Over 70 young men from across France gathered at Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch in Brunoy for a powerful Shabbos Achdus, joining the bochurim for a full Shabbos of learning, davening, niggunim, farbrengens, and Chassidishe warmth.

Participants came from Paris, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Marseille, and other cities, with registration filling within 48 hours and dozens more unable to join due to lack of space.

The program, which began over ten years ago with just a few participants, has grown into a major gathering for French-speaking Jewish youth. From the moment the guests arrived on Friday afternoon, they were welcomed into the yeshiva atmosphere, with refreshments, a tour of the yeshiva, preparations for Shabbos, and a group photo before candle lighting.

A special highlight before Shabbos was a seder niggunim built around a maamar of Chassidus, which was recited in French so the participants could better understand and connect to its message. Throughout Shabbos, the group learned and sang the Niggun of Poltava, whose theme of teshuva and the deep bond of every Yid with Hashem became one of the central themes of the weekend.

Friday night brought together the visiting youth and the French bochurim of the Yeshiva Gedola around one long Shabbos table of more than 150 people. The seuda continued for hours with niggunim, dancing, and words of inspiration from Shluchim, rabbonim, bochurim, and longtime participants, giving the guests a real taste of yeshiva life.

On Shabbos morning, the participants joined a seder Chassidus, with some learning b’chavrusa with bochurim and others attending a shiur from Rabbi Berel Nemanov of Tiferes Menachem. During davening, Rabbi Nachum Pinson delivered a drasha based on a sicha of the Rebbe, and the aliyos were “auctioned” through practical hachlatos tovos rather than money.

One of the most moving moments came when a participant from last year’s Shabbos Achdus shared how the experience had changed his daily life. After taking on to learn the daily Chitas and receiving a yearly Dvar Malchus subscription to help him keep the hachlata, the learning became a steady part of his day and drew him closer to Torah, mitzvos, and Yiddishkeit.

Returning this year, he said he now felt “like a fish in water” among the bochurim, in a place that had felt far from him only a year earlier.

On Shabbos afternoon, the zal filled with more than 70 young men learning a sicha of the Rebbe in depth. For over an hour and a half, the room rang with a strong kol Torah, as the participants learned with focus and seriousness. The Rosh Yeshiva, Yechiel Menachem Mendel Kalmenson, joined the seder as dozens of chavrusos immersed in the Rebbe’s Torah.

After Mincha, the participants joined a farbrengen with Rabbi Berel Lasri, who has been part of the program for several years and once again inspired the group with stories. The farbrengen continued until the end of Shabbos, followed by havdala, singing, and dancing.

The excitement continued after Shabbos with a raffle for a ticket to the Rebbe. Participants who arrived on time to the sedarim had received raffle tickets throughout the program, and when the winner was announced, the room erupted in dancing as his friends lifted him onto their shoulders. The ticket was sponsored by longtime friend and supporter of the yeshiva, Dov Ayach.

The Shabbos was organized by Matia Karalou, who has helped build the project from its earliest years, together with talmidei hashluchim Shneur Dahan and Levi Lashkar. The bochurim of Shiur Alef and Shiur Beis in the Yeshiva Gedola also played a major role in welcoming the guests and creating the warm atmosphere felt throughout Shabbos.

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