One of the first things you are told about when applying to de Toledo is the famed Shabbaton. And once you are a student here, it’s the four days you look forward to most. The countless amount of memories you make and pictures you take on this trip make these four short days truly one of a kind.

It all started this year with six yellow school buses and all of the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors crowding the lobby, anxiously waiting for those entrance gates to open. After a quick bus ride, we arrived at Camp Alonim. Purple shirts, purple silly string, and purple-colored powder bombarded the buses, and the fun began.

After the sea of purple, we all put on our class colors and participated in the Color Wars. While it was insanely fun and spirited, it, like the rest of the Shabbaton, was bittersweet, as everyone was aware that these were the last few memories we would make with the Class of 2017.

That same night we had a Fringe Light Show. As we walked with our grades with the little lights in our hands, we felt united – not only with our individual grades, but as an entire school. While the light show did not go exactly as planned, it ended with everyone tossing the lights, causing the sky to be lit in green, blue, white, and purple.

On Friday, it was time to gather as a community and spend Shabbat together. After Kabbalat Shabbat, we all had dinner, and then proceeded to go to our grade-level Onegs. Every junior and senior knows going into their Oneg that it will be meaningful and unique. After hours of students talking about their hopes for the future and reflecting on the past, we realized that all of the things we have heard about those Onegs are true.

Everyone woke up on Saturday with one word in mind: Havdalah. The tradition of the senior class lighting the candles of the junior class has always been viewed as the most meaningful part of the Shabbaton. As the students were told, “it is now time to say goodbye to both Shabbat and our seniors,” there was not a dry eye in sight. The current seniors turned around and lit the candles of next year’s seniors while the sophomores and freshmen watched in awe, knowing that they will be in those shoes soon.

The Shabbaton was meaningful and memorable. Over the course of these days, the community truly became united.