Shabbat dinners helped me heal

The Shabbat dinners that my husband and I hosted at our home in North-West London had a languorous feel to them. With both my family and his living outside London, friends were our Friday-night family. I came to look forward to winding down after a long week, the lighting of candles atop gleaming chrome candlesticks (a wedding gift), and the relaxed laughter and banter around the table. We would all linger in our chairs until late into the night.

Having not been brought up within a religious tradition (my single mother’s Judaism had been more about the culture than about shul-going), as a newlywed, I enjoyed both hosting and attending Shabbat dinners in the same way that I embraced Jewish holidays: with a sprinkling of curiosity and a large spoonful of enthusiasm.