Shabbat in the Heights is not just an event; it’s a powerful expression of our shared identity as one Jewish community. It’s a unique opportunity for Jews from all walks of life to come together, draw inspiration, and celebrate our shared heritage.
The power of an authentic Shabbos experience in the heart of a vibrant, frum community like Crown Heights cannot be taken for granted. For the 500 members of over fifty communities who plan to join Shabbat in the Heights on the first weekend of May, it is sure to leave a deep impression and spur further Jewish growth.
The pride this Shabbos instills in those who participate reverberates back home. Rabbi Yitzchak Tiechtel, Director of Chabad of Nashville, TN, shared that one member of his community, inspired by the familial feeling of Crown Heights, decided to proudly display their Jewishness at work by affixing a mezuzah to the doorpost of their office.
One participant from Leeds, UK, came with his local shliach, Rabbi Eli Pink, and after experiencing an uplifting and spiritual Shabbos, bought his first pair of tefilin. Mrs. Devorah Leah Heidingsfeld said that upon returning home to Moorpark, CA, one woman ordered eight new mehudar mezuzos.
Ten years ago, Rabbi Chaim Hanoka brought his Pasadena, California, community to Crown Heights. “Even after years in Pasadena, a piece of my heart was still in Crown Heights,” states Rabbi Hanoka. Unfortunately, his homecoming meant arranging an entire Shabbaton program from scratch. “I’m not a tour guide by nature,” he says. “All the logistics . . . it got tedious.”
But this Iyar, he’s returning to Crown Heights with his community—for the ninth consecutive year—thanks to a JLI program known as Shabbat in the Heights. “They put the whole program together from soup to nuts,” he says. “As a shliach, you just sit back and enjoy the experience with your community.”
Since 2016, Shabbat in the Heights has invited shluchim worldwide to lead their communities on an elevated, authentic experience of the Chabad movement’s beating heart: Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
“It’s got a mystique,” says Rabbi Hanoka, who now serves as Shabbat in the Heights’ chairman. “They’ve heard about the Rebbe’s shul and the Ohel, but seeing it for themselves is a whole different ball game.”
The shabbaton’s program includes tours of 770, the Rebbe’s library, safrus factories, mikva’os, and more. Participants will enjoy warm Shabbos meals with local families alongside talks, lectures, and group discussions on big Jewish ideas. Before and after Shabbos, the groups will visit the Ohel and experience the simple joy of walking down Kingston Avenue and feeling proud to be Jewish.
Shabbat in the Heights is slated to run from 4 Iyar, May 2, through 6 Iyar, May 4, 2025.
For more details on registering your community or if you are a Crown Heights resident interested in hosting guests in your home, please contact JLI at [email protected].
