A Match Made in Heaven and at Our Shabbat Table

Six Stories from my Sabbath Table 

Shared by Rabbi Dov Gartenberg 

2025 End of Year Campaign in Support of Shabbat with Friends NM 

A Second Story from my Sabbath Table.  

December 26, 2025

Stan, a dear friend from Southern California, was visiting us in Seattle for a summer Shabbat. Earlier that season, an old family friend in New York had asked us to host the daughter of her friend—a young woman named Carla who was in Seattle for a summer internship. We had meant to invite her sooner, but summer travel kept getting in the way. With Stan coming, we finally called Carla and invited her for Shabbat lunch. A couple of other guests were supposed to join us, but they cancelled at the last minute. 

Stan and Carla had never met and lived on opposite coasts, yet as the meal unfolded, my wife and I noticed how naturally they gravitated toward one another. They were fully engaged in our wandering conversation. After an hour, our young children drifted off to play. After two hours, the conversation still hadn’t paused. When I suggested we sing, both joined in with enthusiasm. 

Stan, who had been a frequent guest at my Shabbat table back when I lived in Venice, California, had become a fabrente—a fiery, passionate—Shabbat singer. I knew nothing about Carla’s background but soon learned that she had grown up in a home where Shabbat table singing was a cherished tradition. By the third hour, we were still singing, moving through the songs of the bencher (a Shabbat table book of blessings), trying out multiple melodies for each zemer-(Sabbath table hymn).  The singing continued for hours, uninterrupted. By the fifth hour, we closed with a spirited Birkat Hamazon-grace after meals. It was late in the afternoon when our guests finally headed home from this extraordinary Shabbat lunch. 

After Havdallah-the Sabbath ending ritual, Stan called to thank me for the unforgettable day. Then, a bit sheepishly, he asked a favor: could he borrow my Buick Skylark to take Carla on a day trip to Olympic National Park? The rest, as they say, is history. Stan and Carla married, raised two wonderful children, and remain close friends to this day. 

Today, they are beloved members of their synagogue community in Silver Spring, Maryland. People flock to their Shabbat table to sing, to learn Torah, and to soak in the warmth they create. Their home—and their Shabbat table—has long been one of my inspirations for founding Panim Hadashot and Shabbat with Friends. Oneg Shabbat—the joy of Shabbat—brought them together. In turn, they have cultivated a table overflowing with joy, harmony, and love. 

My hope in establishing Shabbat with Friends is to inspire others to create their own Shabbat tables filled with oneg, zimra, and hevre—joy, song, and friendship. A joyful, inviting, and embracing Shabbat table is a form of Tikun Olam-repairing the world and one of the great acts of lovingkindness-Gemilut Hasadim.