NYHS students, staff, and faculty sing along with the musical havdalah at the end of Shabbat, grateful for the opportunity to bond and strengthen their relationships with one another outside of the classroom. Students were happy to be in a setting where it felt like a family, everyone united. 

After eight years of not having off-campus Shabbatons, NYHS finally had the opportunity to host a Shabbaton that wasn’t at school. Over the weekend of February 24, the NYHS student body and faculty members headed to Snoqualmie for a weekend of fun in the snow and relaxation. 

The students arrived at Summit Snoqualmie Inn, where they bundled up for snow tubing. “I really enjoyed the snow tubing, and I loved that we all came together, and had fun together,” said junior Sephi Alhadeff. 

The evening began with a school-wide Kabbalat Shabbat service. “The davening committee did an amazing job of making sure everything was taken care of beforehand,” said sophomore Ruben Owen, a member of the davening committee. “We went in and everyone knew their parts for the most part, and it went smoothly.” 

Following davening, during dinner, students and faculty members gave divrei Torah (a lesson in Torah), and the meal concluded with an oneg, a shiur, and a student-led game. 

The next day, following Shacharit and lunch, students got to hang out with friends, play games and go on snowy hikes with Mr. Andy Kaplan. 

Shabbat ended with a beautiful musical havdalah led by sophomore Noam Rosenfeld, accompanied by Kaplan on the guitar. “It felt really nice to be celebrating the end of Shabbat and doing Havdalah with the whole school, and I felt very connected to my peers and friends,” said junior Rose Clayman. “It was very beautiful for us all to be singing together as a community.” 

For several years prior to Covid-19, NYHS only hosted on-campus Shabbatons.

NYHS would often host Shabbatons at Camp Solomon Schechter grounds. However, Rabbi Tzuri Hason, NYHS Director of Activities and the man behind the Shabbaton, wanted it to take place somewhere where they could take advantage of the cold weather. Hason added that he wanted it to be somewhere special with genuine dining areas and bedrooms where students had the chance to spend Shabbat together. “It made everyone feel closer to one another, making school both academic and enjoyable,” said Clayman.

The NYHS Shabbaton could not have happened without the help of the different committees that helped to plan and execute food preparation and set-up, religious planning, scheduling, and more. “I thought it was amazing, we couldn’t have done it without especially Rabbi Hason; he really planned all the big-picture logistics,” said Rabbi Rothstein. Rothstein also thanks Mrs. Hason, teachers, staff and students who formed the planning committees and prepared food and activities. 

“We got to know each other a little better,” said Owen, “especially since we don’t always have quality time to spend with each other outside of school.”