Pittsburghers join immersive Jewish weekend at Chabad Young Professionals Summit
About 700 Gen Zers and millennials from 30 countries took part in the event
Four Pittsburghers were among hundreds of young Jewish adults from around the globe who gathered in Brooklyn, New York, to talk about navigating challenges ranging from dating and relationships to rising antisemitism.
Ben Koby, Ayala Rosenthal, Rachel Level and Julia Schwartz represented Pittsburgh at the Chabad Young Professionals International Jewish Leadership Summit Jan. 17 through 19, which included expert workshops, think tank sessions and networking opportunities.
About 700 Gen Zers and millennials from 30 countries took part in the event, including secular as well as religious Jews. Many were graduate students or newly-minted graduates embarking on careers.
“There’s an emerging demographic of young Jews who are waiting longer to get married, or who are moving to new cities to begin a job,” said Rabbi Avi Winner, a spokesman for CYP. “As they make big choices about their future, our focus at CYP is to provide them with a sense of community and a system of peer support.”
The weekend was designed to provide an immersive Jewish experience, which appealed to Koby, a PhD student in the chemistry program at Carnegie Mellon University, and co-president of the Jewish Graduate Student Association at CMU.
“I didn’t know what to expect but figured it would be interesting,” said Koby, 28, who grew up in a Conservative home in Louisville, Kentucky. “I feel very Jewish — very involved — and I thought maybe it would be spiritually powerful for me.”
The conference was based in Crown Heights, with Hasidic families opening their homes to participants, some of whom had never kept Shabbat.
Although Koby had “hung around the campus Chabad group” as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, he said, “dipping my toe into the community in Crown Heights was a new and very cool experience.”
“It was very reflective,” said Koby. “I could write a letter and ask for blessings and guidance.”
The conference’s keynote speaker was Jim Kapenstein, a senior vice president at The Walt Disney Co., who talked about his ability to balance Jewish values and traditions with career success.
It was inspiring for young observant professionals to hear, said Shosh Hoexter, who attended the conference as director of JGrads Pittsburgh, an organization serving Jewish students at Pitt, Chatham, Duquesne and other area universities.
Hoexter chose the Pittsburgh delegation, whose attendance was subsidized by CYP.
“(Kapenstein) is a proud committed Jew who talked about being offered millions to stay and close a deal on Shabbat, and did not take it,” Hoexter, 45, recalled. “He talked about how one of the ways he makes it work is by having really great people working for him, who can take his place until the Sabbath is over and he can step back in.”
Rosenthal, 23, and a student at Pitt’s graduate school of social work, attended the conference primarily to meet other young professionals who share her values.
“I was really looking for community,” she said. “It’s kind of lonely to be in the world right now and connecting with people who you know have your back — and who know you have theirs — is a really cool experience.”
Rosenthal, who grew up in the Chabad movement, said that the conference was geared toward less observant Jews, and seeing them experience the Hassidic lifestyle was “reinspiring.”
One of the weekend’s key activities was a speed dating event that enabled conference-goers to explore meeting a potential partner.
“A big impetus for community building is to have young Jews meet each other and develop relationships,” said Winner, 28. “’Met at Chabad’ is all about helping people settle down with someone who shares their values. It’s better than dating apps or walking into a bar.”
Even for those not looking for dates, there were opportunities throughout the weekend to make new friends or reconnect with old ones, Rosenthal said, noting that one of the conference highlights was “gathering in a big room for a Shabbat meal, which was very bonding.”
“In relation to the climate of the world and antisemitism — and anti-Zionism often coinciding with antisemitism — there’s something about being in a space where you don’t have to wonder if it’s safe to be Jewish or a topic is too touchy to bring up,” she said. “It’s nice to be with people I can be myself around.”
The conference concluded with participants encouraged to further embrace their Jewishness, and carry the experiences of the weekend into their everyday lives, Winner said.
“At the closing ceremony a lot of them made commitments to light Shabbat candles, volunteer, perform mitzvahs or launch events back home.”
“Being a young Jew today can feel isolating, weekends like these enable them to see how they are something bigger,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky of Chabad World Headquarters. “We hope to empower the young professionals to realize they can lead and make an impact within their workplaces, communities, and circles of friends, creating positive change wherever they are.” PJC
Deborah Weisberg is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.
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