Marshall Fire Shabbat Candle Club Deal – Boulder Jewish News
by Mara and Kyle Kuczun, Karli and Aaron Atwell, co-founders of the Shabbat Candle Club
We run the Shabbat Candle Club and two of our co-founders (Karli and Aaron Atwell) live in the area affected by the Marshall Fire. As a company, we have created a one-month Marshall Fire subscription box for the community to purchase, and the box of Shabbat candles will be given directly to families who have lost their homes or are displaced by the fires. . Plus, we’ll be donating all proceeds from our online sales from January 15 through February 15 at www.shabbatcandleclub.com.
About the Shabbat Candle Club
In the midst of a global pandemic, as we sat at home on Friday nights (and every night in fact), we missed the joy and community we felt in our regular old age. We wanted to find a way to bring a sense of peace, calm and reflection to people at a time when so many of us felt isolated and alone. With some free time and a desire to stay focused on something positive, we formed the Shabbat Candle Club to send strength, healing, beauty, celebration, connection and light into our community and the world.
The inspiration for Shabbat Candlelight Club was actually born in March 2019. Aaron Atwell married Karli and was inspired by her deep commitment to Judaism. After his daughters’ Bat Mitzvahs, Aaron was forced to go on his own Jewish journey. At age 50, Aaron chose to be called to Torah to become a Bar Mitzvah with 15 other people in an adult B’nai Mitzvah. Vayakhel was the portion of the Torah for that week that included instructions for bringing gifts to the Temple of gold, silver, and copper; blue, purple and scarlet threads, fine linen and acacia wood. Aaron made yaads (ceremonial sticks used to follow the Torah reading) from a fallen flame maple tree in his yard to give as gifts to his cohorts and decorated the yaads accordingly with many beautiful colors.
As longtime non-Jewish friends, Kyle and Mara wanted to give Aaron a meaningful gift to recognize his Bar Mitzvah which incorporated these special colors as well as recognition of Aaron’s call to join the Jewish faith. This is where the Shabbat Candle Club was born. Kyle created and gave Aaron the first three-month Shabbat Candle Club membership complete with crimson and blue candles with a golden flame, the specific Torah readings for each Shabbat, candle lighting times, and a personalized letter. Inside the box they included the hand-sealed “A” that you will still find inside our boxes today – as a nod to the past, the origin of the Shabbat Candle Club and the enduring strength of interfaith throughout life. friendships.
