Practicum Post 2

I continued my search and found a really interesting website called Shabbat.com with the tagline “Helping people find their Challah.” The idea behind this site is to give people the chance to either experience their first Shabbat or celebrate with a host family when they don’t have anywhere to celebrate.

Families who want to host set up a profile page with their basic information, family pictures, and a description of what it’s like to spend Shabbat with their family. Guests also fill out a profile page so that the host can get acquainted with the potential guest. I filled out a page so that I could get a better feel for the site and how it works. At first I was a little surprised that hosts let random people into their homes and that guests willingly go to random homes but each page has a guest book, which allows people to leave feedback on their experiences. Also, guests have to fill out two references so that the host will feel more comfortable inviting people into their home.

The site is actually really cool.. I can search pages by country, state, and city and find hosts within the area who I can participate with:

I can also connect with other Jewish friends who have made a profile on Shabbat.com and see where they are in relation to me. Here is a map of my friends in the Madison area who are also on the site:

Hopefully by the end of the semester I'll have more than 6 friends on here...