The Shabbaton - "A Weekend to Remember" – in collaboration with Lubavitch Youth Organization, under the leadership of Rabbi Kastel- is over, but the excitement is still fresh, and the impression still lasting. To say it was a success is an understatement; trying to describe the beauty and inspiration with words is nearly impossible. We reached our maximum occupancy with 835 guests (we estimated a maximum of 700 participants!), among them over 200 children and about 100 singles and students.
The Shabbaton has become a national event. Guests came from all across the United States.
Beginning from check in and ending with Sunday's program, the Shabbaton was well organized with every detail taken into account and each minute maximized. Heavenly Shabbat meals, Synagogue services accommodating various levels of prayer, lectures in Russian and English featuring the most sought after speakers and highly acclaimed personalities in the Jewish world today, Saturday night's Melava Malka with live entertainment, a special program for singles and programming for children all contributed to the success of the event.
Many guests returned from last year and told us they had waited for the Shabbaton the entire year. Many asked to reserve a spot for them next year!
A special event took place at the Shabbaton on Sunday morning, when a lovely couple from Monsey came to celebrate the Pidyon Haben of their son, DovBer, together with their parents and relatives from Florida and California. This ceremony was enthusiastically accepted by our Russian guests, many of whom had not seen such a tradition in their lives. Afterward, about 20 firstborn men lined up to have their own Pidyon Haben, having missed out on this special mitzvah until then. At the end, the crowd sang Siman Tov U'Mazal Tov together.
Also during lunch, we were very touched when a young man and woman approached the podium and announced that they had each been convinced to attend last year's Shabbaton as singles. They met each other at our single's program last year, and were attending the Shabbaton this year as a married couple. Indeed, they will remember the name of our Shabbaton, "A Weekend to Remember," for the rest of their lives.
.jpg)
.jpg)
