From the Jersey Shore to São Paulo, Jewish Teens Unplugged for a Shabbos Together

Lucy Volfson powered off her phone Friday afternoon. She didn’t see it again until well after dark the next night.

“It gave me a lot of time to sit quietly, to reflect, to be alone with my thoughts,” said the teen from Roslyn, New York.

Lucy was one of dozens of teens at the Long Island Regional Shabbaton in late May. It was one of several CTeen regional Shabbatons this spring that brought Jewish teens from neighboring towns together close to home, from a boardwalk in New Jersey to a soccer museum in Brazil.

The season opened the weekend of May 15, with two Shabbatons running at once on opposite ends of the hemisphere.

In São Paulo, Brazil, 35 teens from two chapters gathered for “Shabbat Across Brazil,” led by CTeen Noach Adventures. Between Shabbos meals and davening, they rode bikes through Ibirapuera Park, raced the clock at an escape room, and toured the city’s top attractions.

The same weekend, teens from five chapters met in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for a Shabbaton at the shore, hosted by CTeen of Atlantic County. They traveled from across the region, including south Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and beyond.

The weekend started on the water with a tiki boat cruise and a stroll down the Atlantic City boardwalk. Over Shabbos, teens led their own Teen Talks, taking turns sharing personal stories and the lessons behind them; they were also joined by Moshe Shinar, who fought to reclaim Jerusalem’s Old City in 1967. Motzei Shabbos brought a musical havdalah on the beach, followed by a mentalist show.

“These regionals bring together teens from neighboring communities who never would have met otherwise,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302. “A teen suddenly sees they’re part of a Jewish family that stretches across the whole region, and they carry that pride back home.”

Two weeks later, further up the shore, 50 teens gathered in Long Beach, New York, for the Long Island Regional Shabbaton, hosted by Chabad of the Beaches. Throughout the weekend’s Shabbos programming, teens heard from IDF soldier and local legend Nissim Pinto and took an afternoon stroll along the boardwalk.

“This was different from other programs,” shared Hannah Janov, a teen from Long Beach, “It was a close community feeling, I got to meet fellow teens from all over Long Island, and that’s what I liked.”

Lucy had been on many Shabbatons. This was the most intimate. “I felt like I created a relationship with every person who was there,” she said. “I knew everyone’s name. I felt comfortable going up to anybody.”

Saturday night, a musical glow havdalah had teens singing and dancing into the night, followed by a raffle for those who had kept their phones off all Shabbos.

“The regionals connect teens with peers close to home, the same language and the same culture,” said Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, Director of CTeen International at Merkos 302. “Unlike the international Shabbaton, where teens meet others from across the globe, these friendships are meant to last. They often become the springboard for new Jewish programming in their own communities.”

The regionals weren’t all Shabbatons. On May 31, the Greater Florida region bused 45 teens from across the state to Busch Gardens in Tampa for a day of roller coasters, capped by a BBQ dinner before the long ride home.

With the school year winding down, many of these teens will head into CTeen’s summer programs next, from the Heritage Quest tour through Eastern Europe to the Israel Journey and CTeen Xtreme.