In the beginning, G-d worked for 6 days, and he rested upon the 7^th. This 7^th day we regard as Shabbat; the day of rest. I believe that incorporating Shabbat into our lives here at Towson University is an integral part of Hillel, and it is my desire to make our Shabbats better, more memorable, and more fun.

Before I talk about my ideas for Shabbat, I would like to thank Nicole. She has done an amazing job this past year organizing everything for us, and still is organizing a Shabbaton for us. Without her hard work, our Shabbats would have been peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So, Nicole, Thank you.

I feel that Shabbat is an amazing gift that G-d gave us, the Jewish people. Like G-d, we work for 6 days, and we rest on the 7^th. It would be my desire as Shabbat chair to make the 7^th day memorable, entertaining, fun, and educational.

Firstly, I would want to begin some sort of dual-programming with whomever is elected to the Jewish Learning chair. Traditionally, Shabbat is a time for Jews to learn Torah. We have De’vrai Torah already, which are wonderful. However, I would like to create some sort of program, which would last about 15 minutes every other week or so, to split up into traditional Jewish learning pairs called Chevruta, and learn something special, whether it be about the Mitzvot behind Shabbat, upcoming holidays, or anything Judaically related.

Also, I would desire to strengthen our ties to the Jewish community in Baltimore via our Shabbats. I would work tirelessly with Ken, Stephanie, and Rachel Greengrass to achieve the ability to, on occasion, host Shabbat services on Saturday mornings here on campus.

I also believe that we should work very hard at some point over the course of the upcoming year to create a full Shabbaton, or Shabbat weekend, for students at other Hillels across Baltimore, or Shabbatonim geared toward students who would be interested in coming to Towson University. A warm, accepting Jewish community already exists here on Towson’s campus, and if we could show that to potential students, we could potentially have an amazing new group of FYSH in the upcoming years.

Finally, I believe that we should do more programming on Saturday afternoons. Shabbat is not only a Friday night observance, however I know all too well it can feel that way sometimes. Whether it be Torah studies, Chevruta, or just hanging out at Hillel playing board games, we should do this to create the environment of “Shabbas Kodesh”, or a Holy Shabbat Community.

When I first transferred to Towson, Hillel was all I had. I am so glad that I met all of you, and you all are truly my best friends on this campus. I want to repay all of you, and if you give me the honor of serving on your Hillel board as Shabbat chair, I will do all I can to make sure that our Shabbats here at Towson University keep improving, and that we continue making our Shabbats the best in Baltimore.