“Shabbat is a treasure. It is the ability to connect with something higher. For 24 hours you can literally disconnect with all of the distractions during the week; you can really focus on what matters: your friends and your family,” Levi Lipinski said. “Shabbat really brings an additional beauty to our lives and I think that many people would appreciate that.”

Levi Lipinski runs the Challah Corner which  is set up every Friday after school where students can get challah from Lipinski for free. Lipinski and his wife, Yochi Lipinski, started the corner 1.5 years ago with the goal of connecting people and introducing students to Jewish culture.

Both Levi and Yochi Lipinski work at the Chai Center: a local Jewish organization. One of the programs they run is centered around teenagers.

“What we do is that we offer community service hours and other opportunities. Many kids at Brookline High School come to help us out; We do different things to help the community,” Levi Lipinski said. “One of the things that we do is the Challah Corner to engage and to show the cultural beauty of the Jews.”

According to Yochi Lipinski, Levi Lipinski was the one who decided to start the Challah Corner. From there, the idea took off. People loved it and eventually the high school gave its approval.

“The Challah Corner is a way for teens, whatever their background may be, to get a taste of what Shabbat is and get a taste of what challah is because everyone loves some good bread,” Yochi Lipinski said.

Levi Lipinski said he enjoyed talking to students and is always open for them to talk to him.

“Teens call us and ask if they can drop by to talk to us about some things,” Yochi Lipinski said. “Levi is a young guy and he’s a Rabbi; we really want to be helpful to students.”

Both Levi and Yochi Lipinski said that they are very appreciative of students who share their opinions.

According to Junior Helen Bechler, it is a great thing that they hand out challah every Friday after school.

“There is a big Jewish community here and even if you are not Jewish, it is spreading the idea of Shabbat and that anyone can participate in it,” Bechler said. ”It’s just a day of peace and a day of rest. I think it is a nice way to bring people into that.”

Levi Lipinski and his family make the challah themselves; he got the recipe from Yochi Lipinski’s father, who was also a Rabbi.

Levi Lipinski believes that food is one of the main things that can bring people together.

“Shabbat is a time where you can reconnect,” Levi Lipinski said. “Food is what at the end of the day brings us all together. We can sit at one table; the excuse may be food but then it can develop many other relationships.”