The Freshman Shabbaton

Samantha

Zoltan ’ 25

The halls were empty when the freshmen left for their Shabbaton. As the freshman boarded the coach buses, they felt excited for all the fun that was planned for them. After one hour, they arrived at a sports complex. There was a plethora of activities they could participate in, such as laser tag, basketball, hockey, soccer, and an arcade. According to Joshua Zoltan ʼ26 the highlight was getting to play goalie in a friendly soccer match with his friends. They then boarded the bus again to head to the hotel.

About an hour later, they arrived at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel and were given their room assignments. The connected rooms allowed the freshman to not only bond with their friends but to meet new classmates.

After Shabbat dinner, the freshman split up for their first breakout session which outlined the meaning of friendship. Haim Heilborn Nigri ʼ26 had the privilege of learning with Mr. Deutsch and Rabbi Manu. He stated that he felt that the discussion impacted him and the way he perceives his personal friendships. The next morning, everyone woke up for a beautiful davening, ate breakfast, and then got time to hang out with their friends. Nigri ’26 explained that he grew closer to his friends: “this was an informal environment that was very different from school that allowed everyone to have fun.”

The freshman then ate lunch and had second breakout session. This time, they got to ask the faculty about their experiences with friendships. This was a great way for the students to become closer with their teachers on a personal level. The biggest takeaway from the group discussion was that teachers are not just educators inside the classroom. They are also mentors whom students should feel comfortable going to for help, both inside and outside of the school building. After Mincha, Ms. Plotnik took a large group of students out of the hotel to the boardwalk. These students had the pleasure of feeling the New Jersey ocean, running around, and ultimately having fun together. According to Nigri ’26, this was his favorite part of the entire Shabbaton.

After Shabbat concluded with Havdallah, the faculty prepared a dance party for everyone with music and different colored lights. Andrew Weiss ʼ26 explained that his favorite and most fun part of the part was playing limbo using a jump rope as a limbo stick. The students then jumped around with the jump rope and danced for a while.

When the dancing ended, the freshman and faculty packed their bags and boarded the bus to head to a bowling alley. When asked to describe the Shabbaton in one word Zoltan ʼ26 and Lance Vayner ʼ26 both used the word “fun” because a great time to them was one spent with their friends. offices to let them know

During COVID, students enjoyed their hoodies. Whether on zoom for class or in-person, Ramaz students sported their cozy hoodies with pride. Now that normalcy has finally resumed, a more formal dress code is in place. Not only are hoodies banned, but girls will be required to wear “Ramaz skirts,” which will be available for purchase after the Chagim. These changes appear to be coming fast and furious.

Many students seem agitated by this new dress code restriction. “Personally, I don’t like this new rule. Half my closet is filled with sweatshirts that I can’t even wear to school, so I feel like I have to shop for a whole new wardrobe,” remarks Leila Sakhai ’24. It is going to take a while for the student body to adjust to these new rules in the post COVID era. There have been a number of suspensions for students who have not followed the no hoodie rule. This in school suspension does not taint students’ permanent records.

Some nights we were there till 1 in the morning. Whenever the Senate was in session, whenever there were senators in the building, we had to be there.

LB: What were your relationships with peers like? Did you see a big difference between yourself and your peers (you go to a Jewish school, live in NYC, etc.)?

RA: It was really interesting to me to be with kids from all over the country. My roomates were from Alaska, Wisconsin, and California. Everything was very, very different. The way they live, the way they think… Their perspective—it’s very different than mine.