“A Palace in Time” is the flagship initiative of Minyan — a young and innovative organization based in Tel Aviv, creating spaces of Jewish identity, community, and contemporary spirit for secular young adults.
At each gathering, 10–20 young people who don’t know each other come together at a host home for a phone-free Shabbat dinner that includes meditation, study, Kiddush, and a shared meal.
Over the past two years, Minyan has hosted more than 30 intimate Shabbat dinners, bringing together over 500 young men and women from across the city. The Shabbat dinner has proven to be a powerful vehicle for community connection and engagement with Jewish culture — addressing both the urban loneliness of young adults and the absence of steady spaces for belonging. Building on this success, and in response to growing demand, Minyan is expanding and institutionalizing the initiative with the support of the Sapir Center for Jewish Education and Culture, in order to reach a wider audience
As part of this expansion, Minyan is building the programmatic and organizational infrastructure needed to host more than 60 Shabbat dinners per year across the city. This includes developing content and producing Jewish-Israeli resource kits based on accumulated experience, training facilitators, creating a model for recruiting and partnering with host homes, and developing a digital platform to manage the growing network.
Objectives:
- Establishing a platform for community Sabbaths dinners in homes across Tel Aviv
- Training young facilitators in leading Shabbat and Jewish content
- Producing Jewish-spiritual resource kits for Shabbat tables
- Strengthening and expanding the Minyan community, meeting the growing demand for Shabbat dinners
Target Audience
Secular young adults in Tel Aviv who are not connected to Jewish identity — seeking community, belonging, and a spiritual experience that is accessible and relevant to modern life.
Expected Results:
An expanded cohort of trained Shabbat facilitators, a library of content resource kits, approximately 70 intimate Shabbat dinners in private homes, and four large community Shabbat gatherings to strengthen Minyan’s young adult community.