Guinness World Records Certifies Largest Shabbat Dinner on Earth in Tel Aviv

Two weeks ago, more than 2,000 people sat down for the largest Shabbat dinner ever in Hangar 11 of the Port of Tel Aviv. 

Sponsored by the White City Shabbat organization, the event attracted people of every age and from every religious stream.

As Steve Lipman wrote in The Jewish Week,

With a waiting list of more than 3,000, the dinner – which featured 800 bottles of wine, 80 bottles of vodka, 2,000 challah rolls, 1,800 pieces of chicken and 1,000 pieces of beef – was sold out for two weeks.

In the seats at the June 13 event, which was co-sponsored by Chabad and a wide range of religious, political and other organizations, were many prominent members of the Jewish community. Among them: Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Israeli basketball legend Tal Brody and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.

The dinner conformed both to Jewish law (all the food was kosher) and the regulations of the Guinness certifiers (everyone had to be seated and served within five minutes, the dinner had to last an hour).

At 11 p.m. that night, Pravin Patel, a Guinness adjudicator who flew in from London for the event, ruled that White City Shabbat had established a record. “This is my first time visiting Israel and experiencing a Shabbat dinner,” Patel announced. “It has been officially amazing.”

“The jubilation in the room when Guinness World Records announced the official results was palpable,” White City Shabbat co-director Deborah Danan said in a statement. “We are witnessing the transformation of Tel Aviv as being the new capital for Jews — not just for those with professional impetuses but also for those who want to see the revival in Jewish life continue. Shabbat shouldn’t just be in the domain of the religious.”

Enjoy the video and Shabbat Shalom!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)