Is this a Hanukkah party or a full Shabbos weekend?

It is a Friday-to-Sunday Hanukkah Shabbos weekend featuring menorah lighting, kosher Shabbos meals, board games, and time together with the same small group.

Are board games a central part of the weekend?

Yes. Board games are planned as one of the main social anchors, with a mix of easy-entry games, strategy and social games, and optional longer group games.

Where will the Hanukkah weekend take place?

The final location is still being selected. Registered guests will receive the venue, lodging and transportation details as they are finalized.

How much does the Hanukkah Shabbos weekend cost?

Launch pricing starts at $300 per person for the first 5 confirmed guests. Submit the registration form to request your place; Hamsa Nomads will confirm availability and send payment details.

Lit Hanukkah menorah for a Hanukkah Shabbos weekend

Hanukkah / Chanukah 5787 · First nights

Hanukkah First Nights Shabbos.For young Jewish professionals

Q: Who is the Hanukkah Shabbos weekend for?

The weekend is designed primarily for Jewish young adults and young professionals in their 20s and 30s. People can join solo, with a friend or with a partner.

A small, immersive Shabbos weekend built around candle lighting, long kosher meals, davening, a Sefer Torah, board games and the kind of conversations that happen when the same group actually spends the weekend together.

December 4–6, 2026 · Friday to Sunday

YJP / young Jewish adultsLocation coming soon$300 launch rate · first 5 confirmed guests

First 5 spots Hanukkah launch pricing $300 / person The first five confirmed guests receive the $300 launch rate.

Step 1 of your registration

Choose the launch rate.

Start with the first-five Hanukkah rate below. Your registration drawer opens next, using the same booking flow as Rosh Hashanah.

Submitting the registration does not hold the launch price by itself. We confirm remaining availability and send the payment step; payment secures the $300 rate.

The format

Not a Hanukkah party. A Shabbos people actually live inside for a weekend.

A lot of young-professional Hanukkah programming is built around one loud night. This is deliberately different. Hamsa Nomads is building a Friday-to-Sunday weekend where the same group lights, eats, davens, plays and spends unhurried time together.

The social part is not a cocktail hour you have to work. It is the board-game table after lunch, the person you keep ending up next to at meals, a late conversation after everyone else has moved rooms, and another round because nobody is ready to stop.

The goal: immersive, not over-programmed.Shabbos and Hanukkah give the weekend its rhythm. We bring a Sefer Torah, build davening and kosher meals into the weekend, and use board games as a natural way for the group to spend time together. The exact schedule stays intentionally loose.

FormatFriday–Sunday immersive Shabbos

AudienceYoung Jewish professionals

Social anchorBoard games + long meals

Jewish setupSefer Torah · davening · kosher meals

StatusRegistration open · from $300

Game room with board games during a Hamsa Nomads weekend

Board-game immersion

The game table is part of the program.

We want this weekend to work even if you arrive knowing nobody. Games create an easy way into the room: you can sit down, learn something in five minutes, stay for a strategy round, or watch until you feel like joining.

Easy-entry tablesFast social games that let people rotate in without a long explanation.

Strategy tablesLonger games for people who actually want to settle in and play.

Whole-group momentsOne or two bigger games that can pull the house together without making every activity mandatory.

Still ShabbosThe weekend is not a gaming convention. We bring a Sefer Torah; meals, davening, learning and downtime remain central.

Read why the 2026 Chanukah calendar works so well for this weekend →

The weekend rhythm

Hanukkah light, Shabbos pace, and a lot of room to actually be together.

We are intentionally keeping the public schedule broad while the location is still being selected. The final timing will depend on the venue, candle-lighting times and the group.

What to expect

A real Shabbos weekend, not a packed itinerary.

Expect Hanukkah candle lighting, davening with our Sefer Torah, long kosher meals, board games, learning, downtime and a relaxed Saturday-night continuation after Shabbos. Exact times and individual activities will come later.

Friday

Arrive, settle in, light, and move into Shabbos together.

We will keep the arrival flow simple: get comfortable, meet the group, light for Hanukkah, daven and sit down to a long Friday-night meal.

Shabbos

Davening, meals, board games and time that is not over-scheduled.

We bring a Sefer Torah for the weekend. Shabbos will revolve around davening, shared meals, a lot of board-game time, learning, conversation and room to choose your own pace.

Saturday night

Hanukkah continues after Shabbos.

After Havdalah, expect menorah lighting, food, games and a more open late-night house atmosphere — without turning the weekend into a separate party.

Sunday

A relaxed final morning.

Breakfast, final games, packing and departures. We will publish the actual check-in and check-out windows once the venue is confirmed.

YJP by design

A young-professional weekend without making the room feel like a networking event.

The weekend is aimed primarily at Jewish young adults and young professionals in their 20s and 30s. You can come on your own, with a friend or with a partner. The point is that the format gives people repeated, low-pressure time together instead of one short event where everyone has to make an impression immediately.

If you have searched for a YJP Hanukkah event, Chanukah Shabbaton or Jewish young-professional weekend and wanted something more immersive than a party, this is the lane we are building.

Come solo?Yes

Come with a friend?Yes

Drop-in event?No · full weekend

Room selection?After venue confirmation

The Hamsa part

One house, the same people, enough time to become a group.

Guests together at a previous Hamsa Nomads retreat

Guests sharing a moment at a Hamsa Nomads weekend

Shared holiday life at a previous Hamsa Nomads retreat

“Thank you Moshe and Leah for a beautiful Shavuos!!! We had the best time!! So nice meeting everyone.”

Previous Hamsa Nomads retreat guest

The holiday changes. The core idea does not: a curated group, shared meals, Jewish rhythm and enough unstructured time for people to actually get comfortable.

Questions

Registration is open.

The launch rate is live while the venue and final lodging details are being completed. The first 5 confirmed guests can register at $300 per person.

Is this a Hanukkah party?

No. The plan is a full Friday-to-Sunday Shabbos weekend. There can be energy on Saturday night, but the identity is an immersive house weekend, not a one-night party.

Who is the weekend for?

Primarily Jewish young adults and young professionals in their 20s and 30s. People can come solo, with friends or with a partner.

Are board games really central?

Yes. Board games are one of the main social anchors. We are planning a mix of easy-entry games, strategy/social tables and a larger optional group game.

Is this a full kosher Shabbos?

Yes. The weekend is being built around kosher meals, Shabbos, davening and Hanukkah candle lighting. We bring a Sefer Torah with us for the weekend. Final venue-specific logistics will be published once the location is confirmed.

Where is it?

The final location is still being selected. Registered guests will receive the venue, transportation and lodging details as they are finalized.

How much does it cost?

The launch price is $300 per person for the first 5 confirmed guests. Submit the registration form to request the launch rate. We confirm availability and then send personalized payment details; payment secures the rate.

December 4–6, 2026