Winterbreak Ski Retreat Allows Students to Explore Their Jewish Identities

When college student Allison Singer saw the fliers for Winterbreak, a California ski and learn retreat organized by a group of Chabad on Campus emissaries, she had zero plans to attend. But that was before circumstances – and perhaps more than a little bit of divine intervention – got her up that mountain.

“I didn’t have the time to go on the trip at first,” says Singer, a 20-year-old University of California at Santa Barbara student. “Then my car broke down. Because my car broke down, I lost my job. All of a sudden I had plenty of time on my hands.”

So Singer left her job and called UCSB’s Rabbi Mendel Loschak, who told her the group was leaving the very next day, December 27. Singer, an Orthodox Jew, packed her bags and suddenly found herself in a winding, picturesque car ride up to Running Springs, Calif., where a small group of women would spend the week not only skiing and snow tubing, but learning about Jewish life.

While the first ever Winterbreak gave both male and female Jewish students the chance to hit the slopes, the core of the retreat was learning about Jewish life. Organized by the Chabad on Campus National Foundation, Chabad of California, and Chabad at the University of Southern California, Jewish students of all backgrounds, from Orthodox to Reform, were encouraged to attend. But the late December trip also gave those who knew very little about their background a genuine chance to explore it.

“Our group, six girls, all had a common connection,” says Singer. “We were all Jewish and we were all soul searching.”

The assemblage included students from University of Oregon, University of Southern California and California State University of Northridge, and they had the run of the cavernous, rustic Kiryas Schneerson lodge at the campus of the Panikoff Center for Goodness and Kindness.

The previous week, the lodge hosted male college students eager to learn about Jewish life during Winterbreak. But the females enjoyed an advantage unusual in larger retreats: closeness. With Loschak and his wife Rochel – along with Aviva Spiegel from Chabad of Eugene, Ore. – on hand to educate and counsel, morning lessons were both informal and fluid, covering many aspects of life from influential Jewish women like Eve and Sarah to Jewish cooking.

“We would wake up in the morning, have breakfast, and play things by ear as far as what we wanted to do together. The time we spent with the Rabbi and Rebbetzins was not so much about Jewish law, but who you are as a Jewish person,” reveals Singer. “It was very empowering. We learned how we, as Jews, could make a positive impact on the world and how Jewish teachings fit into our daily college lives.”

Wrapped around the teachings were ski trips to the nearby Snow Valley Ski Resort. The women grew close, thanks to six days of card games, photo taking and snow-tubing.

“There was no problem remembering names,” continues Singer. “At one point we took snow tubes down the mountain, linking arms. If an arm was missing, you knew who it belonged to.”

winterbreak-2.jpgElizabeth Buckser, a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and current USC employee who also attended, found that the friendship between the women brought so much more to the trip. Like others, she was “soul searching,” looking for a way Judaism fits in daily life.

“I identify with being Jewish, but don’t really know what I’m doing right now,” says Buckser. “I identify myself mainly as Conservative. Right now, I’m not living with my parents and I’m in a new city. I’m trying to figure out where Judaism is going to fit for me. I wanted to try to meet more of my peers because I don’t know anyone and I’m looking for people my age so I can continue this journey.”

Spiegel, who with her husband director the Chabad House at the University of Oregon, came along to provide counsel and company for the group.

“This is the first time they ever did a ski retreat” Spiegel says of the Chabad on Campus program. “I think it was a good start. The girls loved it. It’s a beautiful retreat center on 70 acres, with couches and fireplaces everywhere. The girls were all beginners and learned how to ski, and they went snowboarding and ice-skating. So all their sports were covered!”

An on-site chef provided kosher meals for the students, while counseling sessions were offered for anyone who wanted to chat. The final evening, the women freshened up and said their goodbyes, with the intention of staying in touch beyond the six-day retreat.

“A lot of the learning happened between the girls, even on the slopes,” says Buckser. “There were so many discussions during long car rides or while sitting in our cabin late at night.

”We would talk about life and marriage,“ she explains. ”Is it important to marry Jewish? How can you marry Jewish if you don’t date Jewish? We were on vacation so it was so relaxed. We truly explored our Jewish identities with other women.”