Finding Their Place in Jewish Atlanta

September 25, 2026

Cocktails inspired by apples and honey. Hamantaschen and wine. World Cup watch parties. Passover dinners. 

For Zoe Kaplan and her husband, these have become unexpected entry points into Jewish community. 

Zoe is Jewish. Her husband is not. Over their seven years together, they have figured out what Jewish life looks like for them. He may skip services, but he comes to Shabbat dinners and holiday celebrations. Judaism is part of their life together, even if they practice it differently. 

What they did not have was a community of other couples figuring out the same thing. 

Then Zoe’s friend Sarah Freeman, Interfaith Engagement Connector, invited them to the JInterfaith community. 

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Sarah, that sounds awesome,'” Zoe said. 

Turns out, they weren’t the only ones looking for it. 

JInterfaith, a Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta initiative, is creating a space for interfaith couples to show up exactly as they are. Sometimes that means learning about Rosh Hashanah over cocktails. Sometimes it means meeting at a brewery or cheering through a World Cup match. 

The point is not how people walk through the door. It’s that there is a door open for them. 

Sarah knows how important that can be. She grew up immersed in Atlanta Jewish life, from Hebrew school to Jewish day camps. But when she found herself in an interfaith relationship, she went looking for resources and community. 

“There wasn’t really much, especially in the Atlanta community, regarding interfaith stuff,” Sarah said. 

So, with Federation, she began helping build what she wished she had found. 

The monthly gatherings are intentionally low-pressure and welcoming, bringing together people who may know a lot about Judaism, very little or anything in between. Jewish educators and rabbis join some programs, while others are simply about making friends. 

“I think it creates a community that is easy to engage with,” Zoe said. 

And that sense of community doesn’t end at the event. 

Zoe and her husband met another interfaith couple who live nearby and have since gotten together outside JInterfaith. Zoe has brought friends into the group, too. 

But perhaps the clearest sign of JInterfaith’s impact happened somewhere else entirely. 

Over Rosh Hashanah, Zoe brought challah, apples and honey to a non-Jewish friend’s home. She shared the blessings, then introduced a conversation she had experienced at a JInterfaith event: What did you learn from the past year? What do you want to do differently in the next? 

“I was able to feel confident and comfortable engaging them in that and teaching them more background on Rosh Hashanah and the blessings,” she said. 

A Federation-supported experience had given Zoe something she could carry into her own life and make her own. 

That is the opportunity donors help create. 

As more interfaith couples look for ways to build meaningful Jewish lives together, JInterfaith offers connection without asking them to fit a particular mold. 

“We don’t want to turn these people away,” Sarah said. “We want to make sure everybody is welcomed and understanding and incorporated.” 

Sometimes strengthening Jewish community starts with something as simple as making sure people know there is a place for them. 

And maybe serving a really good cocktail.