Friends yelled across the room to one another while they waited for food to be served. The salmon-colored walls gave the room a light atmosphere, and the paper plates and bowls sat on tables. They would eventually be filled with matzo ball soup and more.
Some students at the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center had just been let out of Shabbat services, and others were still walking in the front door for dinner, organized by the Hillel Center every Friday night to allow students to engage with Jewish tradition.
Shabbat, according to Jewish belief, is the day of rest. It is when God took a break on the seventh day of creating the world. It is observed from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown, and work is not allowed.
“We do that every Friday night because some students will do that every Friday night with their families at home, and we want the students to have that opportunity while they are here to be with their community and with their family away from home,” Rabbi Sue Silberberg said.
Students Max Gruenberg and Evan Weis explained, though the meaning of work has changed, it has become recognized as “creating a spark.”
Observers of Shabbat traditions are not allowed to do anything that would require this figurative spark, including starting a car, turning on an oven or turning on lights, Gruenberg and Weis said. However, what one is permitted to do during Shabbat changes slightly based on denominations and personal beliefs.
“Judaism is very much about community and family, so I just love seeing everybody together and celebrating together,” Silberberg said.
Shabbat dinner attendees sat in large tables of eight to 10 people. The tables were covered in white plastic table clothes and had plates, bowls and utensils set at each spot. There were cups for water and smaller cups of grape juice as well. People in the room greeted each other around the tables and waited for dinner to begin.
Starting dinner with a blessing, guests wrapped their arms around each other and placed their hands on each others’ heads. Though looking a little uncomfortable at first, each table eventually shared smiles and laughter while holding onto one another.
The participants sung another blessing, Kiddush, over their cups of grape juice which stood in for the traditional wine used. The longer the prayer went on, the more people joined in to sing.
After drinking the grape juice, attendees tore apart challah bread with their hands, and matzo ball soup was served not long afterward. Around the tables friends laughed as they tore apart the bread in haste and asked who wanted to serve the soup.
Sitting at her table, Michaela Simon, a freshman at IU, said she enjoyed the piece of bread she had just ripped off as her bowl of soup was passed to her. She has been attending Shabbat dinners at Hillel since the beginning of the year.
“It’s fun. It’s really chill,” she said. “You can forget about how hard the week has been and just laugh.”
As dinner went on and students reconnected with each other laughter echoed in the room. At Simon’s table there were banter and jokes about loving brisket.
At this dinner, challah bread, matzo ball soup, chicken, brisket, green beans, potatoes and more were served for students, with extra servings available in the kitchen if any table needed it. The food was served family-style, where dinner goers take what food they want from larger bowls at the table.
“There’s always going to be enough food,” Simon said.
At Hillel, even students who are not Jewish are welcome to join the center for services and dinner, Silberberg said. The center highly encourages students of all beliefs to come and experience others’ traditions, she said.
“The more we learn and respect one another, the stronger of a community we’re going to have,” Silberberg said. “Not just a Jewish community but a stronger world.”
