Reset and Refresh Reflection
January 5, 2026 | Jewish Traditions and Values
For Tali and George, joining Reset & Refresh opened their minds to what Judaism can be and how it can weave its way through all aspects of life and family, even when not everyone in that family identifies as Jewish. Their experience is a powerful reminder that there is no single right way to build a meaningful Jewish life. What matters most is curiosity, intention, and community. Here is their story.
We know that it isn’t an all-that-wacky arrangement to be in a couple coming from different religious backgrounds, of course, but that doesn’t mean we always know how to navigate the road we’ve chosen. Both of us grew up in actively religious and community-oriented families, but with only limited examples of interfaith relationships. While some family and many friends have been supportive and helpful, when one of our friends connected us with Reset & Refresh, it was an exciting prospect to dive deeper with other folks who might be handling similar experiences. Reset & Refresh is a program for young multifaith couples facilitated by the Jewish Connection Network and The Associated’s Young Adult Division (YAD) and supported in part by the Meyerhoff New Jewish Family Innovation Fund, an endowment of The Associated. The program explores Jewish life through the rhythm and joys of Shabbat as a cohort of couples. We are so grateful to have jumped at the chance!
Joining the cohort was a community-building process unlike the more self-generated ones we’ve had before in adult life. The two of us originally met at a Shabbat dinner only a few months after moving to Baltimore separately, and over the four years we’ve been together, conversations about how to build a multi-cultural life and future family have evolved.
The remarkably multifaceted couples we got to know through Reset & Refresh truly opened our minds to what Judaism can be and how it can weave its way through all aspects of life and family, even if that family includes people who don’t identify as Jewish. We loved that there was no pressure to conform or subscribe to any one doctrine or way forward.
We explored together how complexities can enrich relationships rather than creating obstacles. The room always felt like a safe space to engage with new realizations as individuals and partners. It was great to be hosted by families, other organizations, and local businesses for group activities ranging from forming and baking our own challah to meeting in a Sukkah during Sukkot. No two sessions were the same. From sharing meals, diving into each aspect of shabbat, and even exploring text on occasion, everyone involved seemed to grow an appreciation and understanding for incorporating each other’s values, both within each couple and among the larger group.
After many formative weeks with our fellow participants and generous organizers, it was bittersweet for the more structured aspects of the cohort to come to a close. Meeting and bonding through a mixture of casual cultural exploration and moments of vulnerability made it easy to continue forming friendships outside of formal programming. As interfaith partnerships become more common, being connected by this kind of program is invaluable to providing a sense of support and welcoming that is not always easy to find. We certainly feel reassured that Jewish values and traditions can be carried forward through the course of our relationship, now with more inspiration and perspective on what they can be for us/ what they may look like.
Reset & Refresh Cohort, Fall 2025