This year, over 145 CESJDS families gathered together at each other’s homes Friday night, Nov. 18, for Shabbat dinner as part of Shabbat Across JDS.

Shabbat Across JDS is a set Shabbat where JDS families are encouraged to invite new or old friends over for Shabbat dinner or lunch as a way to build a sense of community. All the hosts receive a bag with challah, grape juice, a list of the Shabbat blessings and a thank you letter from Head of School Rabbi Mitchel Malkus.

In the fall of 2014, JDS parents Jennifer Schwartz and Jennifer Sunshine approached Malkus with the idea of bringing Shabbat Across America to JDS. According to Sunshine, their inspiration for beginning a Shabbat Across JDS came from similar synagogue programs. Malkus was supportive of the idea, so in the 2014-2015 school year there were three different Shabbat Across JDS events.

In 2015-2016, two Shabbat Across JDS events were held, and this year there will likely be a second Shabbat Across JDS in the spring.

“Shabbat is such an integral part of our heritage and an integral part of what so many of us do as Jewish families, so it seemed like the logical thing to build the program around,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz and Sunshine said that they have received only positive feedback after each event. Schwartz believes that one of the best parts of the program is that some families take the initiative to invite new JDS families and really make them feel like part of the school community. Additionally, many kindergarten families take part each year, which helps to bring the new JDS students together.

Junior Sophie Handloff and her family have hosted other JDS families each year for Shabbat Across JDS. While her family usually only has family friends over for Shabbat dinner, Shabbat Across JDS opens up the possibility for her to have new friends over.

“We have Shabbat [dinner] in my family every week, so incorporating school into Shabbat was a very good experience,” Handloff said. “It was fun to be with school friends on Shabbat.”

Similarly, English teacher Davida Yitzhaky organized and hosted Shabbat Across JDS for faculty and their children.

“It creates a good bond outside of the classroom,” Yitzhaky said. “Even if it’s not only students, it fosters a sense of community. It helps us feel more passionate about what we do.”

Yitzhaky said that Shabbat Across JDS is a very important event for her family and the guests that she has over.

“I like hosting, I like having a lot of people at my house, I like cooking,” Yitzhaky said. “I wanted to make sure people were able to celebrate Shabbat together, and I knew that by me hosting, it would allow that to happen.”

Junior Nicole Schwartz contributed to this article.