By Julia Lustig
To me, Shabbat dinner has always been a time that allows me to reflect on the week with meaningful people in my life. I was somewhat nervous about what the Shabbat experience would be like in a pluralistic setting because I had never experienced Shabbat in that way prior to Nachshon. During the opening conference, we learned about the importance of feeling both comfortable and open-minded in social and academic conversations and had the opportunity to practice those skills through meaningful discussions and team-building activities. Though I felt quite comfortable with my peers in these ways, I was still unsure of how we would transition into the more traditional experiences as a group, such as Shabbat.
I think Shabbat in Herzliya was successful, though we found many things that could be improved upon, such as singing Zemirot. Because we all have not learned the same songs growing up in our differing denominational institutions, there was certainly a feeling of disparity within the group. Reflecting on the first Shabbat together, we decided to devote some time before the Jerusalem Shabbaton to learn songs from each other in order to foster a greater sense of community in a way that equally welcomes all.
Going into Shabbat in Jerusalem with a feeling of togetherness truly set the tone for the entire weekend. On Friday night, after having the opportunity to attend various types of Friday night services, Rabbi Cohen’s processing group had dinner at Rabbi Zeff’s house with his family. We all came together, ate delicious food, and shared the experiences we had at different congregations. Soon after that, we began to sing some of the tunes we had learned from each other earlier that day and even began to teach each other more songs that we hadn’t yet learned together. One, in particular, was sung in a call-and-response manner, allowing the song leader to come up with a rhyming tune about things that had happened that week. We came up with funny rhymes that kept us all laughing throughout the night and through the rest of the weekend.
Having this time with Rabbi Cohen’s processing group was so important in our comfort and trust in each other as a processing group and in our relationships with Rabbi Zeff. Although we may get more one-on-one and group time with Rabbi Cohen, it was nice to have an opportunity to get to know the Zeff family in a fun yet meaningful way.
