By Emily Keeler Alhadeff, Assistant Editor, JTNews
This Shabbat, the Chabad at the University of Washington is going where no other Shabbat has gone before — at least in recent memory. The destination isn’t physical, but rather spiritual, bringing all of the university’s Jewish groups together for one Shabbat dinner extravaganza.
“It’s a program that’s done on a lot of other campuses,” said Chaya Estrin, rebbetzin at Chabad of UW. Campuses around the country have “from 100 students to 1,000 students celebrating Shabbat together.” Organizers expect a turnout of about 200 to this dinner, which will take place in Mary Gates Hall. Partial funding for the event comes from a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s Small and Simple Initiatives fund.
Shabbat for a Lot, also called Unity Shabbat, is an attempt to bring the diverse population of Jewish students on campus together.
“One element is just to give a taste of what Shabbat is,” Estrin said. The other is to show that “we’re more united than we’re different.”
Much of that unity comes from a relatively small Jewish presence on campus.
“UW Jewish students feel like a minority. It will be very powerful to them,” she said. “The Jewish community is vibrant. It is strong.”
But getting them together is harder than it sounds. Estrin explained that students sometimes feel loyalties to particular organizations. With the Jewish community growing and strengthening on campus, Estrin feels that the time is ripe to promote unity among factions.
Greek organizations AEPi, AEPhi, and ZBT, as well as Jewish sisterhood Banot, American Students for Israel, Hillel, the Seattle Kollel’s Jewish Student Experience, Huskies for Israel and Israel Forever are sponsoring the dinner along with Chabad.
Groups are asked to leave their agendas at the door, and instead of students encouraging one another to join each other’s organizations and causes, each participant will take home a booklet with group descriptions, Shabbat songs and blessings. Estrin described it as the creation of a sort of Jewish UW directory.
“We’re asking people to be respectful,” said Estrin.
Jaclyn Rubinchik, a junior, is involved with Chabad and Huskies for Israel and is helping to organize the dinner. She says that given the diversity of Jewish groups on campus, at first they didn’t know how the program was going to shape itself.
“It’s going to be Hillel and Chabad and fraternities and sororities,” she marveled. “What does a Shabbat that has all of these groups together look like?”
“To have 200 students singing ‘Shalom Aleichem’ together — this will be really amazing,” Estrin said.
Estrin estimates that 60 to 70 students observe Shabbat on a regular basis, meaning more than half the attendees on Friday night will not be Shabbat-observant.
But the Estrins’ goal is not, at least outwardly, to encourage the students to be more observant.
“Our goal is to introduce people to Judaism, and let them take their journey where they’re going to go,” she said. “We just try to be there for people and give them a positive Jewish experience.”
To that end, students have the option to go to one of five different service options: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, meditative, or a “why I’m not in services” discussion. “I think it’s good for students to connect and find their place,” Estrin said.
The evening will commence with candle lighting at 6 p.m., followed by an hour of “shmoozing and food” and then services. After services, students are invited to a traditional dinner, much of which Estrin and 10 to 12 volunteers will be preparing themselves. Estrin, who regularly cooks for a crowd of 40 to 60 Shabbat guests, does not appear daunted by the task. Following dinner, participants can snack, play board games, and hang out.
Students are excited for the dinner and its unity potential.
“I’m a junior, In all the years I’ve been here there’s never been an…event like this,” Rubinchik said. “I’m really excited it’s actually happening.”