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JLI’s First National Jewish Retreat: An Overwhelming Success!

This past Sunday concluded the JLI’s first annual National Jewish Retreat at the luxurious Copper Mountain resort situated in the scenic Colorado Rockies. Declared “five days of pure Gan Eden” by guest lecturer Rabbi Yehuda Leib Shapiro, over 200 participants, consisting of JLI students from around the world, studied and farbrenged together. Participants enjoyed five days bursting with superb Jewish learning and living with brilliant scholars, shluchim and guest presenters including a grand concert and presentation by renowned comedian Wayne Cotter.

A faculty of more than 22 world-class presenters provided over 70 lectures, seminars and workshops. Special guest presenters included the celebrated talk-show host Michael Medved, Professor Lawrence Schiffman, Rabbi Laibel Schapiro and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky. Rabbis Moshe Bryski and Yossi Jacobson dazzled the crowd with inspirational classes and lectures.

Extensive seminars were led by Rabbis Berel Bell, Shmuel Kaplan, Chaim Block, Dovid Eliezrie, Heshy Epstein, Ted Gelt, and Dr. Seth Ward, and well attended captivating classes were delivered by Rebbetzins Tirtzah Schapiro, Chana Silberstein, Rochelle Kaplan, Chavie Epstein, as well as keynote addresses by Molly Resnick and Dr. Marlene Schiffman greatly enhanced the program.

A special program for Sinai Scholars Society, consisting of university students from several US campuses, was led by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Yossi Serebransky with remarkable success.

The groundbreaking event has generated a never-ending stream of positive feedback and over 80% of the participants have expressed interest to attend next year’s retreat.

Underwritten by JLI’s primary benefactor Mr. George and Pamela Rohr and launched by JLI’s visionary patron Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, the splendid Retreat was coordinated by JLI’s gifted staff: Mendy Weg, Program Coordinator of the National Jewish Retreat who has worked tirelessly for over 6 months planning the Retreat; Yoni Katz, Project Coordinator at JLI Central and spearheaded by Rabbis Hehsy Epstein and Efraim Mintz. Far exceeding all expectations, the Retreat resulted in a unprecedented renaissance of commitment to Torah study and resolutions for Mitzvah observance by the 200 attendees.

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19 Comments

  • Yosef

    Let’s not forget Rabbi Ephraim Mints who built up JLI and runs the JLI so masterfully since its inception. You deserve a huge Yashar Koach!

    An idea long overdue. Moshiach, how about you? Even long overdue projects come to be finally…..

  • Keep up the great work!

    I heard from friends from California who attended. They were blown away by this event; they cannot stop speaking about it, and plan on bringing a large group from their community next year.

    We should all salute the organizers of this event. Long overdue, indeed.

    Keep up the great work!

  • Grow Up!

    Detroit, zug lechaim, finish your coloring book and go to sleep. Try to grow up and be a mentch. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea

  • Detroit

    Grow Up.

    i was just asking that they should also thank GEDALYA SHEMTOV- of the Shluchim office.

  • Danny

    what about Gedalyah? Reb Moshe completely funded it all along.
    Anyway, what did Gedalyah have to do with the Retreat?
    Zero!

  • detroit2

    without gedalya, there would be no shluchim office no jli no efrayim mintz. nothing. zilch.

  • detroit2

    as usual, the shemtovs start something huge and amazing which continues and expands for years and years but the more they give the more lubavs hate them

    examples:
    likutai sichos
    gan yisroel
    bais rivka
    shluchim office
    jli

  • chassid

    people should be doing peulos as a zechus from the rebbe
    not for a SELF CENTERED GLORIFICATION

  • zhmoozer

    A great Yasher Koach Mendy Weg thanks i did not even see your name but i know how much effort you put in for all of it to happen

  • KCD

    al kol ponim the KCD we would like express recognition to HaTomim Mendy Weg. we wish you lots of hatzlocho in all you do. we shall p.g. see fruits like these in the future.
    all the best

  • JLI-s Great Staff

    Mendy Weg was mentioned; see above news article by CrownHeights.Info.

    Underwritten by JLI’s primary benefactor Mr. George and Pamela Rohr and launched by JLI’s visionary patron Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, the splendid Retreat was coordinated by JLI’s gifted staff: Mendy Weg, Program Coordinator of the National Jewish Retreat who has worked tirelessly for over 6 months planning the Retreat.

  • simah

    The retreat was extremely well organized and of course remarkable! Yasher Coach to all who worked so hard. I am already rounding up friends to join me next year.

  • detroit2

    chassid wrote:
    people should be doing peulos as a zechus from the rebbe
    not for a SELF CENTERED GLORIFICATION

    i am not a shemtov. just used the name of detroit. self glorification? what r u talking about? while most lubavs were out making a buck, selfishly not doing what the rebbe wanted, berel and avreml starved and struggled for over thirty years being moiser nefesh themselves for the reebe.

    if they r succesful today it is only because hashem rewarded them, deservedly for the true mesiras nefesh and devotion to the rebbe, his vissin and his ideals