Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills drew more 1,000 people for a Shabbat of global proportions on Oct. 24 and 25, as it participated in The Shabbos Project, a worldwide movement initiated last year in South Africa.
Locally, Friday night’s celebration was still going strong into the early hours of the morning, when Nessah had to close its facilities and cut the party short. Activities resumed later on Saturday.
“We had to kick everybody out at 2 a.m.,” said Josh Golcheh, president of Nessah’s event committee, who organized the sold-out event, one of more than 1,000 that took place across the globe. Tickets ranged from $26 for both days to $101 for VIP tickets.
Attendees flooded in from surrounding areas, including Beverly Hills, Pico-Robertson, Beverlywood and Westwood, and they ranged in level of observance from secular to Orthodox. The days included Shabbat meals, lectures, music and dancing.
Debbie Yeroshalmi, who helped Golcheh organize the event at the Iranian synagogue, reflected simply on what she saw: “I was in awe.”
More than 460 cities in 64 countries participated in The Shabbos Project over the weekend when, from sundown to sundown, Jews around the world united to observe the Sabbath. Although Shabbos Project organizers do not have a final count, they guess that no fewer than 1 million people participated overall.
Even musician Paula Abdul joined in. In a YouTube video uploaded by The Shabbos Project, Abdul explained, “I first heard about The Shabbos Project from the chief rabbi of South Africa, Rabbi Warren Goldstein. He contacted me personally and invited me to join this phenomenal project. And when the chief rabbi calls … what? Like I’m going to turn him down?”
Last year, Goldstein came up with the idea that all of South Africa’s Jews would unite and collectively observe one Sabbath together, whether they were observant or not. As a result, 20,000 Jewish South Africans kept Shabbat. It was so successful that this year his project went global.
As an executive board member of Aish LA, an organization that works to get Jewish people involved on their own terms, Golcheh was approached by The Shabbos Project to organize an event in Los Angeles. Eventually, he rounded up eight co-sponsors, which included the young professionals program MyAish LA, Yachad Kollel and Outreach Center, GoSephardic, Hillel at UCLA, Haichal Moshe, Young Adults Living Life According to Hashem and Jewish Unity Network.
Overall, the event cost approximately $50,000 and was funded by The Shabbos Project, Nessah and event co-sponsors, according to Gocheh.
In order to prep for the two-day Shabbat extravaganza, hundreds of women gathered on Oct. 23 for the Great Big Challah Bake at Yeshiva Aharon Yaakov Ohr Eliyahu on South Detroit Street. The Shabbos Project also hosted challah bakes in Irvine and Valley Village, according to the website TheShabbosProject.org.
Then, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nessah’s front doors opened for check-in, followed by services, candle lighting, shmoozing and dinner. Inside, the subtle decor was accented with white tablecloths paired with white lanterns. Catered food included platters of rice, meats and stews. Alcohol was in abundance, and by the end of dinner, Yeroshalmi said, people were dancing on tabletops.
“Everyone was outside, people were sitting with random people, getting to know each other. Honestly, it was really beautiful,” Yeroshalmi said.
The keynote speaker, Rabbi Chaim Levy, director at GoSephardic, a nonprofit for Sephardic youths ages 18 to 36, flew in from Jerusalem and spoke both Friday and Saturday. Saturday began at 9 a.m. with morning services and, followed by another day of festivities, was book-ended with a Havdalah service at 7 p.m.
“This was truly one of the most amazing Shabbats of my life,” Gocheh kvelled.
