H eadlines
services and a bris.

However, Rabbi Doniel
Grodnitzky felt like the building
wouldn’t truly serve its purpose
until it was home to the Chabad
house’s Shabbat dinners.

“Friday night is kind of our
flagship program,” Daniel
Grodnitzky said. “So that’s why it’s
a big deal for the community that
the most-attended Friday night
dinner in the city is finally going
to be at its permanent home.”
Making the event more
special to Mamash! was the
dinner’s co-sponsorship by
Remy and Alexa Moyal, a young
couple whose wedding Doniel
Grodnitzky officiated last June.

The Moyals met the
Grodnitzkys four years ago at
Chabad house at the Old City
Jewish Art Center and have
been part of Mamash! Chabad
ever since, frequently attending
Shabbat dinners and text study
classes. After a small, outdoor and
masked wedding ceremony last
June, the couple wanted to thank
the rabbi for helping out in their
pandemic-style wedding, and
they provided enough funding to
pay for a five-course dinner for
the Chabad house’s guests.

At Mamash! Chabad’s Shabbat
dinner, Doniel Grodnitzky
announced that the couple helped
sponsor the event in honor of their
wedding anniversary and that, to
keep their ceremony COVID-19-
safe, they sacrificed a dinner and
dancing. Before the rabbi could finish
his speech, Alexa Moyal said the
couple were swept off their feet,
and all 90 guests began to dance
around them.

“It was just such an incredible
release of emotion and excite-
ment for the Jewish community,”
Moyal said.

For the couple, the event was
the opportunity to take part in
wedding traditions that weren’t
available a year ago.

“It felt like the event came full
circle, and we were able to finally
feel as if we had danced on our
wedding night, even though it
was one year later,” Moyal said.

“And we’re incredibly grateful
for that opportunity.”
Though the event was capped,
and met, its 80-guest limit, the
Grodnitzkys designed a space to
accommodate more ambitious
goals, especially after their
previous location — their home
in the Graduate Hospital neigh-
borhood — could no longer fit
their Friday night company.

“It was so crowded, people
were eating in my kids toy
room and in our guest room,
even in the basement,” Reuvena
Grodnitzky said. “It became
very apparent that there just
wasn’t enough space anymore.”
Their building on Lombard
and 16th Street will not only
house a larger dining space and
kitchen, but also a kosher wine
and Judaica store, a work hub
with five available offices for rent
and two AirBnBs.

“We were really hoping to
be a community destination
for all things Jewish,” Reuvena
Grodnitzky said.

Along with its new space,
Mamash! Chabad also under-
went a rebranding; its new name
(pronounced mahm-ish) is
literally translated as “really” or
“truly,” but in informal conver-
sation the meaning is difficult
to put into words; it is generally
intended to invoke a sense of
jubilee. “It’s not even a word that
really means anything, neces-
sarily. It’s just a word that can
be used with any other word in
the English or Hebrew lexicon,
and it just emotes excitement.

And that’s what we’re all about,”
Doniel Grodnitzky said.

Even with all the new bells
and whistles, the Grodnitzkys
find the same joy in Shabbat
that they did back when
Mamash! was Chabad Young
Philly, when they were hosting
Shabbat guests in the single
digits. “It’s just pretty magical, all
the different friendships that are
formed and the bonds that are
made,” Doniel Grodnitzky said.

“And so we’re just getting right
back to it.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com |
215-832-0741 MEMORY CARE
Every Tuesday of the Month
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Questions? 251-321-6166
Event to be held at:
Barnes and Noble (in the Starbucks)
210 Commerce Boulevard • Fairless Hills, PA 19030
Join us each month for coffee and conversation specifically
for people with dementia and their caregivers.

What is a Memory Café?
Originally started in England, this informal setting provides the
caregiver a forum for discussion, reducing the isolation often
felt by people with dementia, their caregivers and families.

Discussions can range from practical tips for coping with
dementia, avoiding caregiver burnout or information about
community resources. There is no cost or obligation, and many
attendees develop friendships that result in support even
outside the Memory Café setting.

All attendees will adhere to proper COVID-19 guidelines
including masking, staying socially distant and hand sanitizing.

© 2021 ProMedica
14165_Yardley_5.5x11.indd 1
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
arden-courts.org 6/30/21 4:28 PM
JULY 15, 2021
5