EntryPointDC

Shabbat Clusters 2.0

Young Professionals (21-45)

Overview

Sign up for Shabbat Clusters and find your #ShabbatSquad!

Interested in joining a community for Shabbat, but don’t have a place to go? Want to meet new people with similar interests? Based on age, neighborhood, and/or interests, we’ll organize curated small groups that will meet for monthly potluck dinners at each other’s homes, local parks, or restaurants in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. You do not need to be at every cluster gathering to sign up for the season. Open to young adults ages 21-45.

This fall, we are creating new interest groups, such as grad students, solo parents, new parents, and Jews of Color. We are also partnering with several organizations to offer groups such as Adas Israel Congregation, Washington Hebrew 2239, Jewish Women International, and Honeymoon Israel.

Read our Shabbat Clusters FAQs

We’re so excited to start our fall 2024/2025 Shabbat Cluster season! The first round of registration is now closed as we are sorting participants into their groups before our kick-off event. The second round of registration will re-open on Thursday, September 12, at 8:00 AM.

Suggested Dates & Themes:

(Your group coordinator will survey the group to decide exact dates)

Shabbat Cluster Dinner 1: Friday, October 18
Suggested Theme: Fall Harvest Sukkot
It’s Sukkot time! Meet your group members for a fall themed meal under the stars at a local park, rooftop of a community member’s apartment building, or the EDCJCC sukkah.

Shabbat Cluster Dinner 2: Friday, November 22
Suggested Theme: Friendsgiving
Make your favorite Thanksgiving side dish, collect canned goods for your community, and share what you are grateful for with your new cluster friends.

Shabbat Cluster Dinner 3: Friday, December 13
Suggested Theme: Hungry for Hanukkah
Hanukkah is late this year, but we are down to celebrate early! Have a best latke contest, wear your ugly sweater, play dreidel, or have a gift exchange.

Shabbat Cluster Dinner 4: Friday, January 10
Suggested Theme: Breakfast for Dinner
Make your favorite brunch dish, share your New Year resolutions, and play board games with your crew.

Shabbat Cluster Dinner 5: Friday, February 21
Suggested Theme: Cozy Shabbat
Make your favorite cozy and comforting foods, decorate some comfy socks, and watch a classic winter movie.

Shabbat Cluster Dinner 6: Friday, March 14
Suggested Theme: Purim Palooza & Deli Dishes
Purim is here! Put on your festive costume and celebrate with a cocktail or mocktail making contest, Hamataschen baking, and your favorite deli dishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

We want you to connect to Shabbat and your community however you feel most comfortable. In the past, groups have had Shabbat lunch on Saturday afternoon, done an activity after Friday night dinner, or had dinners at a restaurant, beer garden, or park.

A few seasons ago we introduced Interest Shabbat Clusters. If you would like to meet people with similar interests this is a great option for you. In the past, interest groups have included couples (including interfaith couples), outdoors, arts, community service, foodies, and LGBTQ community members. We encourage our interest groups to meet outside of Shabbat potlucks either virtually or for outdoor socially-distanced activities.

Each Cluster is assigned a Cluster Coordinator or two who will contact the group and help plan details for each meal.

It is okay if you can’t attend every meeting, but it is encouraged!

There is a small administrative fee to register for Shabbat Clusters and show everyone’s commit to the program and respecting our Shabbat Cluster coordinators and community members’ time and effort to make this a successful program. If this fee would prevent you from signing up, please get in touch.

Each individual person must have a separate registration form.

We would love to put you in a cluster with your friend! There is a section in the registration form to request this. Please make sure that both of you fill this out in order for the request to be considered. We will do our best to fulfill all requests.

The deadline ensures we will have enough time to organize the groups before the program begin. If there is still space in a group, we will try our best to place you. Please reach out to us to inquire about rolling registration.

If you are having trouble signing into the system or registering for Shabbat Clusters, please email info@edcjcc.org.

If you have more questions about the program, don’t know what group to join, or want to change your answers after you’ve registered, please email Stacy.