{"id":145025,"date":"2026-02-25T17:51:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/145025\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T17:51:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:51:30","slug":"a-decade-of-connection-soul-food-shabbat-celebrates-10-years-at-queens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/145025\/","title":{"rendered":"A Decade of Connection: Soul Food Shabbat Celebrates 10 Years at Queens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Feb 25, 2026
\n By Queens University Communications\n <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

What began a decade ago as an intimate gathering has blossomed into an anticipated tradition at Queens University of Charlotte. For ten years, Soul Food Shabbat has served as a cultural bridge, uniting the Black Student Union (BSU), Queens Hillel<\/a>, and the Charlotte community. It is more than just a meal; it is a space to honor the Sabbath while exploring the deep-rooted histories and experiences shared by Black and Jewish people.<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s theme of \u201cBlack and Jewish Hip Hop\u201d was paired with a menu that celebrated the blending of two heritages. Guests shared a traditional feast featuring Jewish staples like Challah, a traditional Sabbath bread, and sweet noodle kugel. Soul food classics included fried and baked chicken, savory collard greens, and golden cornbread.<\/p>\n

A Shared History<\/p>\n

Andy Harkavy, director of Hillel and Jewish Life at Queens, welcomed attendees and shared the meaning of Shabbat\u2019s purpose of inviting the \u201csacred pause\u201d into a world that moves quickly and often feels heavy.<\/p>\n

\u201cShabbat invites us to step away from the pressures of the week to rest, to reflect, and to reconnect \u2014 with ourselves, with one another, and with something greater. We light Shabbat candles to welcome this holy time and to add light to the world around us,\u201d said Harkavy. \u201cEach candle we light is a small but powerful act of hope \u2014 an affirmation that light, love, and community matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Darryl White Sr., assistant dean of student life, the event is an essential educational tool that honors a long-standing alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we think about Black and Jewish communities, we have similar struggles through the Civil Rights movement and beyond,\u201d says White. \u201cA lot of times, people don\u2019t fully understand that relationship. It\u2019s important to come together and do something over a meal \u2014 it breaks down barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRoyals Rise\u201d: A Collaborative Debut<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/p>\n

To mark the 10th anniversary, the celebration expanded beyond the dinner table into the recording studio. Students from Queens Hillel, the BSU, and the music therapy program<\/a> joined forces with artist-educators Antar \u201cJuda\u201d Davidson and Dae-Lee Arrington to create an original hip hop piece titled \u201cRoyals Rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queens Hillel President Ian Hirsh \u201926, who served as a producer and pianist for the track, noted that the song\u2019s direction was entirely organic. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what we were going to write about,\u201d Hirsh explains. \u201cThe really cool thing was how our conversation informed the song. Everybody had an opportunity to share what they thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

The song\u2019s opening lines set a powerful tone for the evening: \u201cIn my third eye, I see Royals Rise on eagles\u2019 wings, dreams let them fly in a higher space is where I reside.\u201d<\/p>\n

J Evans \u201929, president of Queens Royal Souls, spoke about the experience of working with students from different backgrounds. \u201cI\u2019ve been songwriting for a long time, but I never wrote with a group before,\u201d said Evans. \u201cIt was a great opportunity to take different backgrounds and experiences and set them to the universal language of music.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Evans, \u201cThe main idea behind the lyrics was centered around social mobility in Charlotte and the struggles in today\u2019s society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the full version of \u201cRoyals Rise\u201d now!<\/p>\n

Voices of Leadership and Unity<\/p>\n

The impact of this tradition is sustained by the students who lead it. For BSU President John\u2019na Hall \u201927, the event has been a cornerstone of her time at Queens. \u201cI remember coming the first year and thinking, \u2018I\u2019ve never heard of an alliance between Black and Jewish people,’\u201d says Hall. \u201cI learned so much \u2014 I never knew how much interconnection there was between their struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n

BSU Vice President Devonte Thomas \u201927 agrees. \u201cUnity is something that I feel like the country needs at this moment,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cFinding the other side with any marginalized community is always a good thing. Seeing how the Black and Jewish struggle complement each other in America to this day is very powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the 10th annual Soul Food Shabbat drew to a close, the atmosphere in the room was a testament to the power of shared experience. Through the rhythm of \u201cRoyals Rise\u201d and the depth of the speakers\u2019 stories, the evening proved that common ground is not just found, it is built over a shared meal.<\/p>\n

\"John\u2019na<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feb 25, 2026 By Queens University Communications What began a decade ago as an intimate gathering has blossomed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-145025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}