More Than 1,000 Harvard Affiliates Gather to Celebrate Jewish Life at Shabbat 1000

Updated September 16, 2024, at 11:32 a.m.

Candles, food, and prayers filled the Science Center Plaza on Friday evening as Jewish and non-Jewish affiliates gathered for Shabbat 1000.

Harvard’s largest annual celebration of Shabbat — a weekly day of rest in Judaism — was hosted by Harvard Chabad and Harvard Hillel, the University’s two biggest Jewish organizations.

In addition to a large Jewish crowd, non-Jewish affiliates attended Shabbat 1000 in great numbers. Both Chabad and Hillel had spent the weeks leading up to the event promoting the celebration around campus.

“I was tabling outside of the Science Center for the whole week, and only got love from all the people,” said Rabbi Berel Feldman, college campus rabbi of Harvard Chabad. Along with a large banner announcing Shabbat 1000, event organizers were also handing out free shot glasses titled “Give Shabbat a Shot” to promote the celebration.

Kathryn A. Harper ’27, a non-Jewish student who attended the event, said she has “a bunch of friends who are part of the Jewish community” and enjoyed “speaking to people, learning more about their religion, their culture, just meeting new faces.”

Rabbi Getzel Davis, Campus Rabbi for Harvard Hillel, welcomed all attendees and emphasized the message of Jewish unity during his speech at the event.

“We are all different. We have different faces and different faiths,” he said. “We have different denominations, different beliefs, different communities, different genders, different physical forms, and yet somehow giving thanks for our differentness is the blessing of unity.”

Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana, and College Dean of Students Thomas Dunne were also among the attendees.

During his brief speech, Garber expanded on his previous remarks at Morning Prayers, discussing a passage from the Talmud, a Jewish religious and legal text. He thanked the organizers from Chabad and Hillel, saying he was “very proud to be part of this community” and “proud to serve as the president.”

Last year, Shabbat 1000 fell on the week after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The event was marked by the mourning of the approximately 1,200 people — most of them civilians — who were killed.

While this year’s event focused less on the ongoing war in Gaza, the programming still acknowledged the conflict. A table with photos and yellow ribbons also called attention to the 101 hostages that Israel officially reports as still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

The significant Harvard University Police presence at the event — including with a mobile command center set up across the plaza — also served as a reminder of mounting concerns about antisemitism on campus among Jewish affiliates since Oct. 7.

“All the events we host on campus are coordinated with HUPD to ensure the safety of all,” Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, founder and president of Harvard Chabad, wrote in an emailed statement to The Crimson.

During his speech, Zarchi reminded attendees of the Israeli victims and hostages.

“We are thriving. Indeed, that is something to celebrate. It’s, of course, not without enormous pain for the plight of the hostages and all the children and people of Israel who continue to find themselves under a genocidal attack of multiple nations and the terrorist groups on its borders,” he said.

“As we approach the one year mark since the horrific day of October 7, we cannot allow ourselves to grow indifferent,” said Doron Ben Haim ’27, who delivered remarks at the event.

Ben Haim, an Israeli international student, said following Oct. 7, he felt “lost” and “questioned [his] place here in the States and Harvard.”

“But then something extraordinarily happened. I witnessed the strength of our community, the shared understanding that this tragedy is not just Israel’s burden,” he said.

Despite the somber reminders of the ongoing turmoil, attendees were largely joyful during the Shabbat celebration, and the speakers reminded attendees about the importance of taking a break from their busy lives to be together.

After the speeches, two students from Chabad and Hillel lit candles and recited blessings before sundown. Then, technology — including the microphone — was turned off, and faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates talked over dinner.

“I think that’s really one of the beauties of this event, is that you’re able to sit down alongside peers — some who I might not have met before, and some who I have met before — but just learn more about them, and especially here in this kind of technology-free zone,” said Michael Oved ’25, a Jewish student and the vice president of Chabad’s student board.

“Despite everything,” Ben Haim said in his speech, “life is our victory.”

—Staff writer Rachael A. Dziaba can be reached at rachael.dziaba@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @rachaeldziaba.

—Staff writer Aisatu J. Nakoulima can be reached at aisatu.nakoulima@thecrimson.com.