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The Boulder JCC, in partnership with Bonai Shalom and Hazon, is pleased to present Setting the Table: Healthy and Sustainable Cooking for Busy Jewish Families. Taught by Jessica Hersh of Sweet Pea Cuisine, this interactive Shabbat cooking class for parents will stimulate your senses with conversation and cooking.
This class will give parents the tools to prepare easy, healthy recipes for Shabbat dinners and to host or participate in a Shabbat celebration, perhaps for the first time. Participants will prepare a meal and engage in Jewish learning accessible at all levels and sensitive to non-Jewish partners who may also be participating.
The practice of eating Shabbat dinner together is a great way for families to establish a routine of coming together around the table in a Jewish way. At the program, participants will make food one might expect to see on the Shabbat table, including homemade Challah. Introducing meaningful Shabbat rituals to one’s family will also be discussed.
Setting the Table was originally piloted in Brooklyn, NY, with a group of expectant mothers, but has been tailored to fit the needs of busy Jewish families with young children in Boulder. Local Hazon Director, Becky O’Brien shared,
Research has shown that people focus most heavily, and perhaps even for the first time, on healthy eating and cooking when they have young children. These new families are hungry for meaningful and useful ways to bring delicious and healthy meals and traditions into their homes. Setting the Table is an excellent opportunity to start doing exactly that.”
As the curriculum from Hazon states, a goal of Setting the Table is to “help [participants] learn from and grapple with ancient and contemporary Jewish texts focused on the experience of a family dinner table, and will help [people] think about…build[ing] family rituals around the table.” The class will take place on Tuesday, April 17th from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm in Congregation Bonai Shalom’s kitchen. The cost is $12 per person or $20 per couple. Spots are limited and the Boulder JCC requests that interested participants register at www.boulderjcc.org (or the wufoo form) no later than April 12.
Setting the Table will guide participants towards preparing healthy and delicious meals and learning the connection between food, healthy eating and Jewish tradition. It is the hope of the organizers that this program will give participants the knowledge and skills to bring Shabbat into one’s home; raise children with one’s own form of Shabbat observance; and value Shabbat and family meals as a key moment in forming strong Jewish families. If any of this resonates with you, we hope to see you at Setting the Table on April 17th at Bonai Shalom.
