Jeffrey Katzenberg Hosts 700-Person Shabbat Dinner at Burning Man
Image by David Katzenberg
By Thea Glassman September 14, 2016
If you thought Burning Man and Jewish tradition had nothing in common, think again.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of DreamWorks Animation, and his son David, just hosted a Shabbat dinner at the annual festival—with a cool 700 people making it on the guest list.
“Anyone and everyone is welcome,” Katzenberg told The Hollywood Reporter. “Everyone in our camp equally contributes their time, energy and resources to making the Shabbat dinner work.”
The father-son duo trekked out to Black Rock Desert, the dry lake where Burning Man is held, for the second year in a row, and stayed at Camp Merkabah (connoting early Jewish mysticism).
Katzenberg Senior got into the spirit of the week-long art festival by donning a quirky ensemble, including oversized goggles and a white bandanna.
The business mogul, who frequently contributes to Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Anti-Defamation League, told the Jewish Journal that Judaism gives him a strong sense of pride.
“[In Jewish life] there’s a connection to your roots and to Israel, a sense of belonging and a sense of obligation.” he said.
Count us in for your next Shabbat dinner, Katzenbergs!
Thea Glassman is a Multimedia Fellow at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @theakglassman.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
