While over 1,000 had to attend the dinner in order to break the current record, the event attracted more than double that number. The guest list included notable Israelis, among them Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, former chief rabbis of Israel and other government officials. In keeping with White City Shabbat’s mission statement of "Shabbat for all", the dinner was free of charge.
The event was organized by
White City Shabbat - a volunteer-run non-profit organization that serves as a portal for Jewish life in Tel Aviv. The organization hosts large monthly communal Shabbat dinnes, holiday celebrations, Jewish learning series, and other events. Additional partners include the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the Israeli Ministry of Religious Services, and ROI Community.
The event took almost a year of preparation and 60 days
of crowdsourced fundraising, and consisted of 800 bottles of wine, 80
bottles of vodka, 50 bottles of whiskey, 2000 challah bread loafs, 80
tables, 1800 pieces of chicken, 1000 pieces of beef, and 250 vegetarian
plates.
In addition to a 2000+ person dinner to manage,
White City Shabbat organizers also had to adhere to strict laws of Kashrut and Shabbat, as well as the regulations laid out in the Guinness World Records Official World Record Attempt contract. All 2226 attendees needed to be in their seats and served their first course by the waiters within five minutes, and then be at their table eating for a full hour. By 11 pm, Mr. Pravin Patel, the Guinness World Records adjudicator flown in from London for the event, was able to officially announce the
new record of 2226 attendees.
Copyright: Casey Kelbaugh
White City Shabbat hopes that the Guinness record will encourage Jews worldwide to celebrate Shabbat in their own communities: "This dinner will make history, build community, and kickstart a global movement
here in Tel Aviv - the innovation and creative capital of Israel - that will inspire Jews worldwide to celebrate Shabbat in their own communities."
"Tonight, we all came together in the Land of Israel to celebrate Shabbat in unity and strength. Tel Aviv is the most exciting thing happening in the entire Jewish world,” said Jay Shultz, New Jersey native and President of the Am Yisrael Foundation who has been living in Tel Aviv for eight years.
White City Shabbat co-Director Deborah Dahan quoted early Zionist thinker, writer, and Tel Aviv resident Ahad Ha’am: "'More than Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.' This is more than our motto. Vibrant Jewish life is the fabric of this city. But of course one of the reasons we started White City Shabbat is because Shabbat shouldn’t just be in the domain of the religious."