Grab Manischewitz. This is not your bubbe’s Shabbat.
Gen Z and Millennial New Yorkers are abandoning the traditional Friday night Jewish dinner in favor of busy Shabbat-themed parties at trendy bars and restaurants with DJs, chef-driven food, free wine and dancing into the wee hours.
“If you want a traditional Shabbat dinner that’s great, there are millions of synagogues that can do that,” said Rabbi Igel Gurin Malous, known as “Rabbi Iggy” and the official website for Hot & Shabbat. The holy man is a recurring party. Several times a year at a different location. “But if you want something else, now you have that too. “That’s what Judaism is about, constantly reinventing ourselves and finding out who we are,”
Liev Schreiber, the mid-20s founder of Hot & Shabbat, said she wanted to find a way to show young people the “love and light” of the holy day on their own terms.
Last Friday, he hosted about 300 cocktail attire-clad young professionals at the Williamsburg Mediterranean restaurant Mesiba. Some of the people present were not even Jews.
“This is about uniting people,” Schreiber told The Post. “We, as Jews, have survived only because we have allies. We will survive only because we have people supporting us.”
Showgirls and a magician greeted attendees. Rabbi Iggy began the night with a meditation to encourage people to leave the workweek behind and welcome the weekend. There was an open bar, shots, a DJ and a buffet dinner of Israeli cuisine.
Tickets for such events are $89 and, according to Schreiber, sell out in five to 10 minutes.
Edoardo Comazzi, 26, who lives in Hudson Yards and works as an interior designer, wasn’t sure who he bought the ticket for, but he was enjoying himself.
“I am not Jewish. Actually, this is the first time I’ve heard of the word Shabbat, so I don’t even know what it means,” he told The Post.
A group called Jew.York.City that collects information about Jewish events happening across the city has listed about 20 different Shabbat dinners and parties for last Friday night.
Hot Girls Do Shabbat — a ladies-only dinner that leads to a co-ed dance party — was a shindig going on at members’ club Maxwell Social in Tribeca. Hot & Holly was hosting an open-bar party at Nolita’s Public Hotel that lasted until 4 a.m.
“I think it’s a mixture of Jewish people wanting community after October 7 and the surge in IRL events overall,” said Morgan Raum, 27, who works in tech and has started her own event series, Shabbat. Started the club. October 2023. “There are so many Shabbat groups now, and the best part of it is that sometimes we will all host on the same Friday and none of us will have a problem filling the room.”
“There’s a lot of competitive competition,” said Jessica Brown, 34, who works for a nonprofit and lives on the Upper East Side. “None of them are in Shaal or even run by any organization. They’re like social clubs.
Last Friday, Brown opted to go to Gertie’s, a trendy eatery in Williamsburg that launched a Shabbat dinner club in June. Guest chef prepares a three-course dinner for $75.
Guests were stunned by the food and drink offerings – which included Moroccan Apricot Chicken Tagine, Malagasy Vegetable Salad, a Turmeric Negroni and a Roasted Honey and Pickle Salty Margarita.
“Normally when I think of Shabbat I think of Manischewitz and I don’t think of food. But it’s exciting,” said a 33-year-old entrepreneur from Borium Hill, who attended the dinner alone and declined to give his name. “Who doesn’t want interesting cocktails and good wine on Shabbat or really any meal?”
Apparently not everyone.
Raum said she has received “a lot of hate” for her group’s Shabbat-ish events, which include bottomless schnitzel dinners, wine bar meetups and blind date parties. Sometimes they take place on a traditional Friday night, but other times not.
On TikTok, commentators have criticized her for holding events where phones are used, as traditionally the use of electronics is not allowed on the Jewish Sabbath.
“They make me so crazy,” he said. “I’m catering to a non-religious crowd, and people who are religious or have a problem with it, they have places they can go. And can feel included and do their job.”
He added, “I’m so happy for them that they have those places, and I’m happy that people have my places.”
