Shabbaton-Jewish Learning Seminar weekend

Last weekend we attended a Jewish learning seminar weekend organized by this organization called Arachim, who tries to renew authentic Jewish values and is involved with outreach programs. We thought would be a great opportunity to meet some fellow Dutch Jews and learn some interesting things. We heard from two great scholars Rabbi Yehudah Silver and Rabbi Akiva Tatz. Rabbi Tatz is an expert on Jewish ethics. The speeches were very interesting and we learned some new things. We also got to eat well as the catering was amazing and there was food galore. What was also great about the weekend is we made new friends. Most of the people came from Amstelveen, which is a town right outside Amsterdam, where most Jews live. We met a couple our age, the girl is British and the guy Dutch and I know we will spend time with them while we are here. We also met a rabbi originally from the states, who was so nice and said we can be in touch with him if we need anything and told us after the holidays he will have us over for shabbos. The whole weekend was in English, so if you didn’t know better you could think you were somewhere in the states. It was an amazing weekend overall. One story from the weekend is as follows: After hearing Rabbi Silver speak, we realized he was American, maybe even a New Yorker. So I decided to go up to him and ask if he was from New York and to say I was a fellow American. He said he wasn’t from New York, but his son lives in Cedarhurst, so he knows my hometown. He was like wow this must be an interesting experience to come from Long Island to the Netherlands. I was like yes and we actually just moved from Teaneck here and he said wow must be a real adjustment, I wish you all the best. It is always fun when we meet people here who know our hometowns and Teaneck. It is less than you may think.