By Joel Magalnick, other
Between the tablecloths, the gefilte fish and the wine, Morris Sharlup is a happy man. For Sharlup, a small but stocky gentleman with a gray-streaked ponytail and a welcoming smile under his grizzled beard, Friday nights at the Council House retirement community have been more meaningful than in years past. Since last September, he has partaken in a Shabbat dinner program made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.
The meal, served in two seatings, consists of several courses with a wait staff and more care given to the table settings. Wine and challah are also served.
Community Relations Director Audrey Dunbar thinks the Shabbat dinners have truly made a difference.
“The biggest change,” she says, “is now they bring their families to dinner.”
Dunbar says the residents enjoy the special food. She explains that the Shabbat dinner is not just for the Jewish residents, either. Anyone who regularly eats their meals in the dining room may participate in the dinner, and she says it has given them something to look forward to. With appetizers of gefilte fish or matza ball soup to rugelach or strudel for dessert, many residents have enjoyed flavors they haven’t tasted in some time.
Sharlup, for one, is a big fan of the gefilte fish. The traditional Jewish food he grew up with in New York wasn’t so easily obtainable when he lived Olympia. He moved into Council House eight years ago. He has been excited about the welcome change that has occurred over the past year. One thing he has noticed is that other residents, Jewish or not, have noticed the change as well. “One person even puts on a yarmulke,” he quips.
The gefilte fish has gone over especially well with the Jewish set. One of Sharlup’s friends goes from table to table, picking up the untouched pieces that the unadventurous choose to avoid. Some people are actually eating matza ball soup for the first time. One resident says she loves it, even if it’s not from her heritage.
But all agree, Jews and non-Jews alike, the meal is special. While some like the wine, others mention the tablecloths and flowers, which make the meal so much more elegant.
While Sharlup enjoys the meals every week, he does miss one thing: the Kiddush. The rituals of lighting the candles and saying blessings before the meal have not been a part of the Shabbat dinners. Sharlup considers himself a secular Jew, though he’s the self-professed tenth man in the minyan at the Orthodox synagogue in Council House’s basement.
Suzanne Weisfield, president of the Council House’s residents’ association, has glowing things to say about the dinners as well. “I look forward to it because it’s special,” says Weisfield. It’s “a little nicer, and that feels good.”
Weisfield, who moved into Council House a little over a year ago, wanted to be in a Jewish atmosphere because, with or without the Sabbath blessings, it’s where she’s comfortable. She appreciates the efforts that have gone into the Shabbat dinners, from the setup, to the extra work of putting down the tablecloths and the flowers, to the extras, such as the soup and the nice dessert. All of it is special little touches they don’t have the rest of the week.
Ruth Bunin, a board member at Council House, initiated the Shabbat dinner program. Bunin felt she needed to do something to inject a bit more Judaism into the community. Though founded by the National Council of Jewish Women and long considered a Jewish institution, the residence’s population over the past several years had become less than half Jewish. With help from various contacts in the Seattle community, where she has long been involved with various nonprofit organizations, she was able to obtain the initial grant from the Jewish Federation’s Community Campaign to start the Shabbat dinner program. Her idea, she says, was to inject a little something extra into the residents’ weeks.
Bunin also welcomes the change. When their most recent administrator, who is not Jewish, was hired, she felt her mission become even more important. Yet some sacrifices still needed to be made. Because the building is not kosher, the meal comes as kosher style. The residents still get the kosher wine and the challah, so it does feel like Shabbat, and that seems to suit them just fine. Plus, it gives the non-Jewish residents a chance to learn about a new religion. In addition to the grant, the second of which recently came through, Bunin has solicited local companies to help out through donations and lower costs. As more of these donations come in, it could work toward making the meal even nicer.
Dunbar is happy about the results thus far. From the way she smiles and greets her residents to the modern art piece painted just for her by a member of the Council House community, she, more than anyone, can see how everyone looks forward to Shabbat.
“It’s made a really big difference,” she says. “It’s something they look forward to.”
And like Bunin and everyone else who has seen the results of this Jewish Federation grant, she agrees that this is one community program that rings of success.