Released Time Winter Camp Shabbaton

RHINEBECK, NY [CHI] — Last weekend a group of select Released Time students from Queens and Staten Island, NY experienced their first Orthodox Shabbos ever. It was a weekend they will remember their entire life.

This group of Public School students spent their Shabbos in Dutchess County. It was a spirited and fun filled weekend with song, speeches and excitement.

For some, Shabbos is a given, for others – like these young students it is a novelty. Top that off with a Shabbat in the heart of the Hudson Valley and we have one amazing Shabbat experience.

Nestled in the heart of the Hudson Valley lies NCFJE (Chabad) of Rhinebeck, NY, under the umbrella organization of the National Committee for the Furtherance of Education, boasting a beautiful Jewish Center. The children celebrated Shabbat together as one big happy family.

It all began early Friday morning when the students anxiously packed into the vehicles that were to take them upstate, all in the midst of a nor’easter. The first stop was historical

Middletown, NY where the students enjoyed paintball shooting in more than 6“ of snow and rising.

With more than 6” of snow and rising the staff weren’t sure they could make it upstate. Cars were entrenched all along the medians of the 17W the 84E and the 87N, and everyone prayed hard that G-d should get us to our destination to be able keep Shabbos the way we planned.

Arriving in Rhinebeck, NY only minutes to Shabbos the boys faces began to light up with excitement pondering what it is exactly they are about to experience. It wasn’t long before all the boys got dressed in their very best in honor of this very special Shabbos.

The Kabbalat Shabbat Tefillah was inspiring, teachers and students united in one voice to pray to the Almighty, welcome in the Shabbat Queen and the accompanying angel of Shabbat – all atop the pristine Hudson Valley where the stars shine bright.

As one student put it so eloquently, “Rabbi, this is like the olden days!” or as David put it, “I always wanted to see what it was like to keep a full Shabbat – I always wondered what it felt like.”

“No TV, No Computers, No Telephone!”

Benjamin said: “Rabbi I already told my mom I’m shutting off my phone and I can’t talk to her until Saturday night”, a new meaning to sporadic reception. Truly a Shabbaton! An island in Time to experience something beyond time – Shabbat! An experience many of these boys have had yet to come by.

From Kabbalat Shabbat to Kiddush. singing and dancing and stories. A beautiful delicious 4 course meal – satisfying both stomach and soul – was prepared by Rebbetzin Tzivie Hecht, Rebbetzin of the congregation.

Rabbi Hanoch Hecht, Rabbi of Chabad of Dutchess County, said “It was a privilege to host a Shabbaton for children from non-observant homes which allowed them to experience a Shabbat in a traditional way.”