“Valley Shabbat 1000,” an outdoor Shabbat dining experience organized by Chabad of North Hollywood, was held Dec. 15, drawing nearly 1,000 people.
As the war in Israel continues and American-Jewish communities grapple with rising antisemitism across the country, Chabad organized the evening to promote Jewish unity, Chabad of North Hollywood Director Rabbi Nachman Abend told the Journal.
“We wanted to do something special, to express a statement of unity for everything going on in Israel. Society is fragmented, and we wanted to bring a bunch of Jews together for Shabbat dinner.”– Rabbi Nachman Abend
“We wanted to do something special, to express a statement of unity for everything going on in Israel,” Abend said. “Society is fragmented, and we wanted to bring a bunch of Jews together for Shabbat dinner.”
Free to attend, the event was held on a closed-off section of Chandler Boulevard, near Coldwater Canyon Avenue, outside the San Fernando Valley-based Chabad.
Due to security concerns, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, along with private security, were on the scene.
The gathering began on Friday at sundown, at 5:30 p.m. The sounds of traditional Shabbat songs filled the cool air as men in dark suits, young and old, filed out of the synagogue building and headed toward tablecloth-covered tables set up outside. Families walked over from their homes nearby in Valley Village, Sherman Oaks and Valley Glen.
Individuals designated as “sections captains,” wearing yellow vests over their suits, were assigned to different areas of the dining area. They led their tables in kiddush and hamotzi.
Guests enjoyed a delicious Shabbat dinner of chicken, matzah ball soup, gefilte fish and non-dairy deserts. They mingled with neighbors and friends, and they formed new connections.
Throughout the evening, Rabbi Aharon Abend, the Chabad center’s senior rabbi, went from table to table to schmooze. Speaking to several LAPD officers, he explained why Jews eat gefilte fish.
LAPD Captain Karen Leong, who works in the department’s Van Nuys division, was seated among the attendees. The event was her very first Shabbat dinner, and from the happy look on her face as plates of cakes and cookies arrived, it didn’t disappoint.
The event marked the first time the Chabad of North Hollywood had held such a gathering.
“I think it was fantastic,” Nachman Abend said afterward. “The response has been amazing. People felt proud of their Judaism.”
