There was something almost surreal about the whole thing. It's still hard to believe it actually happened.
On Tuesday evening, Rabbi Dovid Glick - the Head of the Lakewood Beis Hora’ah - got on the phone and basically said, “We’re doing this. A massive Shabbat for Jews who are not accustomed to keeping or observing Shabbat. Free of charge. This weekend."
And the motivation behind it was unlike anything you normally hear.
Rabbi Glick kept speaking about what he called the “Trump call" - that this current moment in America was creating a historic opening. People were searching. Jews who normally would never think about spending a full Shabbat in a frum environment were suddenly open to something deeper, more grounded, more spiritual. He felt there was a certain energy in the air and that Klal Yisrael needed to seize the moment immediately.
But how in the world do you pull something like this off? It was already Tuesday evening. A hotel Shabbaton for hundreds of people in just a few days? Rooms, food, programming, speakers, logistics, transportation - it sounded impossible.
What started as an idea suddenly became a full operation. Project Inspire, along with Rabbi “Yari" Yaroslovitz from St. Louis, a veteran kiruv professional, immediately mobilized staff, contacts, volunteers, speakers, mentors, children's programming, and organizers from across the country. Within hours, the impossible somehow started becoming real.
What made the story even more fascinating was where the idea itself began. The previous Shabbat, Rabbi Glick was sitting around his own Shabbat table with his family, discussing what they could do for the people of Israel during this unique moment in history. Usually, conversations at his table revolved around Torah and lofty topics, discussing the Chofetz Chaim rather than Donald Trump! But this time felt different. He went around the table asking his children what they thought should be done.
By Sunday, he still didn’t know.
Then Tuesday afternoon, after Mincha, he bumped into Rabbi “Yari". Rabbi Glick asked him what he thought should be done, and Rabbi "Yari" answered definitively, “Do a Shabbaton."
That was it.
Within hours, Rabbi Glick committed himself completely. By the next day, he had garnered resources, connected with Rabbi Goldstein from the South African Shabbat Project, and Project Inspire jumped in full force to make the impossible happen. By Wednesday afternoon, Rabbi Glick, Rabbi Yari, and Project Inspire were firing on all cylinders to make it all happen.
And somehow… it did.
What normally takes months of planning was done in under 48 hours. Speakers were booked. Rooms were filled. Schedules built. Flights arranged. Teachers recruited. Music organized. Food prepared. The staff barely slept. By Friday afternoon, close to 300 people had already signed up and arrived for the experience, with even more people trying to get in at the last minute.
And the actual Shabbat? It’s hard to describe.
The atmosphere was electric from the second people walked in. You had young professionals, college students, families, people becoming frum, people just beginning to explore Judaism, and parents visiting because their children had become baalei teshuva. Everyone mixed together naturally. No judgment. No pressure. Just warmth.
The speakers were unbelievable. Rabbi Rietti, Rabbi Feldheim, Rabbi Ken and Kaila Spiro, Rabbi Shlomo and Devorah Buxbaum, Rabbi Yaakov Solomon, and the Traveling Chassidim, led by the indefatigable Rabbi Aryeh Royde, completely transformed the davening and meals with incredible ruach and music.
One special moment happened when Yaakov Levi and his wife met Rabbi Chaim Sampson, Director of Project Inspire, in the lobby. They came because their son had become frum and begged them to experience a real Shabbat. By the end of the weekend, Yaakov told Rabbi Sampson quietly that he wanted to start keeping Shabbat himself and asked if he could help him!
There were so many stories like that.
A woman from Bucks County stood up during the final sharing session and cried while describing the acceptance she felt. She said it was the first time she experienced Judaism without feeling judged. Another attendee, Dr. Jenn Simmons from Philadelphia, had actually been scheduled to be honored at the Kentucky Derby that very same Shabbat. But after hearing President Trump’s call surrounding this moment and this movement toward Shabbat, she decided she wanted to at least “try." The question was - how? This Shabbat was the answer. By the end of the weekend, she said she felt more committed than ever to growing in her observance, and her husband committed to beginning learning sessions. Ben, a boy who just became a bar mitzva will be receiving a pair of tefillin. A young boxer, who had been honored with Hagbaa and was so moved by the experience, decided to start learning with a study partner and wants to go to learn in yeshiva in the summer.
In truth, the entire event really captured what Project Inspire is all about. Rabbi Glick is not a classic kiruv rabbi. He’s the head of a bais horaah in Lakewood. But he saw an opportunity to bring Jews closer and refused to ignore it.
And honestly, the whole weekend felt miraculous. No glitches. No chaos. Just non-stop Siyata d'Sh'maya. Incredible food, beautiful classes, uplifting davening, and Jews reconnecting to other Jews through the kedusha of Shabbat.
By Motzei Shabbat, people didn’t want to leave.
And maybe the craziest part? Before Shabbat even ended, they already announced they’re planning another one - just bigger this time, b'ezras Hashem. The idea was that anyone who wants to come should bring along someone else who may have never experienced the beauty of Shabbat.
That announcement alone got a standing ovation with dancing to follow.
This Shabbat was a complete neis. Hakodosh Borch Hu was carrying everyone on eagles' wings, and everyone could sense that the Sh'chinah was with them.
Rabbi Sampson commented, "Never in my kiruv career have we helped put together a Hotel Shabbaton for hundreds of people in literally 48 hours. Kudos to Rabbi Glick for being the visionary and allowing this to happen... Hashem is waiting for us to care about Acheinu Bnei Yisroel...and it just takes one man to decide to care enough to do something, and Hashem opens the floodgates to bring his children back in miraculous ways! We should all learn from Rabbi Glick, and if we just play our role, b'ezras Hashem, the miracles will surely continue!
