How The Traveling Chassidim bring the joy of Shabbat and Jewish unity to communities, schools and families.
Our mission
To help Jewish outreach organizations all over the country spread the beauty, joy, and relevancy of the Torah and Shabbat with our Jewish brethren. Everything we do grows out of two ideas: all Jews are brothers and sisters, regardless of what they may or may not wear on their heads, and Shabbat, prayer and the Torah way of life are joyful, meaningful and relevant, not restrictive, boring or archaic.
We are Chassidic families who volunteer our time and talent. Here is how we carry out that mission.
1. Community Shabbatons
Our core program. A group of Traveling Chassidim families spends Shabbat with a host community, bringing classic Chassidic warmth and liveliness. Programs vary with each community. Generally we usher in Shabbat with a stirring Carlebach davening with a special Chassidic flavor, followed by a community meal full of lively zemirot and a Friday-night Oneg or Tisch with singing and refreshments. The program reaches its climax with a moving Havdalah service, a kumzitz and spirited dancing, accompanied by live music.
Over the years we have brought Shabbatons to communities including Cleveland, Ohio; Elkins Park and Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Buffalo Grove, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Savannah, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Toronto and Ottawa in Canada; and, through TC UK, Manchester, Leeds and London in England.
Sometimes the community comes to us. In “Shabbos in the Shtetl,” groups such as students from Ezra Academy spend Shabbos with Traveling Chassidim families in Monsey and experience a Chassidic Shabbos from the inside. Many guests build lasting friendships and come back to visit Monsey or Brooklyn for another Shabbat.
3. School and yeshiva visits
We visit schools and youth groups to share a taste of Chassidic life. In October 2026, Rabbi Aryeh Royde brought shtreimels to the Bet Midrash at Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn and let the students try them on. For Lag Ba’omer 2025, Ezra Academy celebrated with us at TC headquarters in Suffern with torches and a bonfire. We have also spent Shabbos with college students from SUNY Albany, Boston University and other New York campuses.
Beyond Shabbat, we bring song and joy to kumzitzes, weddings, bar mitzvahs and holiday gatherings: a Thursday-night kumzits, a summer kumzits BBQ in Jamaica, Queens, a Chanukah celebration with New City’s Temple Dudes for a crowd of about 200, Lag Ba’omer bonfires, a musical Havdalah for the Shabbos Project and a Slichos program in Savannah.
Mitzvos come alive when you do them together. Our events have included tefillin parties, mezuzah parties, challah distributions, matzah baking before Pesach and kosher-kitchen programs (“A Jewish Home Needs a Kosher Kitchen”), helping families bring Jewish practice home.
The connection does not end when we travel home. Anyone can send a question to the Rabbi and get a personal answer by email, and anyone can add a name to our Tefillah Registry, or commit to including someone from the registry in their own prayers.
Generally speaking, we don’t charge for a Shabbaton. Our members all have jobs and careers and volunteer because we have a purpose and a mission.
Hosts cover the basics
Travel costs must be covered, and we ask for a donation toward organization costs, set before booking. Hosts provide kosher food and comfortable sleeping accommodations.
Your gift goes further
Donations help bring Shabbatons to communities that could not otherwise host one, covering travel for our families, kosher food, live music and program costs.
