Meet Claudia Halpern. Born and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Claudia loves to spend time with my family and friends, travel and meet new people. She’s no stranger to OneTable and has been hosting Shabbat dinners for over a year now.

Claudia, what does Shabbat dinner mean to you?

A time to sit and reflect on my week/month and year. It’s my way of getting all of my friends, and some new faces around a table to connect with one another about what is going on in their lives. Also, it’s my way of having fun and being creative all around my love for Judaism.

What is your first Shabbat memory?

Sitting around my grandma’s dining room table with my family and taking a huge bite of my grandmas warm and yummy Matzah Ball soup.

What kinds of Shabbat dinners do you host?

I host fun and out of the box DIY Shabbat dinners. For me, OneTable gives me the platform to be creative and not have traditional Shabbat dinners. Sometimes they’re based around the Jewish holidays (Sangria in the Sukkah, Not your parents Passover, etc.) or sometimes I am just in the mood to host people for a meal! (DIY Pizza Shabbat, Shabbat and Chardonnay, etc.) Usually each dinner has a fun and interactive element to it so it makes people want to keep coming back for more.

What is your dream Shabbat dinner?

My absolute DREAM Shabbat dinner, is at to have it at Zingerman’s Cornman Farms which is a beautiful intimate outdoor space. A beautiful table with flowers and candles, 1 very long table for everyone to sit at surrounded by twinkle lights. There will also be a fun interactive candle making workshop during appetizers and each person can take their own set up so they can host their own OneTable Shabbat.

How did you find OneTable?

Honestly, I wish I could remember but I remember thinking to myself, wow I could get resources to host Shabbat dinners however I want with whoever I wanted and I was hooked!