Personal Growth
Passover’s Message to Iran, Hamas and You
5 min read
5 min read
I thought I knew how a romantic dinner with a rabbi would go. I could not have been more wrong.
Before I get into this story, I must give you a little background …
I grew up in America, attended public school and went to Hebrew School a few times a week. Although I was brought up with a very big Jewish identity, I was only aware of two types of Jews; religious and non-religious. And in my mind, religious meant three things:
Okay, so now that you are aware of my previous lack of knowledge, you will understand my story.
After graduating college (with honors from one semester only), I moved to New York. Considering my love and adoration for Israel and Israelis, I began taking Hebrew classes. The organization that sponsored this course was headed by a particular rabbi. I met him very briefly on the first day of class. A few weeks later, I received a call from him. This was our conversation:
Rabbi: “Hello. This is Rabbi Schwartz*. I wanted to invite you over for Shabbat dinner this week.”
Me: “Oh, um, well … that’s really nice of you, but I already have plans. If you want, you can invite me another time.”
Since I had never heard of a “Shabbat dinner” before, this is what immediately went through my mind: The rabbi wants to go on a date with me! On top of that, he wants our first date to be at his home, on Shabbat, where he would cook me a romantic dinner!
All I could think was, Shouldn’t we at least meet for coffee or a drink first?
So, this is how I pictured the scene:
Do you remember how I told the rabbi that I had plans that night, but that he could invite me another time? I didn’t really mean that he should ask me again; I simply said that to be nice.
To my surprise, he called a few weeks later. Why? To ask me out again, for the same type of date: Shabbat Dinner at his home! I used the same excuse as I did the first time, but he didn’t get the hint. A few weeks later, he called again! This time, I didn’t answer the phone. I realized that I needed some advice on how to handle the situation, so I decided to ask the girl who sat next to me in Hebrew class. This was our conversation:
Me: “I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to believe it!”
Friend from Class: “What is it?”
Me: “You know that rabbi here?”
Friend from Class: “Yes, what about him?”
Me: “He’s in love with me!!”
Friend from Class: “What?”
Me: “I know! It makes no sense and I don’t know what to do! He keeps calling me and asking me to go out with him! And get this… as a first date, he wants me to come to his house so he can cook me dinner on Shabbat!”
Friend from Class: “Oh gosh. I go to him all the time for Shabbat dinner.”
Me: “You’re already dating him!? Well, I feel bad telling you this, but he’s obviously not serious about you, since he’s asking me out. I’m really surprised, because he seems like the relationship-type.”
Friend from Class: “Oy… no. It’s not what you think. He’s married with a bunch of kids. I go to him all the time for Shabbat dinner, and so do a lot of other people from our class. He’s not asking you on a date. He simply wants to reach out to you so you can enjoy the Shabbat experience.”
Me: “So you mean he’s not in love with me?”
Soon after receiving that blow to my ego, I called the rabbi. You probably know what happened next … I went to my first Shabbat dinner! It was nothing like I originally expected, and here is why:
So there it was … my first date with Shabbat. It turned into a loving relationship and although we only see each other once a week, I do my best to be committed.
*This is a true story. The name of the rabbi has been changed.