This Shabbat Yitro, first weekend of February 2026, of the so-called “Spring Semester” got incredibly cold. There was a light snow on Friday Night and in middle of the night howling winds set in, swirling the snow around, and making the below-zero temperatures feel much colder. Some say it felt at times like 20 degrees below zero!

Raizy and the girls were away this weekend at the Chabad Womens Shluchos Kinus in Brooklyn. And some regular were away this weekend, too. But it’s my (Mendel’s) Bar-Mitzvah anniversary Parsha, and Raizy was very eager we should keep up the Minyan. So we reached out to a bunch of students before Shabbat, we lined up 8 confirmed and a number of maybe’s.

Friday night’s weather was very cold but not too bad, so we thought we’d be in good shape.

On Shabbos morning I awoke before 7am to howling winds. I looked out the window and it seemed to be a sandstorm of swirling snow. It  looked brutal out. The cold is one thing, but harsh strong winds make it much worse. I felt bad about my reaching out to students before Shabbat about the Minyan…

We started praying 10:30am with just a couple of us, and a little after 11am woke up the guys at home in the old Shabbos House/Minyaneers house. Then some more souls came in, first one, then another, each coming in to the warmth from another planet – literally blown in by the wind. We had a solid Minyan, twelve of us to read Torah.

One student came in  – wearing only a sweatshirt, red as a beet! This is the type of weather that even warm coats do not suffice! He didn’t realize until Shabbat morning that he had left his coat and it was in someone else’s room, but he did not want to let the Minyan down! (No reason for his parents to scold him, I already did that!)

We read the Torah, Parshat Yitro, the story of the Giving of the Torah, the 10 Commandments. We read (partially in this portion and more so in next) the “Naaseh” total commitment of the Jewish people: We will do, even if we don’t understand.

Even if it makes little sense to get out of bed on a Saturday morning like this and venture out into the howling winds and well below zero temperatures. These guys (and girls, too) looked out their window and said I’m doing it anyways.

We’re on board, count us in!

That’s the story of the dedication of the Jews at Sinai. (And at UAlbany).

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This story of this cold wintry Minyan on a February 2026 Shabbat is not just a story or a memory. It is a testament, it is a message.