Make Mental Health the Center of Your Shabbat Dinner Conversation
Mental health is the number one health issue in America. Make mental health the center of your Shabbat conversation any Friday night. Use this time to engage in powerful conversation, connect with others and create a community of caring and inclusivity. A personal connection can save someone’s life. Your outreach, dinner, and kindness may impact someone more than you may ever know it does.
1 in 5 adults in the United States experiences a mental health condition in a given year.
Host or attend a Shabbat Dinner on any Friday night. This dinner is not a therapy session or training. Your goal for the evening is to show that Mental Health education and support is a priority in the Jewish community and that it is OK to talk about mental health. It is time to eliminate the shame and stigma that is often associated with the topic. It’s time to #QuietTheSilence.
The Blue Dove Foundation partnered with OneTable to create a Mental Health Awareness Shabbat Supplement to assist individuals in hosting a Shabbat dinner on any Friday night in May during Mental Health Awareness month.
Adults and families click here to affirm your commitment to support mental health and share details about your Shabbat dinner.
Young adults (ages 21-39ish not in undergraduate studies) can host their Shabbat dinners with OneTable. Be sure to add the tag “mentalhealth” to your dinner.
Shabbat Resources
- Mental Health Awareness Shabbat Dinner Supplement – Conversation topics, activities, and more
- Shabbat Ritual Alternative Mental Health Text
- OneTable and HAMSA Sober Shabbat Guide – alternative resources for those hosting an alcohol-free Shabbat dinner
- My Jewish Learning Shabbat Blessings for Friday Night
- Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs – a journey of a thousand challahs and one woman’s quest for wellness and peace. Learn how the act of making Challah could heal heartache, emptiness, and being overwhelmed.
- Dinner Description Framing Your Mental Health Awareness Shabbat Dinner
- Mental Health Awareness Month Podcast with The Big Schmear Podcast
- Mental Health Questions Cube Game for Children Ages 3-18 – Once printed, cut on the solid lines then fold and tape on the dotted lines to form your dice.
- Statistics
Additional Resources
- Food for the Brain
- Mental Health Shabbat Cook Book – a curated list of brain-healthy recipes and information
- Pinterest Board – Suggested recipes and information on food that’s good for the brain
- CNN article – Foods to boost your mood, now that you really need it
- Mi Sheberach Mental Health Prayers
- Good Days and Bad Days – Connecting Jewish text to mental health
- National Mental Health Hotlines and Resources
- Articles About Mental Health
- Mental Health Resources
Join Us as a Program Partner
If your organization is interested in joining us as a partner and distributing program materials to your members encouraging them to host or attend a Mental Health Awareness Shabbat, click here to be added to the partners list below.
Please feel free to customize these sample text files below to share with your members.
- For members and families
- Draft text for emails, newsletters, and social media posts
- Campaign image
- For Young Adults ages 21-29ish
- Draft text for emails, newsletters, and social media posts
- OneTable partnership images – campaign image and social media image
Past Partners
We are thankful to our partners who are spreading the word about Mental Health Awareness Shabbats and encouraging their members to host Shabbat dinners around mental health. The Mental Health Awareness Shabbat Supplement could not have been created without the OneTable team and their partnership.
