Shabbat
"Once Upon a Shabbat" & "ShabbaTone" - Temple Brith Achim, PA (2026)
Once Upon a Shabbat and ShabbaTone are multi-session, carnival-style Shabbat program for elementary-aged children and their families, designed especially to welcome interfaith, unaffiliated, and spiritually curious families. It combines lively music, interactive ritual, themed crafts, and communal dinner to create a joyful, low-barrier entry point to Jewish life.
ShabbaTone Havdallah introduced families to Havdallah, often for the first time. Hanukkah at Hogwarts blended Harry Potter-themed activities with Hanukkah and Shabbat traditions through interactive stations, crafts, costumed characters, live music, and a communal dinner, drawing about 200 attendees from as far as 30 to 60 minutes away.
Once Upon a Shabbat is a year-long, quarterly Shabbat series designed to introduce interfaith families, as well as others, to the beauty and joy of Shabbat through pop-culture themed experiences. Themes include “Princesses & Pirates Shabbat” and “Lego Shabbat”. The primary audience includes those who attend the JCC preschool (located within the building), as well as the local community.
Marketing: Both programs were promoted through a multi-channel marketing strategy that included targeted Facebook and Instagram ads, segmented email campaigns, flyers, TBA’s website and social media, word of mouth, and cross-promotion through the JCC and other community partners.
"Families with no prior connection to Jewish practice expressed that the events made them feel genuinely welcomed and curious to learn more." - from the program survey
Lessons Learned
The program’s use of familiar pop-culture themes alongside authentic Jewish content created an accessible and memorable entry point, particularly for non-Jewish and interfaith families.
Multiple immersive activity stations encouraged families to participate at their own pace while fostering natural connections among parents and children.
Live professional music significantly enhanced services. Participants clearly appreciated the investment in high-quality musicianship.
Organizers learned that it was not necessary to bring the highest level of set design and production magic to every event. The core value of ShabbaTone lies in the quality of the Jewish content and the genuine human connection it fosters. Future sessions will be designed with that principle first, scaling the production elements to what is sustainable with the volunteer and staffing resources available, rather than maximizing spectacle for its own sake.
Ambitious programming can be highly effective when paired with thoughtful planning and with clear boundaries, given the constraints of staff, volunteers, and budgets.
"The Havdallah session on December 6 was especially impactful, introducing many families to a ritual they had never experienced before through the sensory elements of candlelight, wine or juice, and spices." - Cantor Tifani Coyot
Reset and Refresh: Celebrating Shabbat - Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, OR (2025)
Portland’s Jewish Federation is offering a 5-session program for interfaith families with children 0-5, focused on Shabbat, building off of a similar program offered by the Jewish Federation of North America. This series invites parents to discover meaningful ways to bring Shabbat’s spirit into their homes. While parents talk and learn with each other, children will be participating in parallel programming that brings Shabbat to life through stories, songs, and play.
Welcoming New People to Judaism
"For many interfaith couples with young children, Judaism can feel like a closed circle, beautiful but distant. Reset & Refresh Family Edition opens that circle wide. It invites families who may be new to Jewish life into an environment that feels spacious, joyful, and deeply relevant to daily family rhythms. By centering the experience around Shabbat, the program introduces Judaism not through doctrine, but through lived experience: the rhythm of rest, shared meals, gratitude, and slowing down together. This approach lowers barriers of language and belonging. It communicates, in practice, that Jewish wisdom is not something one must already “know” to access; it’s something one can step into, experience, and make one’s own. The result is a welcoming, intergenerational gateway into Jewish community for non-Jewish partners and children who may be exploring their hybridic identity" - Dr Yosef Rosen, Director Jewish Life & Learning
Light Up Shabbat - Syracuse Community Hebrew School, NY (2025)
Syracuse Community Hebrew School (SCHS) is a combined Hebrew school serving the Jewish community of central NY. Many of the students come from interfaith families. The purpose of “Light Up Shabbat” is to give the families who attend SCHS, particularly those from interfaith households, an opportunity to integrate Shabbat into their lives.
"This program is not about observance – it’s about inviting families to discover the joy and meaning of Shabbat on their own terms, together." - Syracuse Community Hebrew School
Program Components:
Shabbat Kits: SCHS will provide participating families with Shabbat kits that include challah, candles, packets with blessings and songs, a chicken soup and matza ball mix, recipe cards, and challah covers made at school. The kits will be distributed 3 times during the year, coinciding with major Jewish holidays.
Shabbat Dinners: SCHS will host 3 model Shabbat dinners at school during the year. Families are encouraged to prepare and host their own Shabbat dinners, and invite others to join them.
Families will learn how to create Shabbat meals in their own homes. SCHS will provide Shabbat candles, the blessings in transliteration, Shabbat celebration kits, and guides about Shabbat customs.
Cooking Classes: Hands-on workshops will show parents how to make traditional Jewish dishes such as challah and kugel. Parents will have the option of ordering weekly challah from a kosher baker.
Creating Connections Through Celebrating Shabbat
This initiative aims to address the needs of families, particularly those from interfaith homes, who may feel disconnected from Jewish rituals due to time pressures and lack of knowledge. By providing families with the tools, resources, and support to create a meaningful Shabbat experience at home SCHS hopes to achieve the following:
Inspire families to make Shabbat dinner a regular part of their week.
Make Shabbat accessible. Many families may find it difficult to implement Shabbat rituals on their own. This initiative will make Shabbat more accessible by providing simple, easy-to-use kits that make it easier for families to incorporate Shabbat into their lives.
Foster family bonding by encouraging families to sit down together on Friday night.
Build community by families inviting others to join them for a Shabbat meal.
Tot Shabbat - JEWISHcolorado, (2025)
JEWISHcolorado (JCO) is piloting an opportunity for Jewish and multifaith families to experience a fun, easily accessible, and meaningful family-friendly Tot Shabbat celebration, while connecting them to other families, and Jewish life and community. JCO will be offering four one-hour Family Tot Shabbat experiences during the 2025-2026 academic year so that families can experience the beauty and joy of celebrating Shabbat together as a community.
These family-friendly Shabbat celebrations will be offered in community spaces in local neighborhoods which are located farther from where Jewish institutions are located. The goal is to connect families with each other, facilitate building and cultivating community with other families and connecting families to JCO programming and the greater Jewish community.
Program materials: Each family will receive a Shabbat kit that will include challah, juice, a sheet with Shabbat blessings, and activity sheets.
Marketing: JCO will use a variety of marketing channels, including its own website, weekly email and monthly newsletter, and social media; its PJ Library list, and other sources.
Hava Nagila Havdala with Israeli Food - Congregation Children of Israel, Athens GA (2024)
Congregation Children of Athens, GA is planning a Hava Nagila Havdala service and Israeli dinner for PJ Library families (many of whom are interfaith). Many PJ families have never celebrated Havdalah, and this is an opportunity to introduce them to the concept, as well as to provide a positive experience related to Israel.
Families will make spice containers with mesh bags and whole cloves, to be used later for Havdalah. Then they will be served a dinner of Israeli food--falafel, hummus, pita, etc., and Israeli wine for parents. After that a volunteer will teach Israeli dances. The program will end with Havdalah.
Impact of Prior Programs
Athens has a small Jewish community. Marilyn Gootman, PJ Library Coordinator, states in the application that in the past, when similar programs were undertaken (such as a challah bake and home-based Shabbat dinners) many strong friendship bonds were created and numerous families joined Congregation Children of Israel, the only synagogue in town. Some parents even assumed leadership roles!
Marketing: The program will be promoted via emails and newsletters to all PJ parents, as well as with individual personal outreach to each family and through paperless post.
Ideas to Emulate
Offering positive experiences with a Jewish education component that can lead to Jewish friendships and that provide something Jewish that families can incorporate into their lives.
Providing Israeli wine which is available locally to encourage participants to purchase Israeli products.
To engage folks who have never come to any events, organizers plan to have active families personally contact other families and have a parent create and send out the paperless post so that it is more personal, coming from a peer.
Program Photos
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Challah Detectives - The JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, (JCCPGH) (2020)
The Challah Detectives experience aims to bring families together to make their own challah while learning some of the lesser known traditions surrounding this weekly treat. Together families will mix their ingredients to make dough. While waiting for the dough to rise, families will use their detective skills to discover the answers to questions such as “What does it mean to salt a challah?” Families will also create their own challah cover to be used as they build their own Shabbat traditions. While the challah is rising, families will practice braiding techniques using Play Doh. Families will bake their challah on their own following the program.
Grateful for... Havdalah - The JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, (JCCPGH) (2020)
Grateful for... Havdalah brought families together to experience Havdalah. Each family created a Havdalah kit and had the opportunity to use it in a virtual Havdalah service. Throughout the program, participants brainstormed ways to make gratitude part of a Havdalah experience.
#Shabbat hashtag campaign - The Joint Distribution Committee, (JDC) (2018)
Participants posted pictures with the social media campaign #Shabbat hashtag
JDC’s programs at the JCCs in Riga provide a welcoming Jewish home to individuals who have recently discovered they have Jewish roots and are interested in developing their Jewish identity. Newly affiliated Jews experience the richness of Shabbat and Jewish holidays through a range of on-line and in-person celebrations. At the JCCs they meet others from similar backgrounds and learn how to incorporate Jewish practices into their lives.
JCC Riga joined forces with Riga's synagogue to create an explanatory brochure about Shabbat. Prior to its publication, JCC Riga launched a social media campaign, #ShabbatJCCRiga, in which community members were asked to "Gather your family, call your friends, and before the candle is lit, take a picture of your Shabbat." Participants who posted pictures with the #Shabbat hashtag received a free copy of the colorful brochure.
Holiday Programming
Find ideas for advertising your program by checking out our Marketing Gallery
Check out our Marketing Gallery. NCEJ reimburses for some of the costs for graphic design and printing. Examples of promotional material we have funded recently include: print and digital ads, banners, postcards, brochures, and flyers. We encourage grantees to consider trying hyperlocal media as well as national sources.
Helpful Links and Additional Resources
We add articles and links for Jewish holidays here on our Resources page. If you would like to feature your page or program, please contact us, as we update this list throughout the year to help others with their programs.
Have a Question? Reach Out to Us
Have an idea but not sure it meets our guidelines? Please reach out to us at 301-802-4254, or contact Ellen Gerecht, Executive Director.