Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom filled with laughter and chatter in celebration of Jewish culture Nov. 7 for the 18th annual Shabbat 500 dinner that was sponsored by several organizations on campus, including Chabad at CSU and the Residence Hall Association.

Shabbat is the weekly Jewish tradition of taking a day for rest and unity as a break from everyday life. The Chabad Jewish Student Organization aims to bring hundreds of Jewish students, community members and anyone else together to participate in this tradition.

“Shabbat 500 started out in the Chabad community, who said, ‘OK, let’s put on a Shabbat, but make it hundreds of people,’” said Lauren Maskus, president of Chabad Jewish Student Organization at CSU. “So sometimes it’s Shabbat 100, sometimes Shabbat 300. There’s a couple universities that do Shabbat 1,000. It’s more than a meal. It’s just a pause, essentially, to take time to breathe, reflect and to reconnect with others around us.”

For Jewish students who may be far from home, Shabbat 500 serves as an opportunity to participate in the tradition, especially if they aren’t able to throughout the school year.

“This event is really important because it provides something that not a lot of people have being a college student,” Maskus said. “You might be missing your family. You might be missing a warm, home-cooked meal, and Shabbat 500 provides that.”

Many students said they enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with other members of CSU’s Jewish community.

“Being able to connect with people that are from your own culture and just feeling a stronger sense of community is important,” said Molly Hyland, a CSU student.

“We see that the world moves really fast and seems to move faster every day, and so when you can just settle down, have a nice home-cooked meal with people who want to laugh with you and share stories and light, it keeps people grounded, and that’s our goal in making Shabbat 500.” – Lauren Maskus, Chabad Jewish Student Organization at CSU president

Shabbat is a chance for students and members of the Jewish community to come together and rest.

“It’s not about hiding; it’s about healing,” said Simcha Weinstein, a rabbi and guest speaker at the Shabbat 500 dinner. “It’s a reminder that strength doesn’t always mean motion. It means knowing when to pause. For me, I did not grow up having a Shabbat. For me, the Shabbat is my fortress of solitude.”

In his speech, Weinstein provided lessons of superheroes in connection with the Sabbath and Jewish tradition.

While the Shabbat 500 dinner is an excellent opportunity for Jewish students to connect with the Northern Colorado Jewish community, it was also a great opportunity for non-Jewish community members to learn about the tradition of Shabbat and enjoy Jewish cuisine.

“Events like this matter immensely for us to understand the world and understand what’s going on around us,” said Hans Christianson, a CSU student who had not previously been involved with the Jewish Community at CSU, but attended out of interest. “It’s good to expose yourself to events like these and just be open to learning new things because you never know where they’re going to take you.”

Shabbat 500 was primarily hosted by Chabad Jewish Student Center and Chabad of Northern Colorado. Co-sponsors of the event included the Associated Students of CSU, the Residence Hall Association, the LSC, the Coca-Cola Beverage Grant and Alpha Epsilon Pi — CSU’s Jewish fraternity.

“We’ve done this for nearly 20 years, so we kind of have a plan,” Maskus said. “We don’t really change much. The only thing we change is usually just how our tables are set up or what food we’re serving or what number of people we’re doing. So we have a really good working relationship with the LSC and the kitchen.”

Through organizing events like Shabbat 500, Chabad aims to create safe spaces for the Jewish community at CSU and for anyone else who may want to participate.

“We see that the world moves really fast and seems to move faster every day, and so when you can just settle down, have a nice home-cooked meal with people who want to laugh with you and share stories and light, it keeps people grounded, and that’s our goal in making Shabbat 500,” Maskus said. “We want to be able to provide that sense of community for others, regardless of if they’re Jewish or not (or) if this is their first Shabbat.”

Reach Gracie Douglas at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.