11/13/2025
'Shabbat for Good' Has Something for Everyone
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News.
by Jimmy Oswald
With less than a month remaining until the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2026 Campaign for Jewish Needs concludes on Dec. 8, campaign vice chair Jason Wuliger is enthusiastic about the potential impact of “Shabbat for Good,” a three-day initiative that invites the community to attend services and then help raise funds for the campaign.
Wuliger
“Shabbat is universal for our people,” Wuliger, who is also the Federation’s chair of public affairs, told the Cleveland Jewish News. “And the campaign for Jewish needs allows each of us to contribute in a way that does many mitzvot in taking care of those who are in need within our community. Shabbat for Good is an opportunity to celebrate Shabbat and do the mitzvahs associated with that while also leaning into the ability to do mitzvot every single day of the year through a gift to the campaign.”
“Shabbat for Good” invites the Jewish community to take part in three activities during the weekend of Nov. 21–23: observe Shabbat—whether by lighting candles or sharing a meal with loved ones—make a donation to the Federation’s campaign, and volunteer during the Community Outreach Hour on Nov. 23. The outreach event, held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building at 25701 Science Park Drive in Beachwood, gives volunteers the opportunity to contact community members by phone, text, email, and social media to encourage campaign gifts.
“Our goal is to get 613 pledges to represent each mitzvah in the Torah,” Wuliger said.
Not only will participants be doing an act that is meaningful to them for Shabbat as part of the weekend, but many area synagogues will be participating with the Federation.
Synagogues hosting a Shabbat for Good gathering include: Beachwood Kehilla, B’nai Jeshurun Congregation, Chabad at CWRU, Solon Chabad, Chabad of the West Side, Congregation Shaarey Tikvah, Congregation Mishkan Or, Fromovitz Chabad Center, Green Road Synagogue, Hillel at Kent State University, Oheb Zedek Cedar Sinai, Park Synagogue, Young Israel of Greater Cleveland, Chabad of Downtown Cleveland, Moishe Pod Cleveland West Side and Moishe Pod Cleveland East Side.
“We are so grateful that so many of our synagogues are participating with us,” Wuliger said. “And if you go to synagogue on Shabbat for Good, you are going to be a part of something that is going on community wide. Cleveland is blessed with a dynamic variety of synagogues that reach across the spectrum of Jewish observance, and that’s part of what makes Cleveland so strong.”
Wuliger said it is likely that at one point or another, each person in the Jewish community will need a helping hand from the Federation, whether it be assistance in time of a health crisis or unemployment or the ability to safely attend services because of security that the organization helps provide.
“With each one of us being a beneficiary at one time or another, it’s also really special that we all have the opportunity to contribute when we’re able,” he said.
While the Federation uses multiple methods to help raise money for its annual campaign, Wuliger called Shabbat for Good a “special way to demonstrate our values as a people and to help us as we near the conclusion” of it.
“This is an opportunity to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute at whatever your capacity is,” he said. “Every single dollar contributed is meaningful because of the heart of the person giving and because of the impact that each dollar has as it allows us to provide for people.”
Wuliger, who helped spearhead Shabbat for Good, credited “a great campaign” team with finding new ways to reach people for the annual fundraiser.
“And in a way that really gets back to our basic values,” he said. “This is a tremendous chance to reach more people in a way that has an impact for them. We encourage anyone who’s interested in joining us to stay tuned to messages from their synagogue as well as join us for outreach hour.”
For more information, visit https://www.jewishcleveland.org/news/blog/participate_in_the_communtiy_wide_shabbat_for_good/.
