Women gather for monthly get-togethers
When my husband and I first moved to Monmouth County, we were hoping to become friendly with a neighbor or two. What we did not expect was to become part of an incredible Jewish community!
By community, I do not just mean that we say hello and have small talk with people living in our neighborhood; I mean that we formed friendships that we know will last a lifetime.
Interestingly, every family in our newfound friends group is very different regarding their level of Judaic observance. Why is this interesting? Because most people seem to think that observant people stick together, less observant people stick together, and it would be difficult for the two to have much in common… but we are all Jewish. That is what connects us, not our level of observance or knowledge, but our Jewish values.
Since moving in 2019, we have met the most amazing people. While the families do hang out fairly often, the men get together every Thursday night. Which made us ladies think, why don’t we start getting together, too?! And so, thanks to Allison Lustgarden’s organizing, we have been hanging out as a group every month.
So far this year, we have done an escape room, had a spa night, and danced through a Zumba class. We have come to realize that it is extremely important for us, as moms, to have a night away to just relax and have fun together.
Our monthly get-togethers do not include any Torah study, group prayer, etc. There is technically nothing “Jewish” going on. And we all have different levels of observance. But what brought us together in the first place, and keeps us together, is our Jewish blood and that we are all striving to create and connect a community for ourselves, our children, and future families.
DR, JACQUELINE ROBERMAN-GLYN is a contributing writer to Jlife magazine.
