By Yochanan Gordon
We have previously raised concerns about the number of off days that our kids in yeshiva are given. However, it has become increasingly clear that our complaints will not change the reality of the matter. We, as parents, have a responsibility to help our kids utilize their time off in the most constructive way.
Our family has travelled many times over Shabbos Chanukah. There are many great Shabbos Chanukah programs to choose from, however in this piece I wanted to highlight a few characteristics about Pocono Kosher’s getaway at the Scranton Hilton that we thought was very wholesome and unique.
There are many caterers and program directors who plan getaways for Shabbos Chanukah as well as winter break and other junctures throughout the year. Any successful Jewish getaway has to check certain boxes. There needs to be a kids’ program and entertainment to keep them engaged while in the hotel. You need ba’alei tefillah and ba’alei kriah, good and plentiful food is always a must, and of course family entertainment for motzaei Shabbos and Sunday fun for the entire family. So many of these program directors hire many of the components that will make the program into one that people will want to come back to year after year.
However, Rabbi Benny and Rebbetzin Chany Rapoport and their chevrah at Chabad in northeastern PA are not merely program directors; they are Chabad shluchim who have a natural proclivity towards providing for Jews everywhere both materially and spiritually. When you visit with them you are being treated to a first-class experience on all levels, culinarily and spiritually, which is an outgrowth of the mandate of every shliach to love every Jew and to provide for their needs.
Sure, it’s a getaway like any other but in addition you get to see the ahavas Yisrael of Chabad shluchim on full display and your kids will be treated to Jewish pride and might even be conditioned to look outside of themselves after watching these shluchim in action.
Chanukah is about illuminating our surroundings, filling the world with the G-dly light that was hidden on the first day of creation. The Shabbos Chanukah we spent with the Rapoports a year or two back was an exercise in luminescence, every moment an opportunity for warm interaction with our kids, the staff, and fellow guests we met over the weekend. It was truly a sublime experience.
This year’s program features a full array of amenities that will be sure to keep your family engaged and entertained in the most optimal fashion. Delightful meals, hartzig tefillos, warm conversation, and a motzaei Shabbos party atmosphere with food stations, family arcade games, DJ, and Jewish karaoke.
Sunday is a day to enjoy the winter scene. Pocono Kosher offers steep discounts on ski and snowboarding passes at Montage Mountain just 10 minutes from the hotel. Montage is a perfect family-size ski resort with a good balance of beginner, intermediate, and advanced trails. “White Lightning,” their famous double black diamond, is considered one of the steepest slopes on the East Coast with a 46-degree slope and a 1,100-foot vertical drop. Hold on to your yarmulke! If you’re a snow-boarding aficionado, Montage is transforming the former snow tubing area into a terrain park to complement the full slope park built on Whistler.
Other local attractions in the area include the aquarium and reptile den, ice skating, two indoor trampoline parks, and more.
Sunday afternoon the Hilton grand ballroom will host the first annual Chanukah Fest, with crafts, games, hot food concessions, and a slew of local vendors displaying crafts, gifts, and kosher sweets to browse with the entire family. The highlight is the live concert performance by Brooklyn’s own singer and impresario Eli Marcus. Eli is known for his powerful yet sweet voice and high-energy stage performances. Admission for Pocono Kosher guests is included in their Shabbos reservation.
The Scranton Hilton is where all the magic will be going down this year.
Please reserve today by calling/WhatsApp 570-587-3300 or by simply visiting jewishnepa.com/chanukahgetaway.
There’s no other way that I’d want to spend the holiday and the winter season with my family than in the company of the Rapoports and their professional staff and I urge you all fill the days off by spending them in the Scranton Hilton with Chabad. I know that you will thank me afterward.
Yochanan Gordon can be reached at ygordon5t@gmail.com. Read more of Yochanan’s articles at 5TJT.com.
