Lakewood Shabbaton Comes Full Circle

If there’s anyone who ‘gets’ the college students at Ohr Somayach events, it’s our very own alumni. They've walked in their shoes – strangers in a new world – and come out on the other side, frum, integrated, and often, the heads of their own beautiful families.

So it came as no surprise when alumnus Yaakov Cruz wanted to give back – not only by participating with his wife and baby in the very same program, with the very same host family who transformed his life and adopted him as their own; but also by easing the journey for newcomers. He wanted to provide them with the Artscroll transliterated, translated siddur.

“Until I learned Hebrew, getting through the davening was a real challenge,” he says. “I was following along with the crowd, reading the English translation in my Artscroll siddur, and feeling lost. I didn’t know where the minyan was up to. I felt like such an outsider.” Then he got a transliterated siddur. It was a game changer! Now, he reached out - because he wanted to share it.

“I’d like to provide Artscroll transliterated siddurim to every mentee at the Lakewood Ohr Somayach Shabbaton,” he said. It was an expensive project - but he did it! On his own, he spearheaded the effort, and made sure that each college student walked out with a transliterated set: weekday and Shabbos siddurim, and NCSY benchers.

The response has been incredible. The siddurim are a lifeline – they turn a confusing sea of new information into language they can just ‘Cruz’ through!

Follow Yaakov’s example in doing your part for Ohr Somayach. If you have an idea, call us - and make it happen!