Penn’s Jewish Heritage Programs hosted “Shabbat for 1K” on Friday, an event organized to provide free Shabbat dinners to students across campus.
The Nov. 14 event — which occurs each semester and was previously called "Shabbat Unlimited" — is designed to support Jewish culture and traditions by fostering a general sense of community among all students, according to the JHP website. By providing the resources to host a Shabbat dinner, including free food, JHP hopes to encourage students from various backgrounds and religions to come together over a meal.
“We really just want to share one of what I think is the most beautiful parts of Judaism, the idea that most families come together every Friday for a family dinner, disconnected from the outside world, just to be together,” College junior and JHP co-president Jake Ziman said in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
This year, JHP provided a meal consisting of roasted chicken, salad, salad dressing, hummus, challah, wine, and cookies for individuals participating in the event.
Wharton senior Maddie Katz, who serves as a JHP co-president, told the DP that JHP members reached out to various clubs, sports teams, and other organizations to garner interest. The food was then sourced from House of Kosher, a catering company.
Sophie Barkan, College senior and JHP co-president, similarly described the event as “really amazing because it spreads Shabbat to so many people across campus.”
“Our goal is to reach 1,000 people — to have 1,000 people be celebrating Shabbat — whether they're Jewish, non-Jewish, religious, not religious, it doesn't matter,” Barkan said.
Sydney Bianco, a Wharton junior and JHP board member, also told the DP that the meals were “a nice way to bring everyone together.”
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Throughout the school year, Bianco commonly goes to Penn’s Chabad House to celebrate Shabbat. On Nov. 14, though, she hosted her own dinner with friends using resources provided by JHP.
“I go to Chabad pretty frequently,” Bianco said. “But now, with 'Shabbat for 1K' … it makes it a lot easier to host it yourself and makes the whole experience more accessible.”
Katz — who hosted a dinner for 45 individuals on Friday — emphasized that “being able to get a lot of non-Jews to sign up and experience a Shabbat dinner is very imperative.”
“I think this is a very non-bombarding way to introduce yourself to the religion, even if you're not going to be a practicing Jew after you have a Shabbat dinner,” she said. “That’s in no way what we're asking, just to recognize that Judaism is a beautiful religion surrounded by community and tradition.”
As part of his role at JHP, Ziman has been preparing for the event for over a month.
“Sharing this part of what it means to be Jewish — Shabbat dinners are really at the core of what it means to be Jewish — helps us kind of show what we stand for, which is bringing communities together, inviting the stranger into our tradition, and just spreading love,” Ziman said.
Barkan added that the event “truly reminds [her] of JHP’s really powerful influence on Penn's campus.”
“I think this shows that we're trying to reach all people on Penn's campus and show them how beautiful Shabbat is, how much fun it is to celebrate on a Friday, and just gather with your friends and enjoy a good meal,” she said. “It's a really rewarding initiative that we do, and it's really cool to see so many people across Penn sign up for this event.”
Penn's Jewish Heritage Programs hosts Shabbat Unlimited to provide meals for student gatherings
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Senior reporter Arti Jain covers state and local politics and can be reached at jain@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies economics and political science. Follow her on X @arti_jain_.
