The Wolves Loved the Shabbaton!
This past October, JCHS held its annual Shabbaton at Walker Creek Ranch — and, surprisingly, it wasn’t canceled! As a freshman going into such an experience, I wanted to know what makes the Shabbaton so special. I wanted to know why everyone loves it so much. And on this year’s Shabbaton, I found all those answers and much more.
To start off: this year’s activities — or lack thereof — were really fun! Whether you went to the freelectives, or hung out with friends, all evidence points to the activities being a great success. Jacob Stadtner, a sophomore, remarked on how “the activities were surprisingly fun, and not at all what I had expected.” One of these activities — arguably the highlight of the entire Shabbaton — was the Saturday night dance; which was ‘glow-in-the-dark’ themed. Sigal, a freshman, gushed that “the dance was awesome; it was a great ending to the day, and a fun-filled weekend!”
Everyone got their ‘shabbat-on’ with the multitudes of Jewish activities threaded throughout the weekend, and in these activities, the student body not only survived — but thrived! From Friday night services to Saturday morning tefillot; many remarked on how these activities allowed everyone to be practice in a way that was comfortable to them. Specifically, the creative tefillot — and all the alternative tefillot in general — contributed to this success by allowing people to engage in Judaism without making them delve into a siddur-based tefillah; which isn’t the right fit for every student. Max Bamberger, a freshman, confirmed such suspicions when he remarked that “it was really cool there were a whole range of tefillah and activities for all the kinds of students that go to this school.” Havdalah ended our lovely Shabbat with an emotionally fulfilling event that everyone could participate in, together as one kehilah kedosha: holy community.
However, in my eyes, one of the most unique aspects of the Shabbaton — above the incredible activities, past the pluralistic religious experiences — was the bonding that occurred among both the students and faculty. On this journey, many new friendships were made that bridged grades, friend groups, and pre-conceived prejudices, and countless existing friendships were strengthened. Even the more established grades at JCHS felt this; Shayna Dollinger, a senior and our student body president, confirmed this. She remarked on how “the bonding that happened within my grade was incredible. We were all sad that it was our last Shabbaton, so we were committed to enjoying every minute!”
Now, back to my question(s): what makes the Shabbaton so special, and why does everyone love it so much? On this year’s Shabbaton, myself and many others soaked up every minute of fun, activities, friendships, and Judaism. We basked in the refreshing fog, partied on Saturday night, and grew closer together as a community. Those experiences — the ones we can never get back again — are what make the Shabbaton so, so special; along with all the work that the professional community put into this wonderful experience. I speak for the entire JCHS community when I give a sincere thank-you to all of our wonderful faculty, staff, and student leaders who made this weekend one we’ll never forget.
