A review posted after our last Shabbaton on July 4th weekend By Howard Rockman July 6, 2014 · Edited I had ( the pleasure) of being in attendance on the Shabbaton this weekend sponsored by Meir Eichler and JSTF....Ive never gone on a singles Shabaton sponsored by them, ( and I found out this was the first Shabbaton they ever made, in their young history)nor, have I ever been in attendance of any of their singles dances/parties in the past. I went on this weekend, with an open mind, convinced that t best, it would be a good thing to get out and about, on the 4th Of July weekend. Truthfully ,I had very little expectations, whatsoever....I felt , at best,I would go, be in attendance, have a piece of the usual meals ( a piece of chicken, and maybe a piece of kugel) & then when I came home, hungry, I would be able to eat and make up for what was lacking, food wise on a shabbaton.....Ive been in attendance, numerous times, with other organizations, where they promise you the world, and deliver, far, far, far less!.... As for the accommodations as well, I went with the expectation, that, hey, its ONE night away, out of your own bed, in some passable hotel...Yes, I based these two feelings strictly from my experiences ive encountered from other singles organizations.... To my surprise, I went to the hotel, and this hotel, was in fact, far from passable it was clean, very modern, tucked away in a beautiful, suburban setting,yet, not a long distance to travel to, and very accessible...This hotel was quite beautiful, and this set the tone for what transpired the rest of the weekend....It made me feel, that, someone indeed from the JTSF organization, had in fact, not only done their homework, when searching for a suitable location to hold their very first shabbaton, they also, sourced out a location, that wasnt necessarily from their perspective, strictly the cheapest place they could find, in order to maximize their profits....they searched out and booked a place where the attendees, would feel comfortable, & in a hotel, that was fit for a King/Queen! Nothing, in my opinion, that they did, was solely for the purpose of them maximing their profits, nothing! After checking in, and a nice Minyan Friday night, next up was dinner, where I felt that, at best, there was going to be the traditional catered ( lack of) food, ie...roasted chicken, some potatoes, usual salds, and some soup, and then the boxed cake ( Entenmans or a kosher bakery type product, boxed and simple) Well, out comes the food, and it comes out, and it came out, and kept coming out.....Roasted chicken, rolled up roast beef( delicious I might add, as was everything) shnitzel, all types of various salads....there was so much food, that, had they had another thirty five people in attendance on this shabbaton, they , in my opinion, would have still had leftovers....there was that much food, and to top it off, it was excellent!!!! During this meal, I went to Meir Eichler, I had never met him before in my life, & said to him Hello, my name is....Are you crazy, serving all this kind of food? I then proceeded to ask him, if it was possible,for him to actually make money, just based, so far, on two observations, a beautiful hotel , and ONE meal, a meal, that it was apparent to anyone in attendance, that they went all out, to make sure this was a successful shabbis. It was not a question that I should have asked, being it was not my business, however, i did pose the question.... Meir Eichler answered me ....He has been( like every single I know, myself included) at numerous singles events/shabbatons, made by other single organizations, & to the last one, when there was not enough food at these shabbatons, and/or, the food was just not edible, he said, this was one thing he didnt want to be known for....passing the buck and blaming lack of food, and/or terrible food on the caterer, or on everyone else..... Then, most importantly, as well, there was a diverse mix of ( nice and pleasant) people, from all walks and streams of Judaism...Some not religious and those Orthodox, and then those straddling the fence in between, religion wise.....Meir Eichler asked that , being it was shabbis, that while people were in the room where meals were served, and it being Shabbis that, everyone should act appropriately, keeping in mind, to have the respect that comes along with a shabbis. He did not speak down to anyone, nor, did he belabor the point Shabbis lunch, as well, there were TWO types of chulent.... the catered chulent and the Chulent, im told Meir Eichler is famous for...his own concoction... His chulent, was far and away an excellent blend, and delicious to eat( i love marrow bones!!! and hot dogs in chulent!) there was plenty of other food, cold cuts, not just the cheaper type meats, there was corned beef, Pastrami, dark meat turkey roll, and breast turkey roll, as well as salami ...Again, there was so much cold cuts one could have had their own two pounds each of cold cuts, and they still would have had left overs! Come Saturday night, he made arrangements for Karaoke, and , although he had a technical glitch with the setting up of Karaoke, people did manage to squeeze in and belt out, three/four great tunes, before Meir apologized for the technical glitch( which, obviously was not his doing/fault)....He had fresh pizza, & ice cream, and plenty of munchies, afterwards, during the dancing time, which went to the early morning hours( I left around 230 am, and it was still going strong!)...there was so much pizza left over, that I believe, I counted leftover, about five/six more pizza pies! I have been to many singles shabbatons in my lifetime, however, I can easily admit, Ive never been to a shabbaton like this one, so well thought out, each and every ( minor and major) detail. It was nice being there, and feeling that this was not just another singles organization, looking to take ones money , without giving thoughtfulness to everything they did, with the patrons in mind...for a change, it was nice, and it was refreshing to be made to feel important and special on a shabbaton, by the organizers....People who were available the entire weekend, who did not do a disappearing act once everyone was checked If they made money on this shabbaton, i would say not much, however, the purpose of my long commentary here, isnt about whether or not they made money, it is about thanking people who showed they are more than entrepeneurs, interested solely in making a dollar.... These were hands on people who gave it their all to make each person in attendance feel special and wanted I would most definitely( in case one couldnt figure this out on their own) recommend this organization, and I would keep my eyes open in the future, for any singles events( shabbatons) they will sponsor in the future And, yes, that means, I did not find my bashert at this weekend, admittedly, to my own fault, as, I feel there were definitely women to meet there, the opportunity existed to meet To Meir Eichler and ALL those involved in the organizing and thoughtfulness of planning the weekend,& all the detail you put into this weekend, I wish to publicly thank you Thank you very much Howard Rockman Unlike · · Share You, Sari Ancona, Miriam Greenberg, David Pere and 57 others like this. Meir Eichler Thank you Howard Rockman for this great review, its heart warming, when you have such great admins everything is possible. July 7, 2014 at 10:19am · Edited · Like · 11 Tirtza Rosenthal Howard reading what you wrote made all our work worthwhile!....we are glad you enjoyed! July 7, 2014 at 3:44pm · Unlike · 2 David Sadek Howard Rockman I can personally attest to the fact that Meir INSISTED regardless of whether he made or lost money, that he would deliver a product that was far and away the best. He surely succeeded. July 7, 2014 at 3:55pm · Unlike · 4 Gail Cat Lieberman Thanks to all the ADMs who made this a great weekend. I had a really fun time ! July 7, 2014 at 7:00pm · Like · 2 Alan Score Next time, David Pere is making the cholent. July 8, 2014 at 12:06am · Like · 2 David Sadek Alan Skorski, no way!!! Nothing personal David Pere, but I like Meir Eichler s chulent July 8, 2014 at 12:57am · Like Alan Score Have you tasted Peres cholent? July 8, 2014 at 1:00am · Like David Pere Abe...David Sadek never had mine or his answer would be different! July 8, 2014 at 1:00am · Like David Sadek Alan Skorski dont make me block you! Lol July 8, 2014 at 1:05am · Like David Sadek David Pere lets have a Pepsi blindfold challenge. July 8, 2014 at 1:06am · Like David Sadek I still think we should have a men vs. Women cooking Shabbaton. Each dish is prepared by one man and one woman then everyone votes as to which is better (obviously without knowing who made which one). We tally up all the points and see if the men win or the women win. Still havent decided what the prize should be July 8, 2014 at 1:09am · Unlike · 1 Sarah Lederstein Sorry I missed it when is the next one? Also, is there a way to have men and women count more even? Finally, I am no longer 50 so am I still welcome? July 8, 2014 at 12:49pm · Like Howard Rockman David Sadek......the prize, for the winner, ( female) would be a date with you, a night out at Mikes Bistro, you pay, of course....what could be better than that? July 8, 2014 at 12:52pm · Like David Sadek Howard, some women may not consider that a prize July 8, 2014 at 1:09pm · Like Howard Rockman oh come now, youre just trying( failing miserably) at being modest.......all those who wouldnt want a date with David Sadek as the prize for winning the cooking award, at Mikes Bistro, David Sadek paying, speak up now, post here now July 8, 2014 at 1:10pm · Like Meir Eichler I dont July 8, 2014 at 1:12pm · Like Howard Rockman youre not female Meir Eichler....then again, i never checked up close, and not about to now....its strictly for the FEMALE winner of the cook off competition to be held at the next Meir Eichler , JSTF shabbaton/weekend July 8, 2014 at 1:13pm · Unlike · 1 Tirtza Rosenthal from what I hear Meirs cholent is the best...but I am willing to compete in the baking category July 8, 2014 at 1:14pm · Like Howard Rockman there ya go David Sadek .... you got one already, at least willing to participate in the baking competition, which means, shes read the posts, and she feels shes feels considerably safe for a date and night out with you mano a womano...lol, for dinner at Mikes Bistro, you paying, David....see how easy it is to make and get a shidduch? July 8, 2014 at 1:16pm · Like Tirtza Rosenthal Howard, David and I are dear friends July 8, 2014 at 1:17pm · Like · 1 David Sadek Meir Eichler you would for a free meal! July 8, 2014 at 1:18pm · Unlike · 1 Howard Rockman Tirtza Rosenthal, its been known to happen that dear friends lead to other things, you do know that, right?....Wouldnt you want to find a man, whom you could call your dear friend as well? July 8, 2014 at 1:20pm · Like Howard Rockman I personally vouch for David Sadek.... a true Gentleman and dear friend notithstanding, amongst his many ( too numerous) attributes to type into this small box here July 8, 2014 at 1:21pm · Like Sarah Lederstein My meatballs are tasty. July 8, 2014 at 1:26pm · Like Howard Rockman im waiting for someone to make the tongue dishes.....ive been known to eat a few pounds of tongue or more at a meal....wiaiting for Meir Eichler to have a shabbaton with unlimited tongue on the menu! and, not necessarily the tongue a girl would give me privately, lol! July 8, 2014 at 1:28pm · Like Larry Russ I had a great weekend, but now I feel like I need a weekend to recover from the weekend. July 9, 2014 at 1:14pm · Edited · Like · 3 Gail Cat Lieberman I want to learn to make cholent like Meir Eichlers! July 8, 2014 at 3:49pm · Unlike · 1 Evan Hamburger Solender WOW...I WANT TO JOIN EVERYONE FOR THE NEXT EVENT.... I HOPE I CAN! July 9, 2014 at 1:05pm · Like Tirtza Rosenthal Evan you should! we will be announcing our next event in the next few days July 9, 2014 at 1:06pm · Like Evan Hamburger Solender I HAVE never done anything like this for me so to speak... anything... so I appreciate your sharing this comment.... meant a lot to me July 9, 2014 at 1:07pm · Like · 1 Rich Mansour Im still on my diet from it.. July 9, 2014 at 4:52pm · Like · 3 Ellen Terry Schechter Anyone from broward county??? July 10, 2014 at 1:45am · Like Nancy Nancy WOW, Howard you should be given the Award for such an awesome Critique!!! David & I felt the same...well organized, good food, friendly Admins to include charming Meir...we had a wonderful time together. Everyone was respectful & nice to us as a couple. Again, THANK YOU, JSTF July 11, 2014 at 2:38am · Edited · Unlike · 5 Andy Rona Why dont organize the next Shabbaton with a cook-off between anyones chulent but mainly DPs and MEs......considering the rivalry between them .........something like coming up this Sunday between Argentina and Germany........who wil make the chulent with a winner kick? Anyway, we are in July and it is time for.............trumpets sounding........THE LOVE BOAT!!!!!!! July 11, 2014 at 12:19pm · Like Anissa K. Fogel Sounds like a wonderful event! Im happy so many of you had a good time and good eats. Shabbat Shalom to you all. July 11, 2014 at 5:28pm · Like Andy Rona Sad, sad, sad........we lost the World Cup! Did you know that 1990 happened the same, exactly the same only that is was played in Italy? July 14, 2014 at 12:23am · Like
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 02:58:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015