Posted by Ariel S

Program Host	Chapter
Host Region and Chapter	Cotton States GERT WEINSTEIN BBG
Program Type	Judaic Prayer/Services Sisterhood Social Spirituality
Time Required	2-5 hours
Target Population(s)	Girls (BBG)
Folds Targeted	Jewish Heritage Sisterhood
People Participating	10-30
Related Website	www.chabadknoxville.org

Program Summary:

Gert Weinstein BBG planned a BBG Shabbat service to promote education about different types of Judaism and foster sisterhood.

Full Description:

While planning this year’s BBG Shabbat, Gert Weinstein BBG wanted to expose its members to different types of Judaism and how they worship. Because many girls were already friendly with the family that runs the Chabad House of Knoxville, we thought it would be a great opportunity to show the other members what it was like to be Chasidic in a community as small as Knoxville. We talked to the woman in charge of the Chabad House, and she said that she would be delighted to celebrate BBG Shabbat with us. From here, the process of planning the event began.

-Where to start?
The minute we found out where BBG Shabbat was going to be, we made a rough outline of the night’s activities. There would be a short services, Shabbat dinner (of course), and then some kind of sisterhood activity. The woman at the Chabad House was enormously helpful, giving us countless options for activities we might enjoy, because many groups come to experience Shabbat with them.

-What would the service consist of?
Our chapter was extremely lucky to have this Chabad community to work with, because they are very welcoming to changes from their regular service to any special BBG songs we had, or songs that all the girls would know. We did candle lighting, and we basically followed their lead with the prayers, letting them show us their traditional Friday night service. It consisted mostly of standard Shabbat songs, like Shalom Aleichem and L’cha Dodi.

-What’s for dinner?
The Chabad House took care making dinner for us, because most of the work had to be done on Thursday night, a time when few BBGs could come to help.

-What activities did we use for during and after dinner?
During dinner, we played an incredibly fun Jewish version of Taboo, where they switched out some of the cards and traded them with Judaism-themed cards. After dinner, we played “The Jelly Bean Game.” It consisted of each person getting some jelly beans (in our case, plastic pieces from a board game) and passing around cups with different scenarios in them, putting in a different color piece depending on whether we agreed, disagreed, or were neutral about the scenario. Then when everyone had a turn with each cup, we discussed each of the topics and our answers to them.

-How to work in the theme?
This year’s BBG Shabbat theme, “Yachad Lev El Lev: Together, Heart to Heart,” was not difficult to work into the program. We talked about it after dinner, relating it to a line from the week’s parshat about Abraham and Isaac walking up the mountain together. We also had a discussion with the two women who run the Chabad House, about what it is like to be Chasidic Jews in a small community like Knoxville.

-What to do the day of the program?
Girls started arriving around 5, and we were set to start around 5:30. We helped them finish preparing some parts of the meal, set the table, and clean the house for Shabbat. We needed a lot of people there to help with last-minute things, because while there were no major projects, there were lots of small tasks that needed to be done. When sundown arrived, we lit candles, sang some songs (just women), then sat down to dinner. Then we proceeded to do our after-dinner activities.

-What to do after the program?
At the end of our program, we helped the Chabad family clean up their house and get everything back into order.

-Was the program a success?
YES!! Everyone enjoyed it, a ton of people came, and Weinstein became stronger as a chapter by learning how different types of Jews worship and discussing the limits and benefits of living in such a small community.

Submitter's Suggestions:

When planning a program that reaches outside the BBYO community, make sure you have a specific outline of what you plan for the evening. The last thing you want is to be sitting there awkwardly with nothing to do!

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