After closing out Shabbat with havdalah, seniors were given time to look through photos from their years at CESJDS and write letters to their future selves, which will be mailed to them in five years. Both aspects of this activity, led by Associate Director of Alumni Relations Maya Arber, connected to the theme of the senior Shabbaton: looking back, looking ahead.
According to High School Jewish Life Chair Robbie Shorr, this theme reflects the balance between the emotions that come with graduating high school while also looking ahead to the future.
“It is really intense to be with the same people every day, and that coming to an end is really emotional, so we want them to reflect in that sense,” Shorr said. “At the same time, there’s always this push and pull of like, ‘When do I focus on [the] now? When do I plan for the future, and is it the right time to start?’”
The senior Shabbaton was held from Nov. 14-15, and began after Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, when the students boarded buses to Capital Camps in Waynesboro, PA. While most grades have an activity before going to the camp, due to the early start of Shabbat, the seniors went straight there. Once they arrived, the students had their first session of the weekend, where they discussed the theme.
After beginning Shabbat with evening services and dinner, the seniors ended the night programming with an activity led by Jewish text teacher Paul Blank. In this activity, they discussed people whom they think have godly attributes, which was followed by more free time. Senior Josh Dori appreciated the free time that the students were given throughout the two days.
“My favorite part was just being in the bunk with all my friends, getting to hang out together and really spend a lot of meaningful time with each other outside of a school setting,” Dori said. “Just getting to talk to some people I wouldn’t necessarily talk to otherwise, but also getting to talk to the people that I like the most and spend a lot of time with.”
Saturday’s schedule included similar events to Friday, which began with praying or an alternative activity, discussions about the theme and free time. The second session was held on Saturday afternoon, and focused on the student’s reflecting on their experience at JDS as it is soon coming to a close.
They ended the day with the afternoon and evening services or a nature walk, followed by havdalah and the photo activity. Before leaving Capital Camps, the seniors enjoyed s’mores around the campfire and pizza.
“All the activities that they made for us were made so that we could look back and really realize where we are, and a lot of it was also looking ahead,” senior Liem Elgrably said. “We had a lot of opportunities to talk about things like the rest of the year and the future, but also living in the present and getting closer with kids in my grade.”
