Chabad Young Professionals’ Summer Soirée: An annual event to remember

Chabad Young Professionals’ Summer Soirée has become a mid-season tradition for many young Jewish adults in Pittsburgh.

“In the very early days of CYP, probably six years ago, one of the young adults sitting around our table on Shabbos mentioned that he attended this event in a different city,” recalled Rabbi Henoch Rosenfeld, CYP’s co-founder. “It was an end-of-summer event, and everyone came together to celebrate the Jewish community.”

Old friends caught up and new relationships were formed as people came to the community and met one another.

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“It was really a celebration of Jewish life for no other reason than being Jewish,” Rosenfeld said.

The concept fit well into CYP’s core mission of connecting young adults who are no longer part of the Jewish university community, but didn’t yet fit into institutional, organized Jewish life, Rosenfeld said. While Jews find various ways to engage with the elements of Jewish life that appeal to them — holiday events, Shabbat dinners or services — an event where Jews are simply together to socialize appeals to everyone.

From that simple idea, CYP’s Summer Soirée was born.

“We had our first Summer Soirée on a rooftop in Lawrenceville in 2021,” Rosenfeld said. That event attracted 60 people. This year, almost 200 young Jews attended the Summer Soirée.

The location, Over Eden’s rooftop bar in Lawrenceville, was no coincidence. Rosenfeld said it was important to be where young people congregate.

And, he said, it’s meaningful to bring a large Jewish event to a neighborhood not typically associated with Jewish communal life.

“Being in central Lawrenceville was a statement that you can be Jewish, and you can be proud and open to who you are no matter what Pittsburgh neighborhood you’re in,” he said.

The location was just one part of the equation. Kosher catering was provided by Creative Kosher; drinks were supervised by Rosenfeld to ensure they met kashrut requirements.

The annual celebration has become an eagerly anticipated event. Several attendees come in from far-flung locations like Baltimore and California.

For many local young adults, the soirée has become not only an evening not to miss, but one they want to support.

Stanton Heights resident Eli LaBelle, 35, said a friend first introduced him to Rosenfeld and CYP.

Over the years, he’s attended various events and Shabbat dinners. The environment that Rosenfeld and the organization have fostered is very engaging, he said.

“It’s very accessible. No one feels judged. It doesn’t feel like a pocketed community within the Jewish community. It’s so open. I keep wanting to go back. I’ve been going to the Summer Soirée since it started.”

LaBelle’s support of CYP and the Summer Soirée is more than simply vocal. He’s become a sponsor of the event.

“I really believe in the mission and what he’s doing and how he pulls new people in,” LaBelle said. “Anything I’m able to do to help, I’m happy to do that. He’s been a good friend to me and my friends and I want to make sure other people have that opportunity.”

Host committee member Leah Berman-Kress, 26, said that after college a lot of her friends moved away from Pittsburgh.

“I was not alone — I’m from the city, I’m from here, I had people — but I was interested in meeting people my own age, definitely more Jewish people. They [CYP] filled that hole,” she said.

The Summer Soirée is something she looks forward to each year.

“I always meet really nice new people and it’s great to see them again at this big event because it can be intimidating to be at an event with 150 people and you don’t know anyone,” Berman-Kress said.

She was asked to be a part of the host committee by Rosenfeld’s wife, Sarah Rosenfeld, after attending various CYP programs, including Shabbat dinners the first Friday of each month.

“I was happy to do it,” Berman-Kress said. “They really do the heavy lifting, but I was happy to help where I could and do the fun stuff. They’re really wonderful.”

This year’s Summer Soirée was the first CYP event 24-year-old Molly Goss attended.

“It was a blast,” she said. “I didn’t want the night to end.”

Goss lives outside of Monroeville, where, she said, there “aren’t many people my age.” That fact sometimes left her feeling not quite isolated, but “independent.”

CYP has helped ease that feeling.

“The food was great. The people were great. The drinks were great,” she said. “The vibe was a lot of fun. I was very shy at first and was bouncing back and forth about whether I should go. I’m so glad I went. I feel like a lot of young people might feel the same way, intimidated by the social aspect, but it was a perfect evening.”

Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, executive director of Chabad of Western Pennsylvania

and rabbi of the Lubavitch Center of Pittsburgh, called CYP “one of the most important and exciting developments in Jewish life today.”

The organization, he said, fills a unique and often overlooked space, reaching young adults “at a formative stage, helping them build Jewish identity, friendships and community from the ground up.”

“The fact that the Summer Soirée draws such a strong and diverse crowd speaks volumes,” he said. “It’s not just about numbers, it’s about what those numbers represent: young Jews choosing to show up, connect, and celebrate their heritage in a meaningful and joyful way. That’s exactly the kind of Jewish future Chabad of Western PA is proud to foster in all of our centers.”

For Henoch Rosenfeld, the reason the Summer Soirée is so successful is simple.

“No matter what world we’re going to live in, there will always be a need for people to connect with each other,” he said. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.