It was Sunday morning in Bondi, Motzai Shabbos in New York. But for a few powerful moments, the 10,000 miles between them disappeared.
One month after the tragic attack, the Bondi CYP community gathered at Chabad of Bondi for a weekend of programming running parallel to the CYP International Encounter in Crown Heights, the largest Young Jewish Professional summit in the world. The weekend culminated in a live connection as the New York crowd marked Havdala and the Bondi community joined for Sunday brunch.
It began Friday evening with First Friday, CYP Bondi’s signature Shabbat dinner. Over 100 young professionals gathered for a beautiful and energetic Kabbalat Shabbat filled with singing and dancing, followed by a meal that stretched into the early hours of the morning. It was the largest CYP event Sydney has ever seen.
On Sunday morning, the community returned for brunch, gathering just as the International Encounter in New York was marking Havdala. A live connection linked the 100 communities in real time.
For those who had planned to travel to New York but couldn’t following the tragedy, the livestream brought the Encounter to them.
“Due to the tragic events that shook our community, we weren’t able to travel to NYC to attend in person,” said participant Sam Babus. “Instead, we joined live from Sydney for the Havdala event. Different time zones, same heart, same unity. The outpouring of love and support from communities around the world was overwhelming. In moments like these, you feel just how connected Am Yisrael really is.”
Chants of “We love you Sydney!” echoed through the Brooklyn ballroom. In Bondi, the room fell silent, taking it in. There was a special feeling, participants said, knowing the whole world was watching.
In a powerful response to the Bondi tragedy, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Chairman of CYP International announced the establishment of ten new CYP Lounges for the world’s largest young Jewish professional community. The lounges will serve as spaces where young Jewish professionals can network, study, celebrate their heritage, and launch new initiatives for their communities.
“When they try to extinguish our light, our response is to increase it,” declared Rabbi Kotlarsky.
Rabbi Mendy Ulman, director of CYP Bondi and Rabbi Schlanger’s brother-in-law, addressed both crowds during the broadcast, acknowledging the weight of the past month while calling on young professionals to respond with action.
“It’s been a heavy month,” he said. “I look around this room and I see young professionals building careers, shaping futures, dreaming forward. And yet, we’re all aware that what happened in Bondi has cast a long shadow over us.”
He turned to the teaching of “Basi L’Gani,” the concept that despite the pain and distance, G-d looks at this world and says: “This is My garden.”
“A garden isn’t a wilderness,” Rabbi Ulman explained. “A wilderness grows on its own. A garden needs a gardener. G-d gave us the earth, the rain, the seeds. But the planting? That He left to us.”
He called on the young professionals in both cities to respond to tragedy not by walking away, but by tending the garden.
“Every time we choose kindness over anger, we plant a seed. Every time we check in on a friend who’s struggling, we water a tree. Every time we carve out even fifteen minutes to learn Torah, we take a piece of this world and say: I will make this beautiful. I will make this a place where G-d wants to dwell.”
“This live coverage coming from New York to Bondi and back has been immense for our community,” Rabbi Ulman said. “It has given us strength beyond words. In the past, our young community might have felt a little far away because of the physical distance. But this moment we shared is so powerful. We feel closer than ever to the international community.”
“Connecting live with Bondi was one of the most powerful moments of the weekend,” said Rabbi Nissi Lepkivker, director of CYP Encounters at Merkos 302. “CYP isn’t just a network. It’s a family. And family shows up for each other.”
This type of family CYP shlichus brings is incredible!
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