Shabbos Project in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway

The Five Towns, Far Rockaway, and surrounding areas are centers of vibrant
Orthodox Judaism. The community is home to numerous day schools, yeshivos,
restaurants and every possible Jewish amenity. One would think that amid the hustle
and bustle of this robust area, The Shabbos Project would be something too basic
and rudimentary to take off.
Yet it was not. It transformed the neighborhood.
Twenty-nine shuls participated in this initiative with a colossal thirty-five events over
Shabbos in every corner of the community. Ten schools were actively involved and
thousands of other people participated in this incredible initiative by making gifts for
visitors and hosting special speakers, and attending challah bakes, kumsitzs and
special assemblies.
What does the Shabbos Project mean to a neighborhood which is saturated with
observant Jews?
The team of volunteers who spearheaded the Shabbos Project in the Five Towns
and Far Rockaway set up three goals:
a.
Reaching those in the neighborhood who were not yet observing Shabbos.
This was achieved by full-page advertisements in all the local papers, banners on
main roads, lawn signs, and a strong social media campaign.
b.
Empowering those observing Shabbos to invite friends, coworkers and
neighbors to their homes for the entire Shabbos or a part of it. This allowed people to
spend that special time together and thereby add the dimension of Jewish unity to
the project.
c.
Raising the bar. This was the Shabbos for every individual to elevate their
observance of Shabbos, whether it be for the first time or regarding something they
had been doing since their infancy.
The results were unprecedented.
The weekend began with a Challah Bake for women at the Atlantic Sands. It was
sold out days before at 650 seats, and when another 350 seats were added, they
only took one and a half hours to be sold. Another 200 women showed up at the
door. It was an event to remember. 1200 women gathered from every walk of life.
There were women from Far Rockaway, women from Woodmere, women from
Bayswater and women from the city. Over 200 unaffiliated women participated as
part of large groups which came in and as guests of local ladies. After a step-by-step
instruction from Mrs. Judy Rubin and Mrs. Malky Feldman, all the women took a
silent moment to pray before separating Challah. The atmosphere was tangible.
After the Challah was separated and the dough was left to rise, what began as a
song turned into unstoppable dancing. Eitan Katz, who was playing the music,
followed the lead of the crowds. Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt gave a powerful message
and the braiding began. High school girls from every high school were so enthused
that many of them gathered in two lines at the exit to serenade everyone as they left.
The dancing went on well past 11pm. In the words of Rebbetzin Weinberger: A true
Kiddush Hashem! The women of Klal Yisroel will surely bring the Mashiach.

Rebbetzin Bender noted that the men had their siyum hashas, (a large-scale group
conclusion of the Talmud-learning cycle, held in large venues in different cities,) but
the women had this Challah Bake! That was the magnitude of the experience. There
was an unparalleled sense of unity which transformed the evening.
Over Shabbos, every corner of the community felt something.
Each shul partook in a different way, in tandem with their membership. Chabad of
the Five Towns had a community meal housing over 250 people in a tent in the
parking lot. All the North Woodmere shuls partook in a special davening and
community-wide oneg. Rabbi Lebowitz commented that so many of his congregants
had invited in guests that he and his wife hopped from house to house greeting the
newcomers. Beth Sholom hosted a joint meal with Temple Beth El, which was sold
out. It fostered unity and focused on common ideals and values. A JRE group of tens
of unaffiliated Jews from Westchester spent Shabbos in Lawrence/Far Rockaway.
They spent time at the White Shul for a lively davening which went on for almost 2
hours, and community meals at the Wolfsons and the Martons. The Young Israel of
Long Beach hosted a special NSCY Shabbaton with programming. At the Friday
night dinner which housed 100 people, tables brought together those who were
shomer Shabbos with those joining to experience it. In the words of the organizers,
Not only did it make their Friday night special, but it definitely enhanced our
Shabbos as well.
In the Young Israel of Far Rockaway, former evangelical minister Gavriel Sanders
spoke to a crowd of over 200 on Shabbos afternoon on the topic of A Minister's
Journey to Judaism."
A group of teens at risk from Baltimore had a Shabbaton in the area and joined
some of the community meals. There were numerous special davenings and onegs
in every area marking a special Shabbos for both regulars and visitors. Some shuls,
like Tiferes Tzvi and Bais Tefilla of Inwood, chose to use this Shabbos as the time to
launch special Shabbos learning initiatives. In Bayswater there was a unified
community program at the Yeshiva. There was a special davening and an oneg
attended by more than 200 people. Tens of guests came for Shabbos, many of
whom were not observant. In the afternoon, there were special workshop shiurim
throughout Bayswater and a special womens Shalosh Seudos with Rebbetzin Ivy
Kalazon, which was attended by over 100 women.
And these are just the public events. There were numerous private events of group
meals uniting neighbors and friends as we were all keeping it together. Every part of
the community was affected.
This special Shabbos closed with a Havdalah Concert in Beth Sholom. It began with
a Carlebach Havdalah in the dark from Shema Koleinu and was followed by a lively
Maccabeats concert. With the room sold out at 850 tickets, it was an uplifting
conclusion to an incredible weekend.