The very first Havdalah Under The Stars is in the books! Between the cupcakes, dancing and incredible Havdalah service, it was a night that will not be forgotten. We are so grateful to have shared this special moment with our friends, loved ones and many of the NYU community, including NYU's President, Andy Hamilton. President Hamilton shared a few words, remarking on how amazed, inspired, and proud he was of our student leaders for bringing their vision to life through this beautiful gathering. We could not have done this without all of your support and generosity. We are excited for this new tradition and hope it will grow to include more and more of our NYU and greater NYC family. 

Please stay tuned to our facebook and Instagram for more wonderful moments captured. We will cherish these memories forever so thank you for helping make it possible! 

Warm regards,

Julia, Joseph, Naomi, and Eliran

Student Chairs | Havdalah Under the Stars

We are 75% to goal and we could not have done it without you! 

We have raised over $75,000 with just two days until Havdalah Under the Stars! We are so grateful to everyone that has shown their support by giving, registering, and spreading the word. This night would not be possible without your generosity. We are finalizing some last minute touches that will make the night sparkle and shine like no other. For those who cannot join, don't worry, we will be posting pictures and stories from Havdalah for you to enjoy. We are thankful for this moment to gather and refresh as a community, so let's raise a glass, share a cupcake, and dance the night away.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday and thank you again for investing in our community!

Eliran, Joseph, Julia, and Naomi

Student Chairs | Havdalah Under the Stars

With less than a week to go, we want to shine a spotlight on some Havdalah Under the Stars developments that will make this a night to remember!!

We will be serving a thousand cupcakes generously donated by Baked By Melissa. We are incredibly grateful for her support and are thrilled to eat a few cupcakes with you. THANKS MELISSA!!

Our Havdalah service will be led by Zusha, Shlomo Gaisin and Zacharia G. This Jewish folk/soul duo have led services and performed at Temples and festivals all over the world. We are so excited to have them perform and we hope to see you on the dance floor!!

Thanks to the countless students organizers, amazing sponsors, and everyone spreading the word, donating, and participating, this will truly be a celebration to remember for a lifetime!

This past week, you may have gotten a call from someone on our team about Havdalah Under The Stars! We have been reaching out to friends, family, and members of our community to raise money for an event which for many of us marks our calendar as the seminal moment of the year. This year, we decided to do something a little different: a dance floor with a DJ, desserts (THANKS BAKED BY MELISSA!), a jazz band, a night of letting loose from the rest of the week (or the year up until now) and celebrating Havdalah as we transition forward, with new wind in our sails. It will be an amazing celebration of community and tradition; a salute to the chosen family we have found at NYU. More than any other night of the year, it allows us to break down the barriers that might otherwise exist, as 2000 of us come together in an amazing space to be with one each other and celebrate one another. Jewish or not, it will be an opportunity unlike any other to be with our community.

None of this would be possible without you. So if we reached you and you gave: thank you for making this night possible. If we reached you and you didn't: thank you for talking to us, for being part of our community. And if we didn't reach you: we hope you will let us as students show you why this is so important, why an amazing celebration of our identities with song, dance, and food will power us through this year and onto the next.

As the clock keeps counting down until February 29th, we thank you for your support and supporting Jewish Life here at NYU, for making it possible to find light in the darkness on a glittering night!

Over the weekend we, the Havdalah Under the Stars committee chairs, met for the first time this semester! In this meeting, we discussed our next steps for successfully reaching our goals. We began organizing our upcoming tabling events across NYU and how we can best engage our classmates. We see Havdalah as an amazing opportunity to connect with one another through a shared experience. To keep the excitement levels high we have created some videos that will be released over the next few weeks as we near Havdalah Under the Stars! We ended our meeting with a brainstorming session on the question that matters most to us, how we can make Havdalah Under the Stars a meaningful Jewish experience for any student or community members who attends? 

As Havdalah Under the Stars nears, we are working hard to make this a night to remember so thank you for your support!