Midreshet Shalhevet High School takes in the world at Shabbaton

Midreshet Shalhevet’s event-of the-year took place last Shabbat Parashat Noach at Camp Seneca Lake. Students, alumni and faculty, joined together for the annual Shabbaton.

Shabbaton kicked off with an event that allowed the whole school to “travel” to eight different countries, then becoming immersed in this year’s theme of “Around the World in 180 Days.”

Before dinner, Menahelet Esther Eisenman welcomed everyone with a heartfelt, inspirational d’var Torah. Junior Eliana Hirsch gave a dvar Torah during dinner, followed by learning sessions with topics including; “Going Against the Tide,” “What Makes Judaism So Special,” “Around the World [to Come]: How to Get In or Out of the World to Come,” and “Ticket for One: Leaving the Rest of the World Behind.”

At the open forum, the panel of Eisenman, Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss, Rabbi Ariel Rosensweig, Shira Glas, and Hindy Feder answered Torah-based questions. Rabbi Shalom Glas even lent his opinion on some of the questions. Shabbat morning began with a beautiful Rosh Chodesh davening and d’var Torah from Rabbi Elie Feder.

Following an outdoor kiddush, each grade took part in another learning session that focused on such topics as “Was Destroying the World Really Necessary,” “Shabbos Around the World,” “People Around the World,” and “Where you land; navigating the world after graduation.”

Afterwards there was lunch and a dvar Torah from senior Sarah Austin. As Shabbat came to a close, everyone joined together for dinner. After a dvar Torah from senior Hayley Tanzman, which led into an enjoyable gathering, we were fortunate to hear a beautiful Havdalah rendition by Moshe Seewald and Robert Zeitz.

Melaveh malkah at the Shabbaton is probably one of the most exciting events on the school calendar. The spirit carried over from Shabbat, as everyone made their way to the gym and started the festivities with a G.O. activity that went wrong, turning into an enthusiastic silly string war.

After the games, the students changed into costumes from countries around the world such as Greek, Mexican, French, and Scottish. The entire weekend was filled with fun and joy among all the girls.