As I looked around at a room of 83 other cherubs on the first day of the program, I wondered how I was ever going to find anything in common with anyone. I hadn’t met anyone from my hometown, anyone with a mutual friend or anyone with a shared interest. Then I met someone on the way to dinner who told me he was Jewish.
Soon, I realized many other cherubs were Jewish too. I suggested organizing our own version of Shabbat, a day of rest celebrated every Friday through Saturday evening.
On the second Friday of the program, more than 20 Jewish cherubs crowded into a small corner of the dining hall. We sang prayers we barely knew, spoke about our time in Jewish summer camps and shared our bar and bat mitzvah experiences.
As we nibbled on Whole Foods challah and drank grape juice, we looked around the room and felt a little more at home.
We decided to step things up the next week and celebrate Shabbat in the “great room” of our dorm building. After devouring 32 bagels with cream cheese, we bonded over corny music and dancing.
Although our Shabbats were never the most religiously traditional, they gave us the chance to bond and cultivate friendships.
