Hundreds of Arizona Students Pack Tent for Friday Night Meal

Tripling their typical attendance for a Friday night Shabbat meal, Jewish students at the University of Arizona made history last week when they packed the Chabad House not far from campus for the organization’s first-ever “Shabbat 300” event.

Bringing together fraternities, sororities, dormitories and off-campus students, the free five-course meal drew some 300 people in a quest to raise Jewish awareness on campus. What made the program unique, said organizers, was that students largely planned the dinner themselves.

The week preceding the Oct. 23 dinner, a committee of eight student leaders sat down with Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Yossi and Naomi Winner, who have directed the Jewish student center for the past five years, to decide on who would recruit attendees, braid the challah bread, bake the kosher chicken and set the tables in the Chabad House’s outdoor tent. For the evening itself, the students served as hosts, welcoming guests and sharing Torah-inspired thoughts at their tables.

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“We didn’t want the Rabbi and Rebbetzin to have to strain themselves too much, because they already do so much on a weekly basis,” said Avi Siegel, vice president of the Chabad Student Board and a junior religious studies major. “The Shabbat was really incredible, with tons of fresh faces in the crowd. It really electrified the whole place. I’m proud of all the effort we put into it.”

On any given week, the Winners host a variety of programs, from Torah classes and Shabbat services to a kosher cooking club and Jewish women’s circle. Out of an estimated student population of 40,000, some 3,600 Jewish students attend the Tucson school. The “Shabbat 300” dinner came amidst similar events at Chabad Houses across the country, a trend begun by the Chabad House serving the University of Binghamton with a “Shabbat 1000” dinner in 1996.

“It really was huge,” sophomore Sarah Hoffman said of the Tucson dinner. “There were a lot more people than usual and it felt like we involved the whole campus.

“Shabbat really brings Jews together, because we all meet new people and widen our variety of friends,” continued the deaf studies major. “And of course, the food is totally awesome.”

Remy Davenport, a junior business management major, became involved with the Chabad House through its branch of the Sinai Scholars Society, a joint program of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and the Chabad on Campus International Foundation that allows students to explore their heritage in an academic setting. Shabbat 300 was her first time attending a Shabbat meal at the Winners.

“It was a blast,” said Davenport, who hails from Northern California. “I told the Rabbi that I will be coming Friday nights now, because I liked it so much. I really had a great time.”