How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Shabbat Dinner

August 7, 2020

Hosting big, bustling meals on Shabbat is in the DNA of my sister-in-law, Rabbanit Dasi Fruchter. Raised in a modern Orthodox family in Maryland, Fruchter grew up celebrating Friday nights with her family’s table at full capacity of both people and food. More recently, as the founder and spiritual leader at the South Philadelphia Shtiebel—a vibrant Jewish congregation in Philly—hosting guests was a central aspect of her job. “On Friday mornings I would wake up at 6 to shop for ingredients, then come home and cook and work and cook all day until Shabbat began,” she said. “My table comfortably seats eight people, but I usually packed in between 15 and 20.”

Source: How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Shabbat Dinner - Tablet