The crowd arriving at New York City’s landmarked Surrogate’s Courthouse for the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce’s World Trade Week Event featured a diverse array of political and financial backgrounds, as dignitaries from a host of US trading partners mingled with top NYC officials, corporate executives, and business leaders to celebrate World Trade Week. The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, appointed by the US Department of Commerce as a World Trade Week NYC partner, hosted the prestigious event in conjunction with the NYC Mayor’s Office, the Greater NY Chamber of Commerce, and the Korean American Chamber of Commerce.

It was the final moment of the spring semester and the culmination of a remarkable year for the St. John’s University Jewish Student Association. As the flames of the Havdalah candle danced, students joyously celebrated an incredible Shabbos spent together in Jamaica Estates. Sharing in the feeling of simchah was a devoted team from Emet Outreach, who were there to lend support and inspirational Shabbos programming. “There was a great feeling of unity and connection at the JSA Shabbaton,” said Rabbi Akiva Rutenberg, Emet Co-Founder and Director. “The JSA leadership planned the Shabbaton so meticulously and we were happy to provide guidance along the way. We look forward to sharing the beauty of Shabbos with them every year.”

We celebrate the day where all Jews stood at Mount Sinai 1312 BCE, when all kosher laws came into effect and they found themselves without food. All of the food they had became non-kosher and they needed to start their pantry from scratch. The first easy, go-to food was milk and dairy, so that’s why we celebrate Shavuos with eating a dairy meal. This means eating dairy reminds us of a time when we had very little to eat.

In the month of Sivan, we celebrate the festival of Shavuos, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. This connection to the Book of Ruth is particularly poignant, as Ruth, a convert to Judaism, embraces the Torah and becomes an integral part of the Jewish people.