J. is a student from Monsey-area, he was in a pizza shop there on a Friday between Finals Week and Graduation Weekend. He was eating his pizza and overheard two middle-age/older men (maybe in their 60’s or so) sitting next to him recalling the Cholent they had in Albany some years earlier and how good it was…
J. couldn’t help but ask the two men, where in Albany was this? They replied: “A place called Shabbos House.” He could not believe it! he is a student here, he goes to Shabbos House but while he comes often on Friday nights hasn’t really been by much (yet) on Shabbos Day, and he never had the Cholent here!
So the next day on Shabbos morning he walks in to Shabbos House, told us this story and said that if possible he’d like to taste the Cholent. We gave him a bowl, he took a spoon, said it lived it up to the hype and off he went with it….
We had too few clues to figure out who these men might be, but it was such an unusual story! Man, it made us curious! What are the odds, and who talks Cholent in pizza shops on Friday, and why would Monsey people be so enamored with an Albany cholent… questions, questions, but it was enough for him to stop by for some Cholent!
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It so happens that this story happened and we heard of it on Graduation Weekend. So aside here must be a lesson!
While there’s much talk about “living in the moment” and there’s much truth and benefit to that approach, there are some experiences that ought to linger and last. Not a disappearing message or fleeting snap, but something that has staying value, with endurance, to stand the test of time.
We’re honestly surprised to hear that our Cholent at Shabbos House has passed this litmus test at least for these two men in the Monsey pizza shop. But it is our hope that the meaningful experiences here at Shabbos House, for students who spent four years with us, that the memories and impact linger and last, that you take it with you wherever you go!