Celebrating Shabbat At Wendy’s (Reheat)

Shabbat — the Jewish Sabbath – begins every Friday at sundown with a meal. But in all the years that Jews have been having Shabbat dinner, there’s no record in the rabbinic texts of it happening at the fast food chain Wendy’s. Until, that is, a group of seniors in Palm Desert, California, made it their weekly tradition.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Dan Pashman?

  As we turn to fall and the weather starts to cool down, I think of things like crunching leaves. I think of sharing from the sidelines of a soccer game, walking the dog in the woods. And when I think of doing all those things, I'm usually wearing something from LL Bean. Whether it's my puffer vest, my puffer coat, my scarf, whatever you're doing outside this year, you probably need something from LL Bean. Whether it's their boots, their Scotch plaid flannel, their rugged field coat, or more. Grab the layers and people you love and get outside. Visit llbean.com to shop the fall collection. LL Bean, be an outsider. As someone who has been lucky enough to go to Napa Valley, I can tell you, it's everything people say it is. Beautiful scenery, quaint, beautiful towns, and phenomenal food and

• 0:44Dan Pashman?

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• 1:07Dan Pashman?

  Hey, everyone. Dan here with a question for you. Have you ever celebrated a religious holiday at a fast food restaurant? Well, that's what this week's reheat is all about. In this episode, I spend the Jewish Sabbath at a Wendy's with a very welcoming group of seniors. They tell me why this ritual is so important to them, what it means to them, and also how they like their fries. I think you're gonna love it. And as always, if there's an episode of the Sporkful you want me to pull out of the deep freezer, send me an email or voice memo to [email protected]. Tell me your name, where you're from, what episode you want to hear, and why. Thanks so much, and Shabbat Shalom.

• 1:49Dan Pashman?

  Where are we? What are we doing here tonight?

• 1:51Speaker 01

  We're here at Wendy's on Friday night at 6 o'clock. It's an every Friday night event.

• 1:57Dan Pashman?

  And what's the occasion that you observe every Friday night?

• 1:59Speaker 01

  We come every Friday night to celebrate Shabbat.

• 2:04Dan Pashman?

  Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath. It begins every Friday at sundown, all around the world. And it starts with a meal: Shabbat dinner.

• 2:13Speaker 02

  You feel you're part of something that's 2,000 years old. It really gives you a feeling of belonging.

• 2:20Dan Pashman?

  It's a time-honored tradition for sure. But in all the years the Jews have been having Shabbat dinner, there's no record in the rabbinic texts of it ever happening at the fast-food chain Wendy's. Still, that became the weekly ritual for one group of seniors.

• 2:34Speaker 01

  Nobody has to be here. You don't feel like you have to go to temple. You don't feel like you have to be at... People just come because they love it.

• 2:42Dan Pashman?

  Today on The Sporkful, I travel to Palm Desert, California, to join these seniors for Shabbat dinner at Wendy's. And yes, this is the same group featured in the hit documentary Wendy's Shabbat. Have you had to sign any autographs yet?

• 2:54Speaker 03

  Once. Don't laugh, we were walking out of the film festival in Atlanta. Some woman came up and she asked me for my autograph. I nearly faked it. Come on now.

• 3:23Dan Pashman?

  This is The Sporkful. It's not for foodies, it's for eaters. I'm Dan Pashman. Each week on our show, we obsess about food to learn more about people. The film Wendy's Shabbat began as a side project, a short documentary directed by Rachel Myers that came out in 2018. It was a major hit, getting featured at the Tribeca Film Festival, on The Today Show, and more. It takes place in Palm Desert, California, about two hours inland from LA, near where they do the Coachella Music Festival, if that helps orient you, young whippersnappers out there. The seniors in the film live in a huge gated community called Sun City, 5,000 Spanish colonial homes, most of which have one garage for cars and then a mini-garage for a golf cart.

• 4:04Dan Pashman?

  A few years back, I drove out from LA. It was 103 in Palm Desert. I arrived in the early afternoon. I wanted to meet a few of the group's members before dinnertime. First up, Roberta Maller. She features prominently in the documentary, in part because she's the grandmother of the filmmaker, and in part because she's a character. Her doorbell plays "Hava Negila." That's a traditional Jewish folk song typically sung at celebrations.

• 4:30Dan Pashman?

  You must be Roberta.

• 4:32Speaker 03

  Hi.

• 4:32Dan Pashman?

  I'm Dan, nice to meet you.

• 4:33Speaker 03

  Likewise.

• 4:34Dan Pashman?

  Um, I want to hit your doorbell again and record the sound of it because it's amazing.

• 4:40Dan Pashman?

  All right, hold on.

• 4:50Dan Pashman?

  That's the most Jewish thing I've ever heard, Roberta.

• 4:54Speaker 03

  Well, this is a Jewish household. Actually, the doorbell broke and this thing you can put about forty-five different songs on it. But my husband chose Havenagila. What can I tell you? A Jewish house is a Jewish house.

• 5:12Speaker 03

  How was your ride out? It wasn't too bad.

• 5:14Dan Pashman?

  Roberta and her husband, Jack, were married for fifty-seven years before he passed away more than a decade ago. She says it took time to get used to socializing, single. As she puts it, "It's a couple's world." But a few years ago, some friends invited her to Shabbat dinner at Wendy's.

• 5:29Speaker 03

  So I kind of looked at them. I said, "Wendy's Shabbat? Okay, we went up in here and the group is so friendly. Everybody comes for the same thing, for the companionship. And I guess for the hamburgers or the chicken or whatever."

• 5:47Dan Pashman?

  What's your go-to order? Do you have a go-to?

• 5:49Speaker 03

  Oh, go-to, either chicken nuggets or whatever I'm in the mood for doing.

• 5:56Dan Pashman?

  Roberta says she doesn't have any special requests. But in the documentary, a Wendy's worker named Winston says a lot of the other folks in the group do.

• 6:04Speaker 04

  It reminds me of my grandparents because that's how they are when we go out to eat. Like, they order specifically. Like, that's how my grandparents, like, they want their stuff. They want their things in a certain way.

• 6:15Dan Pashman?

  I was curious to ask Roberta why that is. Do you think that as people get older, they have more special requests at restaurants?

• 6:23Speaker 03

  I think they get cocky.

• 6:27Dan Pashman?

  Do you think, is it that as people get older, they, they get more opinionated? They realize later in life that they like things a certain way? Or is it that-

• 6:34Speaker 03

  Yes, they do.

• 6:36Dan Pashman?

  But is, could it also be, because also, as I, I feel like as you get older, you also care less what other people think. So you might be more willing to speak up. Maybe you liked your food a certain-

• 6:45Speaker 03

  That's very true. You know, you're correct. As you get older, you just, it just doesn't matter what other people think. You do what you want to do. You say what you want to say. If they don't like it, oh, well. I could say something else, but I'll say, oh, well.

• 7:05Dan Pashman?

  So Roberta does what she wants. And what she wants on Friday evenings is to go to Wendy's. She grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family on Long Island, so Shabbat dinner was mandatory. And while she and her husband weren't quite so strict with their kids, they continued the tradition.

• 7:22Speaker 03

  If you don't instill something in your children, they have nothing. And then, when they get out into the world, they just, they spread their own wings. But you gotta give them a base. I don't care what it is, Jewish, Catholicism, Protestant, Buddhism, whatever it is, they have to be given something. I don't know how you feel about that.

• 7:50Dan Pashman?

  We are not especially religious in my home today. I have two daughters, five and seven and a half. And we're not especially religious, but we do Shabbat dinner almost every Friday night. We do a couple of quick blessings, and then it's really just a family dinner.

• 8:03Speaker 03

  That's fine. That's, that's, it doesn't make, but, but doing it is an impression on the children.

• 8:09Dan Pashman?

  Right.

• 8:10Speaker 03

  Today, children are running here, and people are taking, schlepping them, dancing, whatever it is. And how often do they really ever sit down, other than, as you say, observing Shabbat together as a family?

• 8:33Dan Pashman?

  I said goodbye to Roberta for now. So you're coming tonight, right?

• 8:36Speaker 03

  Oh, yes, sure.

• 8:37Dan Pashman?

  All right.

• 8:38Speaker 03

  Wouldn't miss Wendy's Shabbat Friday night. Besides that, we're leaving tomorrow. I have a 6 o'clock flight to Portland, Oregon, so there's nothing in the refrigerator.

• 8:50Speaker 03

  We've cleaned it out.

• 8:51Dan Pashman?

  All right.

• 8:55Dan Pashman?

  There was one other person I knew I had to see that afternoon. Lou Silberman. In the documentary, he's the one in the group who seems most into food. It's clear Lou does not just come to Wendy's Shabbat for the company.

• 9:07Speaker 05

  I either have a son of Baconator and some well-done french fries. Other times, I'll have a baked potato with some chili because I want to tell you something. Wendy's chili is outstanding.

• 9:18Dan Pashman?

  Yes, you heard correctly. Along with his well-done fries, Lou often gets the Baconator. Clearly, this Shabbat group, not so kosher. Another reason I wanted to talk with him, he's the organizer of Wendy's Shabbat. Every week, he sends out an email to everyone to get a head count, then calls Wendy's with the number so the folks at Wendy's can put a table together for them. He also assigns one person in the group to bring dessert. As I learned when I met him, Lou is the perfect guy for this job. For decades, he worked in sales and marketing for the Mattel Toy Company. He retired more than 20 years ago when he was 72 and says he quickly came to regret that decision. He lost a big part of his purpose, the thing that drove him. So in Palm Desert, as he and his wife Jerry tell me, he's thrown himself into the Shabbat group. And a lot more.

• 10:01Speaker 06

  Lou's very active in the Heart Association. Lou's a competitive swimmer.

• 10:06Speaker 05

  I am a docent at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

• 10:09Dan Pashman?

  Docent at the museum?

• 10:10Speaker 05

  I am an ambassador for the College of the Desert. I am the membership chair of a club here on campus called the Music Buffs, has 1,300 members. And I also am involved with the fifth-largest tennis tournament on the planet. That is the Indian Wells.

• 10:27Speaker 06

  I think he's the oldest usher.

• 10:29Dan Pashman?

  The oldest usher.

• 10:30Speaker 05

  I am 92 and going strong.

• 10:33Dan Pashman?

  Yeah, clearly. And Jerry, what do you think it is about Lou's personality that he ends up in charge of everything?

• 10:40Speaker 06

  Because he loves to be in charge of everything. But of course, I don't always listen.

• 10:48Speaker 05

  I'm an A-type.

• 10:50Dan Pashman?

  Type A personality.

• 10:51Speaker 05

  Yeah, super A-type.

• 10:54Speaker 05

  I'm a control freak.

• 10:56Dan Pashman?

  Right.

• 10:56Speaker 06

  I was going to say that, but I didn't want to be, I didn't want it to be recorded that I said that. But he is definitely a control freak.

• 11:07Speaker 05

  But with good intentions and good purposes.

• 11:10Speaker 06

  Yes, I'm not saying it wasn't good.

• 11:13Dan Pashman?

  Well, and I'm a control freak in many ways. And, you know, the world needs a certain number of control freaks. Otherwise, nobody would ever make it to Shabbat dinner.

• 11:20Speaker 06

  That's exactly right. Just like Lou.

• 11:24Dan Pashman?

  Another thing Lou likes to control that I can totally relate to is food order at Wendy's. How do you order your fries?

• 11:32Speaker 05

  Well done.

• 11:32Dan Pashman?

  Oh, yes. Tell me, let's talk about that.

• 11:36Speaker 05

  Really?

• 11:38Dan Pashman?

  I've come 3,000 miles to talk about well-done fries at Wendy's.

• 11:41Speaker 05

  Well, if you don't get them well-done, they're kind of soft and mushy. Well-done french fries have a touch to them that just melts in your mouth.

• 11:50Dan Pashman?

  Are they ever too well-done for you?

• 11:52Speaker 05

  No, not really.

• 11:54Dan Pashman?

  So Lou, at what point in your life did you start ordering your fries well-done?

• 11:58Speaker 05

  At Wendy's.

• 12:02Dan Pashman?

  So for you, if you had realized 50 years earlier that you liked your fries well-done, would you have been bashful about asking for them that way?

• 12:10Speaker 05

  No, it was a delightful experience and having come to that decision 50 years too late.

• 12:18Dan Pashman?

  Well, don't, you know, let's not, let's not look back with regret, Lou. Let's be thankful that you lived long enough to realize how you like your french fries and enjoy them that way.

• 12:27Speaker 05

  Yes, sir.

• 12:35Dan Pashman?

  Before I leave, Lou informs me that he has a mission for me. As you heard, each week he assigns one person to bring dessert. But in classic Lou fashion, he leaves nothing to chance. He wants to make sure there's enough dessert. After all, he likes to have some extra for the workers at Wendy's. And since this documentary came out, they have random visitors just showing up to join them. So Lou brings backup dessert. But he just had shoulder surgery, so he wouldn't be coming tonight. With a solemn look and twinkle in his eye, Lou hands me a paper plate covered in foil.

• 13:07Speaker 05

  Since I'm not going, I'm going to take the dessert plate for the youngsters in the back, and I'm going to give them to you, and you're going to walk over to the counter and say, "Hi, Lou sent these."

• 13:18Dan Pashman?

  Okay, you got it.

• 13:20Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 13:21Dan Pashman?

  I'm honored that I've been entrusted with such a big responsibility.

• 13:24Speaker 05

  Oh, it is.

• 13:27Dan Pashman?

  Coming up, I meet up with the group for Shabbat dinner at Wendy's. Stick around.

• 13:41Speaker 07

  Ooh, advertisements. Yummy.

• 13:46Dan Pashman?

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• 14:31Dan Pashman?

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• 15:15Dan Pashman?

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• 15:22Dan Pashman?

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• 15:47Speaker 08

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• 16:19Dan Pashman?

  Welcome back to another Sporkful Reheat. I'm Dan Pashman. A lot of times people want to ask me, like, oh, what are you cooking? What restaurants are you going to? They ask Emma and Andres and the whole Sporkful team the same questions. Well, it turns out we provide a listener service to you that includes that information. It's our newsletter. We don't send it out all the time. We're not going to spam you. We're just going to send you useful information, recipes, restaurant information, links to articles that we're reading, shows that we're watching, and guess what else? You'll be automatically entered into giveaways for cookbooks featured on the show, as long as you live in the US or Canada. That's also where I'll email you to tell you about, like, special sales happening on this Folini website by discounts on pasta and stuff. So there are a lot of benefits and you can sign up right now while you're listening. Head on over to sporkful.com/newsletter to sign up today.

• 17:02Dan Pashman?

  Again, that's sporkful.com/newsletter. Thanks. Now back to this week's reheat. I should explain, this whole Shabbat dinner and the documentary have no formal connection with Wendy's. The restaurant declined to make their employees available for an interview with us for this episode. But the company does make some accommodations for the seniors. As I mentioned, after Lou calls in with the headcount, the workers there put a big table together in the middle of the restaurant ahead of time. Wendy's also gives the seniors free soft drinks. Beyond that, though, the seniors just order off the menu like any other group. After talking with Lou and Roberta, I headed to Wendy's. Got to grab the dessert Lou gave me. As I mentioned, Lou couldn't make it. He just had surgery. Roberta would meet me there.

• 17:48Dan Pashman?

  The Wendy's in Palm Desert is just off the highway in an upscale shopping area. Palm trees here and there, in the distance, brown desert mountains. Crossing the parking lot, it's not easy to hold two mics, a recorder, and a plate of desserts, I'm learning. But, you know, I'm glad I'm not coming empty-handed. Inside, a bunch of tables have been pushed together to form one long table with about 20 or 25 seats. There was already a group of seniors there chatting, waiting for more people to arrive. First, I met one of the workers. Hi, how are you? How are you? Good. I'm Dan. Raphael. Raphael, oh, sorry. I'm holding my mic from my left hand. Good to meet you. Good to meet you, too. Thanks for having me. Oh, Raphael. These are from Lou. Oh, Lou. Lou gave me these desserts. He said you would know what to do with them. Okay.

• 18:33Dan Pashman?

  All right, thank you. Thank you. Hey, I'm Dan.

• 18:37Speaker 01

  Hello, this is Dan. Dan? Sharon.

• 18:39Dan Pashman?

  Sharon, nice to meet you. Oh, you're the founder.

• 18:41Speaker 01

  Well, I'm Sharon.

• 18:44Dan Pashman?

  Sharon, do you mind if I ask you a couple of quick questions?

• 18:45Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 18:46Dan Pashman?

  Tell me the story. How did this come to be?

• 18:48Speaker 01

  Well, we were sitting around in the summer months and at the pool, and we didn't really have anything to do or anywhere to go. And one Friday night, I said, "Let's go to Wendy's." And then we said, "Maybe we could have Shabbat here." And so the husbands were embarrassed and said, "No," and blah, blah, blah.

• 19:09Dan Pashman?

  Husbands, is this true?

• 19:11Speaker 09

  Yes, that's true.

• 19:13Dan Pashman?

  What were you embarrassed about?

• 19:15Speaker 01

  Doing Shabbat here.

• 19:16Speaker 09

  Doing Shabbat with the candles and the whole thing.

• 19:20Dan Pashman?

  What would be embarrassing about that?

• 19:22Speaker 01

  It's Wendy's. And as the weeks and months went on, more people started coming.

• 19:30Dan Pashman?

  Members of the group kept filing in. There were a lot of warm greetings. Set out on the table were the sparkling grape juice, challah, which is a traditional Jewish bread, and electric candles. In addition to not being able to bring wine into Wendy's, the seniors can no longer light candles there. You know, fire codes and such. Before we could start the blessings, though, there was some important business to take care of.

• 19:52Speaker 09

  Dan, if they want to find sportballs?

• 19:54Dan Pashman?

  Yeah.

• 19:54Speaker 09

  How do they find sportballs?

• 19:56Dan Pashman?

  Show me your phone. I'll subscribe right now.

• 19:58Speaker 09

  Absolutely.

• 19:59Dan Pashman?

  I'll set you up to download the show like 10 million times. My numbers will go through the roof. It's gonna be great. No, I'm joking. I won't do that to you.

• 20:07Dan Pashman?

  Oh, alright, our cellular data's turned off our podcast. I'll fix that for you. There it is, we found the podcast app. This is turning into tech support. This is gonna be great. This is gonna be a great podcast. Subscribe. My name's Dan.

• 20:21Speaker 10

  Dan?

• 20:21Dan Pashman?

  Yeah.

• 20:22Speaker 10

  You're very good-looking, Dan.

• 20:23Dan Pashman?

  Oh, thanks, I appreciate it. So are you.

• 20:25Speaker 10

  No, it's the truth.

• 20:28Dan Pashman?

  Oh, shucks, I'm blushing.

• 20:29Speaker 10

  No, you're not, you have a beard.

• 20:33Speaker 10

  I have to, I'm the elder statesman, believe it or not.

• 20:35Dan Pashman?

  Really?

• 20:35Speaker 10

  I'm the oldest one in the group.

• 20:39Dan Pashman?

  Well, so you must be well into your 60s.

• 20:42Speaker 10

  You're my new best friend.

• 20:48Speaker 10

  Actually, I'm one of the original people that started this. We are like a family now. And, uh, some of us, we've lost already from attrition and what have you. But we stick together as much as we can.

• 21:04Dan Pashman?

  At this point, it was time to begin Shabbat dinner with three blessings. One for Shabbat, then one over the wine, and one over the bread. Jewish people recite these blessings every Friday all over the world as the sun sets across the globe. Now, at a Wendy's in Palm Desert, California, it was this group's turn.

• 22:05Speaker 01

  That's it. Now we all rush to the line, which Lou Silverman is always the first one in, and we get our food.

• 22:12Dan Pashman?

  Lou's not here tonight. Who's gonna take his place?

• 22:15Speaker 09

  Oh, we're ready.

• 22:18Dan Pashman?

  Now comes the stampede, right?

• 22:22Dan Pashman?

  It was a leisurely stampede. The seniors settled back down at that long table with their food, plastic trays pressed against each other all in a row. Some had salads, others had burgers, or chicken nuggets, or baked potatoes. A lot of these folks see each other every week, but still, it had the feeling of a reunion, or a big family meal at the holidays. I put in my order: cheeseburger and a chili cheese baked potato. Growing up, my family would tailgate at a lot of New York Giants football games, and sometimes we did chili cheese dogs in the parking lot. And when we did, we'd always just go get a bunch of chili at Wendy's, put that on the hot dogs. Also, why doesn't every restaurant have baked potatoes all the time? After I finished eating, I checked in on Roberta at the other end of the table. I had visited her and her home earlier in the day.

• 23:07Dan Pashman?

  That's great. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just need to ask Roberta a quick question about her meal.

• 23:12Speaker 03

  What's yours?

• 23:13Dan Pashman?

  Roberta, I see your food has just arrived. Walk me through your choice here. This is intriguing.

• 23:19Dan Pashman?

  I see a baked potato with what looks like a slice of American cheese melted on, and then shredded cheese on top of that? Is that right?

• 23:25Speaker 03

  I don't know. I didn't get it. Deborah did. My daughter ordered it.

• 23:30Dan Pashman?

  You know, are you gonna mix the chili and the potato?

• 23:34Speaker 03

  Probably.

• 23:36Dan Pashman?

  You might. I mean, I don't want to tell you, you know, how to do Wendy's Shabbat or anything, but like, if you want to maybe pour the chili on top, it might help melt the cheese.

• 23:44Speaker 03

  Oh, no, no. No, I'm gonna keep it. I'm a purist with this.

• 23:50Dan Pashman?

  Alright, I'm not gonna judge.

• 23:52Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 23:54Dan Pashman?

  At this point, I learned of one of the big perks of Shabbat at Wendy's. Not only does Wendy's provide the seniors with free soft drinks, they also give them free mini ice creams. Of course, that's in addition to the dessert the seniors bring themselves. Do you do a swirl? Is there a swirl option? Vanilla, chocolate? I'll take that, yeah. Sure, sure. Thank you.

• 24:19Dan Pashman?

  Now, a little pointer I'll give you guys. You take your free ice cream here and you take the cookies that are passed out and they crumble your cookie into your free ice cream.

• 24:28Speaker 02

  Yeah, I saw you doing that. It looks very good.

• 24:30Dan Pashman?

  You want me to make you one?

• 24:31Speaker 02

  No, but I'll remember it next time.

• 24:33Speaker 10

  What's even better is they have the pecan, the candied pecans that they put in the salad. And if you put that in the ice cream, it's even better.

• 24:46Dan Pashman?

  That is brilliant. Have you done that, Bee?

• 24:48Speaker 10

  Yeah.

• 24:48Dan Pashman?

  Very shrewd.

• 24:49Speaker 10

  You bet.

• 24:50Dan Pashman?

  That's a takeaway for sportful listeners right there. That is very good. Candy pecans from the salad bar right into the ice cream. Brilliant.

• 24:59Speaker 10

  You bet.

• 25:01Dan Pashman?

  As Bee and I enjoyed our ice cream, we talked about how her Shabbat dinners have changed over the years.

• 25:07Speaker 10

  I'm not as observant because having been raised in an Orthodox family, I had so many restrictions that I resented. I hated because on Friday nights when our family had Shabbat dinner, I couldn't go to the football games.

• 25:27Dan Pashman?

  What would your parents think if they saw you here?

• 25:30Speaker 10

  They'd turn over.

• 25:35Speaker 10

  You know, whatever the reason, my parents were old-fashioned people and I had more don'ts than do's. And I have evolved because you have to live in this world, in this century, and you know, you have to roll with the punches.

• 25:51Dan Pashman?

  You're a modern woman, Bee.

• 25:52Speaker 10

  Yes, I am.

• 26:01Dan Pashman?

  Shabbat dinner at Wendy's may not be how they did it in the Old Testament, but like Bee says, you got to evolve, not just to live in this century, but also to keep a tradition alive. As I left Wendy's that night, I thought about Shabbat dinner and rituals from other religions and cultures that provide the same kind of structure in our lives. One of the most powerful moments in the Wendy's Shabbat documentary is also one of the most mundane. It's a part where Roberta talks about how she makes her bed every morning. Earlier that day when I was at her house, I asked Roberta why making the bed is important to her.

• 26:34Speaker 03

  It's a ritual. I think a lot of people, as they get older, they kind of, a lot of them withdraw. You don't get up, and you don't get dressed, and you don't make, you don't make a bed. You drag around the house. No, to me, it's being, just following through the routine of everyday living.

• 26:58Dan Pashman?

  And I think that for a lot of people of all different faiths, religious rituals are a part of that routine.

• 27:04Speaker 03

  Definitely. I feel that you have to have some sort of routine so that you, you don't go floating around. You just, you know, this is what you do, this is part of your life, and this is what keeps you going.

• 27:42Dan Pashman?

  My thanks to the folks at Wendy's in Palm Desert and to all the members of the Wendy's Shabbat group, especially Roberta, Lou, Bee, and Sharon. We taped this episode four years ago, so we recently called Roberta for an update. She's doing well, as are Lou, Jerry, Sharon, and Bee. But sadly, the Wendy's Shabbat dinners mostly stopped with COVID and officially ended in June of this year. A few of the members have passed away. One woman turned 100 and decided she didn't want to drive at night anymore. Roberta says, for what it was, it was the most wonderful thing. Everybody loved it. Roberta still has lunch with some of her Wendy's Shabbat friends once a week. Lou turned 96 and still swims and plays golf. And yes, Roberta still makes her bed every day.

• 28:24Dan Pashman?

  The short documentary Wendy's Shabbat is directed by Rachel Myers. It won all kinds of awards when it came out in 2018. You can watch it now at PBS POV. And to all the Jews out there, I'm wishing you a happy and sweet new year. This episode was originally produced by Anne Sanni, Aviva DeKornfeld and me, and edited by Gianna Palmer. Dan DeZula mixed the original. Casey Holford mixed the update. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.

• 28:47Speaker 11

  And I'm Janai in L.A., reminding you to eat more, eat better, and eat more better.

• 29:09Dan Pashman?

  This reheat was produced by

• 29:10Speaker 11

  Gianna Palmer.

• 29:11Dan Pashman?

  The team that produces The Sporkful today includes me, along with managing producer

• 29:15Speaker 11

  Emma Morgenstern.

• 29:16Dan Pashman?

  And senior producer Andres O'Hara. Our engineer is Jared O'Connell. Music help from Black Label Music. The Sporkful is a production of SiriusXM Podcast. Our executive producer is Camille Stanley. And hey, did you know you can listen to The Sporkful on the SiriusXM app? Yes, the SiriusXM app, it has all your favorite podcasts, plus over 200 ad-free music channels curated by genre and era, plus live sports coverage. Does your podcasting app have that? And there's interviews with A-list stars and so much more. It's everything you want in a podcast app and music app, all rolled into one. And right now, Sporkful listeners can get three months free of the SiriusXM app by going to siriusxm.com/sporful. Until next time, I'm Dan Pashman.

• 29:59Speaker 12

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