Yesterday Karov held its inaugural Shabbat morning service and potluck lunch. Even with fifty community members eating lunch together, we didn’t even produce a full container of trash!

Separating the wheat from the chaff has come to mean getting rid of the things that don’t matter and focusing on those that do, perhaps similar to separating the trash from the reusable materials. 

I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few months about what is essential to creating Jewish community and what is superfluous. Based on the first Karov shabbat morning service, here are some things that are clear to me. It is far easier to connect with others in a small group than in a large one. Dialogue between people does far more in building community than a sermon from a rabbi. And, there is power in sharing food with one another.

The goal for the year is to have as many coffee dates as possible and to throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.