Crown Heights is set to welcome five hundred Jews from sixty-four communities and all walks of life this Friday, for the eighth consecutive Shabbat in the Heights. This year’s program will be special for many. As Jews worldwide seek ways to reconnect with their heritage, Shabbat in the Heights offers a path back home that runs through the Chabad movement’s beating heart.
The spirited Shabbos experience, rich in Jewish learning, connection, and unity, will open Friday morning with registration at JLI’s headquarters on Eastern Parkway. Before Shabbos begins, the group will enjoy a reception in 770’s courtyard, and visit the Rebbe’s shul and personal study. Later that night, they’ll enjoy authentic Shabbos meals with local Crown Heights families after candle lighting and a meaningful Kabbolas Shabbos in Oholei Torah’s ballroom.
The program comes packed with inspirational speakers, thinkers, and leaders, featuring talks and workshops with, among others, Rabbis Ari Sollish, Naftali Silberberg, Simon Jacobson, Mordechai Dinerman, Aaron Loschak, Mrs. Shaindy Jacobson, and Mrs. Molly Resnick. Highlights include Shabbos morning Chassidus study, a rapid-fire question-answer session, Shabbos afternoon farbrengens, a visit to the Rebbe’s house led by Rabbi Ronnie Fine, and encounters with leading Crown Heights personalities, like Moshe Rubashkin, Mrs. Devorah Halberstam and Yingy Bistritzky.
After a sing-along Havdala, the program’s Melave Malka will include greetings from Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky and a video presentation featuring students from Columbia University.
On Sunday morning, participants will be treated to tours of Crown Heights’ vibrant Jewish life, with routes including stops at the Rebbe’s Library, Hatzlaha, Chaverim, OK Kosher’s headquarters, the Women’s Mikvah, and a full walking tour of iconic Kingston Avenue—complete with visits to a scribe’s desk, a wig salon, and more.
Before Shabbat in the Heights’s spiritual climax, a fleet of busses will arrive—ready to ferry participants to the Rebbe’s Ohel. Before they depart, a meaningful video presentation, led by Rabbi Ari Sollish, will introduce participants to the occasion’s customs and significance. Arriving at the Ohel is a poignant moment for many. “They’ve heard about the Rebbe’s shul and the Ohel,” says Rabbi Chaim Hanoka, the Shabbaton’s chairman, “but experiencing it for themselves is a whole different ball game.”
JLI’s immersive weekend experience promises to be a transformational moment in many a Jewish journey. For previous participants like K. Berman of Prescott, Arizona, Shabbat in the Heights supercharged their connection to Chabad, and all things Judaism.
“I loved it all,” she says, “but the Rebbe’s Ohel had to be the highlight.” She adds, “I feel a much stronger connection to Chabad and Judaism, and I have new mitzvahs to add to my life.”
