Make it festive and delicious!

There’s got to be music. Will you jam out to a Pride playlist, sing through Kabbalat Shabbat liturgy, or break out the guitars and drum on the table? LGBTQ+ themes are everywhere, from the traditional prayers to camp songs and dance jams. 

For your meal, maybe you want to whip up a glorious rainbow menu, or maybe you want to lavish your guests with a takeout meal from a local restaurant that supports the LGBTQ+ community. Or, go potluck and have your community bring dishes! Keep it inclusive and accessible by checking food restrictions and allergies. 

Set your tables with Pride flags and decorations. Visit Keshet’s website for printable signs and stickers!

Set aside time to learn and remember.

Brush up on some LGBTQ+ history and the origin of the rainbow flag with Keshet’s resources on the history of Pride symbols and today’s LGBTQ+ Jewish heroes. If you love a Jewish text study, check out the Sinai to Stonewall source sheet about Jewish values for inclusive communities. You could even welcome LGBTQ+ Jews from generations past to your Pride Shabbat table, or ask your guests to share the name of an admired or loved LGBTQ+ person they want to bring with them or honor.

And, especially if you’re an ally (meaning you’re not LGBTQ+ but you support LGBTQ+ folks!), make sure you’re learning and listening to LGBTQ+ folks about what it means to practice and cultivate allyship with our community.

Balance rest with action.

For some people, Shabbat is a respite from the busy world of action. For others, it’s a time to live out our deepest commitments to justice. Whatever your spiritual needs, your Pride Shabbat dinner can be a time to nourish yourselves with food, community, and insight, so that we can pursue justice and nurture joy. Consider whether you’ll take time at your dinner table to discuss how to take action for LGBTQ+ equality, whether you’ll share opportunities for action with your guests after shabbat is over, or both! Check out the guide for anyone to raise their voice for LGBTQ+ rights.

Express gratitude.

During Shabbat, we get “a taste of the world to come.” We get to practice gratitude and dream about a world of abundance. Think about how you will cultivate and share gratitude with your guests: maybe you’ll read aloud new poetry by LGBTQ+ Jewish writers, like Joy Ladin’s poem Ready. Or, maybe you’ll ask your guests to go around the table and share something they’re thankful for, what Pride means to them, or what’s in their dreams and hopes for Jewish and LGBTQ+ equality and liberation.