been affected by these dinners, now affectionately known as Shabbatlucks. Some of the most telling and interesting accounts proved to be from people who are new to Cincinnati. Read on for more:

Ethan Levine and Emme Edelman's story:
 

Typical Scene at a Shabbatluck Dinner
On July ninth, we received a text inviting us to a Shabbat dinner.  A friend of a friend of the host had invited us.  Having lived in Cincinnati for less than a month and having met relatively few people, especially fellow members of the tribe, we accepted.  Ethan prepared the food while I finished up my first week of work.  We picked up our friend of a friend of the host and headed to a loft in Over-the-Rhine.

We walked into a room full of young Jews and platters of food.  As we broke bread together, introduced ourselves, and shared our highlights of the previous week – in typical Jewish camp fashion – we started to feel like we were building a community.  As we mingled that evening, we knew immediately we had made what we hope will be life-long friends.  We exchanged phone numbers, laughs, and stories of our pre-Cincinnati lives. 

On our drive home, we debriefed.  It was, and is, amazing to be a part of this young Jewish community.  We marveled that people, clearly of so many different backgrounds that, quite honestly, would never socialize together outside of the Jewish scene, came together to enjoy each other’s company and share in Shabbat.  Having recently graduated from college, we had worried about how we would meet people, especially Jewish people, out here in the real world, in which we were no longer forced into such close proximity with thousands of people our age.  In one evening, our concerns about finding our way socially in an unfamiliar city were put to rest. Cincinnati was already feeling like our home.

It turns out we had stumbled upon what has become in the last year a steadily growing phenomenon within Cincinnati’s young Jewish community.  Once a month, a potluck Shabbat dinner is organized at a volunteer’s place of residence, and word is sent out via an ever-growing listserv.  There is no set guest list, and all are encouraged to invite new people to the dinners.  We ended up at our first dinner by an invitation from a college roommate’s old friend from summer camp’s roommate, and it is safe to assume that many others who are now regulars at the dinners discovered them similarly.  When we started attending, the group did not have a name (now they the dinners are called Shabbatlucks).  It does not have organized leadership.  And we like it that way.  Its beauty lies in its simplicity – it is nothing more than a bunch of Jews getting together and sharing a Shabbat meal.

We have not missed a dinner since that first night in July.. Each dinner has had its own personality.  The tables and chairs, kindly loaned by the JCC (thanks!), are the same, but the people, food, location, and atmosphere are different.  We’ve shared Shabbat in community rooms of apartment buildings with enough space to set up a buffet, walk around, and mingle.  We’ve also shared Shabbat in intimate apartments, where we placed food on the table, and like family, threw elbows to get that last latke.  We were lucky enough to host our own Shabbat-luck in November, which finally gave us an excuse to bring out the kitchen appliances from storage and cook for a crowd, an experience we’ve yearned for since the move to Cincinnati.  Our downstairs neighbors, who aren’t Jewish, joined us and were welcomed.  They too, recognized the uniqueness of these dinners and were amazed how we had so quickly formed a community.

December marked the one-year anniversary of the Shabbatlucks.  As we sat around the tables sharing a loosely Hanukkah-themed feast, we got to talking about the remarkable evolution that had taken place over the course of the year.  It was determined that only two of the roughly two-dozen in attendance that night had been a part of the group since its inception.  For us, and for many young Jews like us, the Shabbat dinners have become dates to circle on our monthly calendars.  And while they now provide for us the consistency and comfort of a fun evening with familiar faces, we look forward to seeing new faces as the community continues to grow.

Edana Appel's story:

Dinner at Edana's Apartment

When I moved to Cincinnati from Los Angeles a little over a year ago I was a bit nervous, but this was going to be the third time in my life I would be moving to a city where I didn't really know anyone, so I was prepared.  I was fortunate to have a few grown ups in town looking out for me, but finding people my own age was going to be a challenge, especially since the place I work consists of two people besides myself, whom I also classify as grown ups.
 
 
I attended my first Shabbatuck in September after being invited at an Access event and being pushed by another friend of mine new to the "Shabbatuck scene".  We met up and drove down to Gil Palmon's place downtown and had absolutely no idea what we were getting into.  Was it a bit awkward? Yup. But it was also the least overwhelming social experience I had had since moving to Cincinnati.  That night I was also lucky enough that my talent for baking cakes earned me a gold star of celebrity.  Since then I have been lucky enough to attend these monthly gatherings and have met a lot of great people, many of whom have become my close friends.
 
Along came December and I found myself hosting ShabbatLuck on the one year anniversary of the group and let's just say it was a pretty crazy night.  I mean, my apartment is large but it is not huge and yet we managed to squeeze in 30 or so people.  It was probably one of the most exciting moments for me since I moved here.  First of all, to see a group of young Jews just getting together to have Shabbat dinner, no religious organization involved, and to see other people enjoying in the experience that has basically been one of the key pieces in making Cincinnati feel like I place i can call home.  I am really thankful for the people who started this group and hope that I can help them continue the chain of welcoming new people into the community!

To learn more about the Shabbatlucks or to get on the email invitation list, contact Mike Sarason at michael.sarason@gmail.com.