Last week, students from all across the University of Pennsylvania’s campus celebrated Jewish tradition by participating in Jewish Heritage Program’s bi-annual Shabbat for 2,000 event. Students broke organizational records by hosting over 100 individual Shabbat dinners on Penn’s campus alone.
Raquel Levitt, a sophomore double-majoring in Communication and Consumer Psychology is this semester’s Vice President of Jewish Content for JHP at Penn, tasked with executing this staple event.
“Shabbat for 2,000 is a cool way to get a lot of different people involved on campus. A lot of times, Jews are doing things together on campus, but forgetting the Jewish component, while some students are used to Shabbat dinners at home; it’s great to bring Judaism back to Penn and ultimately bring the community together to share a meal and celebrate traditions.”
JHP interns at Penn spent hours recruiting their Jewish friends to host their own dinners, explaining this semester’s amazing turnout! Raquel accounts the increase of participants to the expanded network of JHP interns.
“Last semester, we were focusing on sorority and fraternity networks. This semester, thanks to our diverse JHP intern group, we were able to reach more groups at Penn, like sports teams, clubs, and organizations outside of Greek life. Along with that, we were able to get in touch with students who had hosted dinners in the past and encouraged them to get involved and get their friends involved!”
Shabbat for 2,000 is an event held each semester at the University of Pennsylvania. JHP provides the Shabbat essentials -- candles, challah, dinner, wine for Kiddush, and a how-to booklet for those who may not have participated in Shabbat dinners before. Students take their “Shabbat packages” to any location on campus -- wherever they feel most comfortable to enjoy.
As students fill up their schedules and are preoccupied with many things, Shabbat for 2,000 is a way they get their at-home feel while in college.
Fernando Fernandez, a senior at Penn says, “Being able to make a dinner for several of my friends is very heartwarming. It gives them the feeling that they are having a home-cooked meal by their parents. I am glad to be able to share this experience with my friends!”
To support JHP programs like Shabbat for 2,000, visit www.jhp.org/donate
