For the first time in history, more than 1,500 people attended the Shabbat 1500 event on Friday night.

Chabad’s annual event was co-sponsored  the Student Association, Hillel-JSU, the Elaine Heumann Memorial Foundation and a few social and professional fraternities. Students were encouraged to bring their friends to the 6 p.m. dinner at the Events Center.

Chabad at Binghamton started the tradition as Shabbat 1000, aiming to unite Jewish students for a night of relaxation, celebration and friendship. In 2008, the event was renamed Shabbat 1500 after several years of surpassing the 1,000-attendee mark. These events have spread across the country to over 15 other campuses.

Harvard, Tulane, Cornell, Yale, Carnegie Mellon and University of Vermont all have their own Shabbat 1000 events.

The event required weeks of planning from hundreds of volunteers. Students in Chabad helped cook and prepare 530 pounds of chicken and cold cuts, 280 pounds of challah and more.

This year, 1,575 people attended, marking a national record, according to Rabbi Levi Slonim, programming and development director at the Chabad Center.

Slonim said Shabbat 1500 is an important event because it unites many Jewish students.

“It brings a special day of rest, a special time of coming together and unites the campus,” Slonim said. “[It is] a time to focus on family, friends and religion. It is important to take a few moments to sit back and take a break and focus on what matters most in our lives.”

In a press release from the Chabad Center, Rebecca Lipson, president of Chabad and a senior double-majoring in political science and history, said that the Shabbat 1500 tradition will have to grow.

“Now we’ll just have to take it to new heights and rename the program Shabbat 1800,” Lipson said in the press release.

Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger attended Shabbat 1500 and said it was a great pleasure to break bread with many of his new students.

“[The event] was fun,” Stenger said. “I enjoyed it a lot. Good singing, good food and good friendship. I met a lot of new students and it was very relaxing.”

Stenger said he was impressed by the attendance at the event.

“[We] broke the record for the entire country,” Stenger said. “Being first is always good; breaking records is always good. It was a good night for fun and relaxation.”

Various performances took place throughout the night, including one by the Binghamton Crosbys, BU’s only all-male a cappella group, and by Shir Soul, a Jewish a cappella group from the New York City area, led by singer David Ross.

The dinner was highlighted by Shabbat traditions such as Kiddush, the Hamotzi and special Shabbat songs.

Lipson said the goal was not only to get 1,500 students together to celebrate Shabbat, but also to have students learn about Shabbat and their Jewish heritage.

“We want people to see what it’s really about,” Lipson said. “We want there to be a sense of community.”

Amy Kurtzberg, a sophomore majoring in art history who helped organize parts of the event, said she enjoys this specific Shabbat because it includes so many people.

“I go to Chabad every Friday, but it’s not every day that I get to have Shabbat with 1,499 other people,” Kurtzberg said. “It’s indescribable.”

Kurtzberg said she believes students were able to connect with their Jewish identity.

“I hope students will [go from the event] with an understanding about what it means to be Jewish, know about Jewish culture and empower each other,” Kurtzberg said.

Cory Bont, a sophomore majoring in computer science, said that Shabbat 1500 was his first Shabbat that he attended.

“The food was really good,” Bont said. “They had a lot of energy here, a lot more than I expected.”