77% of Jewish homes only light occasionally or never light (PEW Foundation Research). Help ensure that our Jewish sisters have the framework and support to celebrate Shabbat every week no matter what level of observance they practice. Join us as we provide these women with the space to observe a ritual that is our fourth commandment: to honor the Sabbath. Together we can fuse this ritual with our spirituality and the power of togetherness to leave a lasting impact for all Jewish women.

Our Mission

This past May, 180 ladies of all ages and backgrounds came together to launch the first ever Main Event for the Sister-to-Sister program. This program provides a free, complete Shabbat lighting kit that includes Shabbat candle holders and a year’s supply of Shabbat candles, matches, blessing card and a sheet that includes all the local times to light Shabbat candles throughout the year. There is great power and potential in lighting Shabbat candles every week. It becomes a habitual ritual that can reconnect us to our roots and our best selves! In Hebrew you might say, Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah, which means one meaningful activity leads to another!

The goal of this initiative is for those who already light Shabbat candles to give these kits to friends and family members that don’t light Shabbat candles regularly and create a Shabbat Sister-to-Sister relationship. These candle-lighting kits are meant to inspire the occasional lighters to light more regularly and to share this tradition with their friends and family. We need your help to continue this initiative and help us create more light in the world!

Who We Are

The Sister-to-Sister initiative is an Affiliate of the National Jewish Education Foundation’s Project Inspire, a Program of Aish HaTorah. Our mission is to revitalize Jewish Communities across the U.S. by (1) reaching out to Jews of all backgrounds and (2) providing them with a number of different, experiential programs through which they can connect and/or reconnect with their Jewish heritage.

Robin Meyerson is the co-director of the Sister-to-Sister shabbat candle lighting program. She loves inviting volunteers for Project Inspire to create and plan events for women and girls to connect to their Jewish heritage. Robin is an award-winning author and speaker who has 25 years of marketing experience at both profit and nonprofit organizations.

Why Support Us?

The Sister to Sister initiative is not just about lighting candles. It’s about lighting a fire in our hearts and minds to find purpose and meaning in life. Most people will tell you that their purpose is to build relationships with their loved ones and that they found meaning in this candle lighting connection with others. In today’s society, we are more disconnected than ever. We need to find opportunities that regularly motivate us to connect. How wonderful it is to take a moment out of your week to connect with your Jewishness and bring more light into the world? How often do you do it?

Lighting the Shabbat candles can help you find that space where you can focus on the spiritual side of life while forming new relationships and strengthening old ones. This initiative provides women with the support network that will help them maintain this special tradition. Tuning into this aspect of Judaism can be instrumental in making tough times a bit easier, and strengthen a connection to our identities. It also provides a structure to our week as Sister-to-Sisters connect with one another on a regular basis. It is incredible what can happen when we take the time to practice such a simple and beautiful tradition.

How You Will Help

With your help, our initiative will be the gift the keeps on giving!

Your support will help:

• Provide a place for women to mentor and learn from one another.
• Grow our Jewish communities as women take the lead in becoming more active Jewish members of their community.
• Allow future events to include inspirational speakers, brunches, Judaica gifts, and educational programming.
• Connect women together who might otherwise feel completely unconnected to their Jewish roots.
• Expand this program to other cities so that women and girls can nurture, train and inspire one another to lead more Jewish and meaningful lives.
• Ensure that the Jewish future is a vibrant one full of generations that are proud to be Jewish.

Timeline

Reviews from our first Sister to Sister Main Event!

The speakers were all inspiring. There was so much Jewish energy in the room. I smiled the whole time. Wonderful to see women I knew and had not seen in a while and meet women I didn’t know. Thanks so much! –Diane

It was an amazing event! There are very few organizations that unite Jews of all levels. For Jewish women to be united, is such an unleashing of gigantic power. The speakers, food, conversation and inspiration were all of the highest quality. Thank you! You are to be commended on a beautifully put together brunch and program this morning.. – Anne

They say it takes a village to raise a child it must have taken a village to put this together. There was so much effort put into it: the speakers were wonderful, the raffle prizes were wonderful, the food was great and a sense of camaraderie and Jewish Community was had by one and all who attended. I look forward to more events such as this to attend as each one allows me to not only be with my Jewish community and Heritage but teaches me at least one new thing every time. Thank you so much for all you do. – Anne

This is just the beginning. With the success of this program, we plan to expand this initiative to cities across the US and across the world! It already is being translated into seven languages! All it takes is one candle kit for a whole year filled with meaning, love and, of course, LIGHT!