Together at the Table
Grassroots Shabbat dinners celebrating unity and diversity in the face of fear and division.
We invite you to join us by gathering people in your communities and networks for a Together at the Table dinner to engage in constructive dialogue with a plurality of perspectives, to address deep, painful divides in our communities, and to consider the roles we can play in strengthening civil discourse and society.
Shabbat dinner is an opportunity to be in community, learn from and with one another, and begin to heal from the ills of antisemitism. Use the resources on this page to come together at your table. If you’re not yet a host, apply to host a dinner to pause and discuss.
Reflections from a Host
“It feels like every day there’s more to talk about as American Jews and fewer places that feel safe to have those conversations. Let’s make a Shabbat space that feels safe to do that. Let’s actually talk to each other. I’ve got love for my people.”
Together at the Table Shabbat Guide
Download this guide with the Shabbat blessings, education, readings, and discussion prompts to help you come together at the table with the people and issues, including responding to antisemitism, that you care about.
Stories for the Sake of Argument
We know it can be challenging to talk to each other about Israel, so check out Stories for the Sake of Argument by Abi Dauber Sterne and Robbie Gringras and this resource to lead an argument with a group and bring this conversation to your Shabbat table.
Repair the World's Guide to Respectful Conversations
Use this guide to help create a space in which individuals can express and listen to each other’s lived experiences. These suggestions can facilitate the conversation into a larger communal narrative.
Share Your Reflections
Shabbat dinner cannot solve all the challenges facing us. But, as we have seen recently, it can provide a dedicated space and reminder to reconnect with ourselves, our tradition, and our loved ones. With antisemitism rising, OneTable strives to ensure that young adults can gather around Shabbat dinners, for thoughtful conversation, #TogetherAtTheTable.
More Resources for Your Together at the Table Shabbat
OneTable compiled these resources for reference and the opinions expressed are those of the authors. Email our partnerships team to suggest your organization’s resources for our library.
Read Jewish Authors
In June 2021, @kaylareadsbooks on Instagram, encouraged her followers to set aside the time, be thoughtful about book choices, and read from a selection of by Jewish authors.
Reflection by Boaz Munro
In Boaz Munro’s letter, “Your Jewish Friends Are Terrified by Your Silence,” he shares a personal reflection of his family’s story and challenges others to speak up in response to antisemitic violence.
Reflections from OneTable's Rabbi
Rabbi Jessica Minnen writes, “To live justly is to continue to do both kinds of work, to build love and kindness in ways that are connected to our past and committed to our future.”
How Shabbat Dinners Transformed a White Nationalist
In an excerpt of an interview from On Being with Krista Tippet, Derek and Matthew discuss how a Shabbat dinner in college helped them meet and interact with people who share different views and opinions.
The Issue Is Not "The Issues"
Zohar Raviv shares that educators and everyone should reflect together on how, not what, people think to lead to effective and meaningful dialogue.
Resources from Jewish Education Project
While this guide was developed in response to the tragedy at Tree of Life, the Jewish Education Project has added resources as, unfortunately, the list of hate crimes in Jewish and other communities continues to grow.
We All Belong: A Letter in Response
On August 15, 2017, OneTable CEO Aliza Kline invited everyone to join Together at the Table in response to antisemitism. Avigayil was one of many to share the movement and her passion stands out to us years later.
Charting a New Course
Read Craig Cohen’s post on 18Doors, a community for interfaith families, about his experience of antisemitism and how it caused him to think about the words we use, the way we speak, and how we greet strangers.
Human Dignity in a Time of Crisis
The Conservative Yeshiva is a diverse, egalitarian, and engaging learning community in the heart of Jerusalem. This text source sheet from them can help guide your conversations.
History of Together at the Table
In August 2017, we first came together to mobilize a grassroots movement of Shabbat dinners across the country dedicated to celebrating diversity, equality, and inclusion in the face of fear, division, and hate following the horrors that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was hard to put into words how many of us felt following a weekend in which we witnessed white supremacists and neo-nazis marching openly in America, leaving violence and tragedy in their wake.
Unfortunately, since that time, we’ve had to respond to the horrific events in many other communities from the tragic shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway to the recent acts of violence.
Regardless of where we each stand politically, we can all agree: hatred, bigotry, and violence cannot be tolerated in our communities. When our values are threatened in this way, we raise our voices and rise up, not just in opposition, but in unity.
See all of the partners that have joined OneTable for Together at the Table since 2017.
2019 Guide
Created in partnership with the ADL, Be’chol Lashon, Keshet, and Repair the World in response to the horrific shooting in Poway on April 27, 2019.
2018 Guide
Created in partnership with the ADL, Be’chol Lashon, Keshet, and Repair the World in response to the tragic shooting at Tree of Life on October 27, 2018.
2017 Guide
Created in partnership with Repair the World in response to the horrors that took place in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017.
