Havdalah Host Families
Glaser Family
Los Angeles, California
Sam Glaser‘s soulful music has become part of the fabric of Jewish life in communities worldwide. He performs in an average of fifty cities a year and his energetic style and passionate delivery never fails ignite the spirit of audiences of all ages. He has traveled the world over in concert, from Sydney to London to Hong Kong to Tel Aviv. Most of all, he has a loving heart for his people and is super happy to share Havdalah with you!
Quinn Family
Los Angeles, California
Rabbi Yonason Quinn was born in LA and raised in Long Island, he pursued his Jewish studies at the Mir Yeshiva in Israel. After seven years of learning, Rabbi Quinn returned to Los Angeles and began working alongside Rabbi Bloom in the college campus scene. In 2011 Rabbi Quinn & Bloom began Jewish Routes. The Quinn’s are famous for their large Shabbos tables, infinite supply of energy, and Tirtsa’s vegan challah! When not involved with students, Tirtsa works as a speech therapist and mothers their five children.
Rabbi Jack and Shira Melul
University of Oregon
Rabbi Jack Melul is the Founder and Director of Akiva on Campus for University of Oregon. Together with his wife Shira, they provide Jewish education, Shabbat Meals and Events for the Jewish students in the University.
Freedman Family
Denver
Rabbi Adam and Shira Freedman live in Denver and are the Jewish Experience’s Youth Outreach Coordinators. They bring a wealth of youthful energy and hands-on experience inspiring and nurturing Jewish youth. They are soulful people who are sure to make you feel welcomed at their havdalah!
Garfinkel Family
Chicago
Rabbi Shalom Garfinkel launched the JET YP (Young Professional) program in Chicago which extends JETs mission of providing inspiring, high-quality Jewish education to young Jewish professionals in Chicago. JET YP is a weekly program that attracts dozens of YPs weekly looking for a friendly Jewish “Escape from the Rat Race!” Rabbi Garfinkel loves being an Abba, learning & teaching the wisdom of Judaism, & connecting with JET students. The entire Garfinkel family (6 girls and now 1 boy) looks forward to having you over to their home for Shabbos or any time for home-cooked meals & a home away from home. They can’t wait to celebrate a beautiful and holy havdalah together!
Rabbi YD Schwartz & Family
Chicago
Rabbi YD (Yehoshua Dovid), originally from Southern California, attended UCLA where he was exposed to the depth and beauty of Torah. He made his way to Israel, attending Ohr Somayach and then Aish HaTorah where he studied for a number of years before meeting his amazing wife Chava and becoming a Rabbi. A little while later Meira, their now two-year-old daughter, joined the family. After teaching in Jerusalem for a few more years, the Schwartz family wanted to share the beauty of Torah and their famous, exotic Shabbat food with all their fellow Jews in America…well, maybe just Champaign. The Schwartzes love to teach, like getting to know people, and helping others and themselves to integrate Torah concepts into their lives. They also love serving large amounts of food to anyone who walks in the door… So to all our students at U of I, come on over!
Rabbi Baruch Tuman & Family
Chicago
Rabbi Baruch Tuman was born and raised in a small town along the central coast of California. Three miles past the town’s last streetlights, his home boasted vividly starry night skies, horses in the field and, at one point, six dogs. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Baruch made his way to Israel to seek a greater understanding of his Jewish heritage. There he studied in various yeshivos over the course of nine years. Three years into his stint in Jerusalem, he was fortunate to meet his wife, Judith. Baruch is the proud father of Yaakov Meir and Chaya. Baruch confesses to having a soft spot for boogie boarding (a true Californian at heart), Ultimate Frisbee (a throwback to his Berkeley days), outdoor adventure (in an attempt to reclaim those starry nights) and pizza topped with pineapple (to Judith’s chagrin).
Rabbi Zev Kahn & Family
Chicago
Rabbi Zev Kahn is better known in the Chicagoland area as the “Rugby Rabbi” from his days as a former Maccabi Games Gold Medalist in 1985 and 1989. Originally from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Zev played for UCT and Western Province under 20, before being selected to represent South Africa. Zev came to Chicago after spending six years at Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, where he completed the Ohr Lagolah teacher training program and was very involved in college student touring programs. The Kahns moved to Chicago in 1998 to work for the Lakewood Kollel, and in 2005 Rabbi Kahn founded JET – Jewish Education Team, a campus outreach organization. Now with an additional three full time couples, two in Chicago and one in Champaign at the University of Illinois, JET is the largest student outreach organization in Illinois. In the 2014-15 academic year JET reached about 1,000 young professionals students on over 20 campuses all over Illinois.
DATA with Chaim Dovid
Dallas
DATA is a community organization in Dallas, Texas. They strive to connect Jews to Judaism through love, friendship and unity.
DATA was founded in 1992 and has since served thousands of people across the Metroplex as an inclusive resource for learning and connection through its unique non-judgmental approach to Jewish education.
Whether you’re Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, unaffiliated or somewhere in between, DATA is your most vibrant source for Jewish learning in the Metroplex. Through study opportunities in various formats and locations, DATA brings a new dimension to everyday Jewish life.
Their team of dynamic Rabbis and Rebbetzins, share the tools that connect timeless Jewish traditions with modern life. You can learn in a nurturing environment as the DATA Family opens their minds to impart wisdom, their homes to share Shabbat, and their lives for personal family celebrations.
By uniting fellow Jews through shared joy in religious education and Judaic tradition, and by extending a friendly, upbeat, non-judgmental invitation to all Jews, DATA is building bridges in their community.
Maimonides Fellowships
Miami, Florida
In 2001 a grassroots effort was launched in the Miami area in an effort to reconnect college-age Jewish students in Florida with their heritage, bringing the program to the University of Miami. Currently Maimonides Fellowships Florida, led by Rabbi Saj Freiberg, runs full time programs at Florida International University, NOVA Southeastern, and in Coral Gables near the University of Miami. We also help run affiliate programs at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida. Maimonides Fellowships Florida has become one of the largest programs of its kind in Florida.
Traveling Chassidim
Bridgeport, Connecticut
The Traveling Chassidim are a friendly and talented group of Chassidic Families from New York, who made it their mission to travel all around the Country to your Community, Shul, Campus, or Shtetl, to bring you a Shabbaton of a lifetime! Good old Fashioned Jewish Unity, Joyous singing and dancing, with Classic Chassidic Warmth and Spirit.
University of Pennsylvania Students
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Each year, Hillel reaches over 2,200 undergraduate students with a dizzying array of different Jewish opportunities ranging from social justice to Israel, and from Jewish culture offerings to Jewish religious expression. The Orthodox Jewish Community at the University of Pennsylvania is the most vibrant and exciting community of its kind on any college campus in America! We offer a complete array of services to Penn students and to the local community, including: social activities; learning opportunities; daily, Shabbat, and holiday davening; and social service programs.
Klatzko Family
Monsey, New York
Rabbi Benzion and Shani Klatzko are the founders of Havdalah.com as well as Shabbat.com. The Klatzko family loves to host guests and have had their havdalah recorded numerous times on YouTube. When you join the Klatzkos, you will be treated like an honored guest.
Aish Kodesh Community
Woodmere, New York
The Aish Kodesh Community of Woodmere, New York is a warm and open minded, spiritually and growth minded community of all ages, backgrounds and professions seeking to share our inspirational Shabbos and community experience with the rest of the Jewish world.
Elisha Beyman & Family
Monsey, New York
The Beyman family lives in Monsey, New York and is one of the most popular hosts on Shabbat.com Their son Elisha performs a beautiful musical Havdalah every week! Visit theirShabbat.com profile to join them for Shabbat.
Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser & Family
Jerusalem, Israel
Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser was born in Hollywood, California where he grew up at the foot of the mountains, with the Pacific Ocean nearby. He began surfing at a young age, and as the son of a surf-wear manufacturer, Yom Tov grew up traveling around the world on surf-travel expeditions. . A lover of music, Rabbi Glaser has been playing Music professionally for over three decades. Rabbi Glaser is a lecturer at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem as well as a popular speaker around the world. He has a seminar worth checking out! www.thepossibleyou.org
Rabbi David & Kerry Bar-Cohn “Rebbetzin Tap”
Jerusalem, Israel
David Bar-Cohn holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology and maintains a part-time psychotherapy practice. He also works in music and video production, and is the creator of the “Rebbetzin Tap” children’s video series. His immersion in Torah/Judaism began at Livnot U’Lehibanot in Tzfat, followed by Yeshivat Darche Noam/Shapell’s in Jerusalem. He later received semicha in issur v’heter through Yeshiva Pirchei Shoshanim. A native of Los Angeles, David lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel, with his wife Kerry and his four sons.
Malek Family
Jerusalem, Israel
Yitzchok Meir Malek unites the Jews of Israel and the world, to become a light unto the nations and rebuild the house of prayer for all. Yitzchok Meir is set to release his debut album. “I do a musical Havdalah each week, often on the army base. I know the soldiers will be excited to be part of this broadcast, where their families and the rest of the Jewish people can see them in a spiritual and uplifting setting.”