Mental Health Awareness Shabbat

#QuietTheSilence

May is Mental Health Awareness month, and there is no better time to bring mental health to the forefront than the Shabbat dinner table, an opportunity to gather with friends old and new for elevated reflection on mental health. According to the National Association of Mental Illness, 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience a mental health condition over the course of a given year. That’s 46.6 million people annually.

This is an invitation to turn Shabbat into a time and the dinner table is a place to engage in powerful conversation, to connect with others, and to create a community of caring and inclusivity. Personal connection can save someone’s life. Your outreach, your dinner table, and your kindness may impact someone more than you know.

Take a Breath and Get Started

  • Complete the OneTable hosting application.
  • Upon approval, post your dinner not later than the Monday prior to your event. Be creative – add a theme or meet at a special location. You must tag your event with “Mentalhealth” so that others can find it.
  • Invite friends! Share the link to your dinner, post about it on social media, and start to prepare for your guests to arrive.

Find Your Seat

  • Search for Shabbat dinners hosted by Mental Health Month hosts. You can find our events by going to this page or by searching our tag (Mentalhealth) on OneTable’s Dinners page to see events specifically taking place in your city.
  • RSVP to claim your spot. Feel free to invite friends (space permitting) and contact the host if you have any specific dietary needs.
  • Check out the resources below for inspiration and to help you brush up on Shabbat dinner rituals.
  • Don’t see a dinner in your area? Consider hosting one yourself! 

We've Got You Covered

Mental Health Awareness Shabbat Guide

May is Mental Health Awareness month, and there is no better time to bring mental health to the forefront than the Shabbat dinner table, an opportunity to gather with friends old and new for elevated reflection on mental health.

Printable Shabbat Blessings

We invite you to hold tradition in one hand and your beliefs, experiences and passions in the other. Every week Shabbat dinner offers a chance to take a break and be fully present. Ritual and blessings might help carve out a moment to connect with yourself and others.

OneTable Sober Shabbat Guide

By showing up in community, sober, and celebrating the gift of Shabbat we make this time and space sacred. It has been said the opposite of addiction is connection, and sober Shabbat allows sacred space for this to happen.

Additional Resources

NAMI Mental Health by the Numbers Info Graphic

OneTable Resource Library

MyJewishLearning Weekly Torah Portion

MyJewishLearning Shabbat Table Songs

For even more about mental health, visit The Blue Dove Foundation Mental Health Shabbat page.

These mental health Shabbat resources have been developed in partnership with The Blue Dove Foundation.  The Blue Dove Foundation’s mission is to educate, equip and ignite the Jewish community with tools to work together to understand, support and overcome the challenges presented by mental health and substance abuse. As a community and through Tikkun Olam, we will improve and save lives while eradicating the shame and stigma surrounding mental health and substance abuse in our global Jewish Community. The Blue Dove Foundation is starting in Atlanta with plans to expand across the United States and Canada quickly.  The Foundation values the importance of partnerships in solving this community problem and is very thankful for the existing relationship and future partners whose missions align.

If your organization is interested in distributing materials and supporting this campaign and your organization’s demographic is outside of the OneTable demographic (young adults), please visit The Blue Dove Foundation Mental Health Shabbat page for additional resources and to join us as a partner.