By Liza Moskowitz, MHWOW Program Manager
Moishe House is excited to partner with Sharsheret, an organization providing support to Jewish families facing breast or ovarian cancer, this February.
Host a Pink Shabbat (for breast cancer) or Teal Shabbat (for ovarian cancer) to participate in one of Moishe House’s 2019 Tikkun Olam pillars, Mental and Physical Health & Wellness, and educate our peers about our inherited risks of breast, ovarian, and other cancers as Jews.
MHWOW and Sharsheret are offering a limited number of grants up to $50 (in addition to traditional MHWOW funding) and a toolkit to further and facilitate conversations around health in this area. Access the grant application here.
Unable to do something on Friday night? You can also host a Shabbat lunch, seudah shlishit, or havdalah with this grant.
Curious to see how you could host your own Pink Shabbat? Brandi Applebaum, MHWOW Boca Raton, hosted her own Pink Shabbat earlier this month.
What motivated you to incorporate the Sharsheret information into your Shabbat?
Brandi: I’m an active MHWOW host and also an Alpha Epsilon Phi alumna (which also partners with Sharsheret). It was really helpful to have the resources and organizational support to host a Shabbat dinner like this. It’s easy to get people together for dinner. I’ve been trying to infuse my events with more intention and purpose, and this was the perfect night!
How were your guests impacted by adding the information to the Shabbat meal?
Brandi: My dinners are usually social events. I liked being able to steer conversation that otherwise would not have happened. I think my guests were impacted by learning about Sharsheret before they ever need it and by putting health at the forefront of the conversation.
How did you incorporate the Sharsheret information / breast health into your program?
Brandi: Aside from decorating the table in pink, I asked to attendees to wear pink, and printed out the fast facts and placed them in a few kiddush cups. I invited people to read them prior to starting kiddish. I also asked my guests to think about what we can do to take charge of our personal health and knowledge. I purchased “boob” candles to light for Shabbat to highlight that yes boobs can be funny, but we need to take care of them and be proactive in our health and decisions, and to start that conversation. A few attendees had additional questions and looked them up online, and shared the answers with the group.
Reach out to Liza at liza.moskowitz@moishehouse.org if you have any questions!
