Juniors Attend Grade Shabbaton

by Shir Levenson, SSLI '26

This past weekend, the juniors had their grade Shabbaton, which is when everyone in the grade stays at a hotel for the weekend for a special Shabbat experience filled with bonding with friends and fun activities.

The juniors had a great time at the Shabbaton. (E. DuBow)

They began the weekend by getting settled into their rooms and soon began Kabbalat Shabbat, the service filled with singing and spirit as Shabbat comes in. The service was followed by dinner and two activities. The first was a murder mystery game that was planned by grade representatives Sasha Chernoff and Carly Smith.

Smith was happy to report that the murder mystery “went well and everyone had a fun time. The group did win and found the murderer at the end.” Elinor Schlissel said that the murder mystery was her favorite part of the weekend because “everyone got dressed up like we were going to a ball and spoke in British accents to fit the theme. It was very fun, and everyone got really into their characters.”

The junior girls enjoyed getting into costumes for the murder mystery. (A. Pravato) 

Following the game, students were paired up and participated in Didactic Encounters where they got to know each other on a deeper level by asking meaningful and thoughtful questions.

On Shabbat morning, students led Shacharit, Torah, and Musaf services, with different people leading different parts. Smith noted that “everyone did something.” Smith and Chernoff also planned a Sicha, a conversation, where students learned about the week's Parsha and how it connects to their lives. Smith shared, “The Sicha that we made was about examples of friendship in the Bible and how all of these Biblical figures have such close friendships while enduring so many hardships…we had nice conversations about friendship and what it means to everyone.”

The day proceeded with lunch and free time. The juniors then brought Shabbat to a close with Havdalah. Afterwards, they went out to play arcade and laser tag games. Schlissel shared, “When we came back, we had an ice cream party and a bonding activity.”

Everyone had so much fun playing laser tag. (S. Sokol)

During the free time and through each activity, students were able to relax and hang out together outside of the typical school environment. Talia Herbst elaborated that “It was a great opportunity to have fun and hang out with my grade outside of school in a stress-free zone … it was nice to just all be together.”

Director of Athletics Josh Jurysta, a chaperone at the Shabbaton, explained that the weekend “was a really great bonding experience for all,” and it was great to be with everyone for Shabbat.

This past weekend's Shabbaton was a great experience all around. Schlissel concluded, “This definitely gave us more memories to look back on in our remaining years together.”

Shir Levenson is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2022. Shir is currently a sophomore at Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: slevenson26@schechterli.org