This retreat has passed
Join us for Simchas Torah
Rosh Hashanah5787at Bunker of Light
September 10–14, 2026
High View, West Virginia
A place to land, exhale & belong.
Join us for a warm, meaningful Rosh Hashanah on gorgeous wilderness grounds—with Nusach Arizal davening explained, uplifting Yom Tov meals, meaningful connection and space outdoors to sit, breathe and begin again.
- Setting
- High View, WV 26808
- A frum camp on open grounds
- Retreat dates
- September 10–14, 2026
- Arrive Thu or Fri · leave Sun night or Mon
- Cost
- $250 per person
- Family pricing by phone
- Getting there
- You drive in
- About 2 hrs from Baltimore, 5 from Crown Heights
Arrive Thursday, September 10 or Friday, September 11 · depart Sunday night, September 13 or Monday, September 14.
Rosh Hashanah begins Friday at sundown, September 11, and ends Sunday night, September 13.
Simple camp-style lodging. Registration is for the full retreat; final schedule details will follow.
A place to land, exhale & belong.
This is Rosh Hashanah with space for all: a fresh start in the West Virginia great outdoors, grounded in Jewish tradition and shaped by the open, judgment-free spirit of Bunker of Light.
Come for Nusach Arizal davening with explanations, beautiful meals, real conversation and quiet time outdoors. Come deeply connected, starting over, or simply looking for somewhere genuine to spend the New Year.
A Rosh Hashanah where nobody has to perform to belong.
Bunker of Light welcomes late teens, young adults in their twenties, older singles, single mothers, families, and anybody else who does not feel comfortable in a traditional community setting. Some are reconnecting, some feel hurt or disenchanted, and some simply want to be known before being judged.
Many still want a connection to Yom Tov, community and Yiddishkeit—they just need to experience it without being watched, questioned or made to feel that they do not belong. This retreat brings the warmth we try to create in our Toms River home into a peaceful West Virginia setting with room for more people to experience it together.
Come exactly as you are
Religious, reconnecting, curious or unsure—there is no prerequisite and no judgment at the door.
Late teens, singles and single mothers
Much of the room will be people in their late teens and twenties, older singles, and single mothers with their children — anyone without an obvious place to be for Yom Tov.
Families, and anyone bringing someone
Come on your own or with the people you love. Family pricing is worked out by phone rather than posted, because it depends on ages and circumstances — call before you register.
Another option for Yom Tov
Come in without wondering whether you fit the room.
For someone who has not felt comfortable in shul for a long time, walking into a traditional space can feel intimidating. We want this to be a warm alternative: a place to daven, eat, relax, ask questions and celebrate the New Year without judgment.
Come connected, questioning, starting over—or simply looking for somewhere genuine to be.
Taking the warmth of our home into a wider circle.
Most of Bunker of Light happens around Yosef and Sarah Shidler’s table in Toms River: Shabbos and Yom Tov meals, honest conversation, guidance, and a place to be. Teens and young adults have been coming for a while now, and a community has quietly grown around it.
Then we were offered the use of a camp. This retreat is that same table carried into the quiet of West Virginia, with room for far more people to sit at it.
It is for teens, young adults, adults and families who may not fit easily into the expected mold of a traditional community—including people who feel hurt, disconnected, tired of judgment, or simply unsure where they belong.
Why another option matters
For some people, Yom Tov at home or on the streets can mean loneliness, unhealthy influences, substance use, or simply having nowhere appropriate to go. A traditional shul can also feel intimidating when clothing, appearance or level of observance seems to be under inspection.
The experience
A warm Rosh Hashanah where people can daven, eat, relax, ask questions, celebrate and spend time outdoors. Nusach Arizal davening will include plain-language explanations so even someone who has not felt comfortable in shul can find a way in.
A real camp—not a hotel
Simple, comfortable and shared.
This is a sleepaway-camp setting, not a luxury vacation. There are cabins, bunk rooms and family spaces. Bring your own pillow, sheets, blankets, towel and personal items.
Guests will also be encouraged to help in small ways—setting a table, helping with an activity or cleanup, and welcoming someone new.
Food and hospitality
The meals will be properly run.
Someone will oversee the food and Yom Tov meals. Guests will not be left to figure out the kitchen. Planning includes purchasing, transporting and preparing food, kitchen and dining setup, staff, serving and cleaning.
About 50 people
Personal arrangements matter.
We are planning for approximately 50 guests, depending on registration. Final cabin, bunk and family-room assignments will depend on the mix of individuals, families, children, volunteers and staff. Contacting us early gives us the best chance to accommodate you well.
An honest work in progress
The opportunity came together recently, and we are building it carefully.
The big things are settled: the property, the core team, the chef, the chazzan, a Sefer Torah and a baal tokeia are all in place, and the meals are planned. In these last days we are finalizing machzorim, room assignments, carpools and programming. Any help with any of it is appreciated — if you can lend a hand, a machzor or an hour, please say so.
The larger vision
A lasting place for people who need somewhere to belong.
Our long-term hope is to build an established, supported Yom Tov program for people who do not have a comfortable place to go. This first gathering is grassroots: a safe place, good food, open space, warmth, connection and a real welcome.
What to expect
Meaningful Yom Tov, with room to breathe.
The retreat is being shaped around the things that matter most: warmth, tradition, connection and the freedom to experience each one at your own pace.
Uplifting Yom Tov meals
Warm meals around a shared table, with singing, conversation and the feeling that there is room for you.
Nusach Arizal davening, explained
Nusach Arizal davening with plain-language explanations and guidance, so every level can find a way in.
Beautiful open space
Wilderness grounds, fresh air and quiet corners that give you room to reflect, breathe and begin again.
Warm, real community
Meaningful connection without pressure or performance—just people showing up for one another with open hearts.
Arrive Thursday or Friday. Depart Sunday night or Monday.
Choose the arrival day that works for you, then settle in and stay through the Sunday night or Monday departure window.
Thursday / Friday
Arrive and settle in
Rosh Hashanah
Davening, meals & open space
Sunday night / Monday
Departure window
Getting to High View, West Virginia
The retreat grounds are in High View, Hampshire County, in West Virginia's Potomac Highlands near the Virginia state line. Plan on roughly 4½ hours by car from Lakewood or Brooklyn, depending on traffic.
Guests arrange their own travel. If you are coming on your own, contact us early and we will do our best to connect you with a carpool or small group. Rides are not guaranteed. Exact arrival directions will be shared with registered guests.
Retreat registration
Early registration
$200 per person
Register by Tuesday, September 1, 2026—before 20 Elul.
Standard registration
$250 per person
Begins Wednesday, September 2, 2026—20 Elul.
A simple camp experience, priced to cover costs.
This is not a hotel or a five-star vacation. We are staying at a summer camp, in cabins and bunk rooms with beds. Bring your own pillow, sheets and blankets, plus a towel and personal items.
Registration goes toward food, chefs, staff and the practical costs of running the retreat. Food alone may approach the requested contribution before transportation, paper goods, religious supplies and cleaning. This is a community gathering, not a profit-making package.
If you are able to contribute beyond your registration, your support helps cover the true cost and makes room for someone who otherwise could not attend.
The meals and kitchen will be planned and overseen. Guests will not be left to figure that out on their own. At the same time, everyone is invited to help create the experience—setting a table, helping with an activity or cleanup, or making another guest feel welcome.
Family rates are available. If this gathering feels like it is for you but the cost would make it difficult to attend, please reach out privately. We will do our best to work something out.
Ask about rates or sponsoringSponsor the Rosh Hashanah program
Help make room for someone else.
Registration is priced only to help cover costs, and some guests will need support to attend. Choose a sponsorship below to help provide the food, lodging, staff and welcoming Yom Tov experience.
Sponsorship gifts are donations and are processed separately from attendee registration.
Registration closed
Rosh Hashanah 5787 has come and gone.
Thank you to everyone who came. The next one is Simchas Torah on the same campus, October 2–4 — registration is open now.
Register for Simchas TorahPractical details before you come
Here is what we can already share about davening, families, travel, sleeping arrangements and cost.
Is this a Chabad event?
Yes. Bunker of Light is run by Yosef and Sarah Shidler, a Chabad family in Toms River, and the gathering has a Chabad flavour — davening follows Nusach Arizal. You do not need to be Chabad, or frum, or affiliated with anything at all to come. Plenty of people joining us are none of those things.
Do I need to be religious or know how to daven?
No — and that includes not davening at all. Davening follows Nusach Arizal, with explanations and guidance if you want a way in. If you would rather sit outside, sleep, take a walk, or only turn up for the meals, that is a perfectly good way to spend Yom Tov here. Nobody is counting and nobody will ask.
What does it cost, and is the family rate different?
Registration is per person, and the current rate is shown on the form. Families are different: we price them by phone rather than posting a number, because it depends on the ages of your children and on your circumstances. Call or WhatsApp us before you register and we will tell you what your family would be, and sort the lodging out at the same time.
What does the registration actually cover?
Part of the real cost — food, lodging, staffing and supplies come to considerably more per person than we charge. The rest comes from donations and sponsorship, which is also what lets us bring people who could not otherwise pay. If you are able to sponsor a place, or a meal, it goes straight into the room.
Can you help with transportation?
Guests are responsible for getting to High View, West Virginia. If you are traveling on your own, contact us early and we will do our best to connect people with carpools or small groups. Rides are not guaranteed. Exact arrival directions will be shared with registered guests.
What are the sleeping arrangements?
This is simple summer-camp lodging in cabins and bunk rooms with beds—not a hotel. Bring your own pillow, sheets and blankets, plus a towel and personal items. There are only a very small number of family bunk cabins, so if you are coming as a family, call us before you register rather than after — we would far rather tell you honestly what is left than disappoint you later.
Is every detail finalized?
The big things are settled: the property, the core team, the chef, the chazzan, a Sefer Torah and a baal tokeia are all in place, and the meals are planned. What is left is the smaller stuff — machzorim, room assignments, carpools, programming and safety details. Any help with any of it is appreciated; if you can lend a hand, a machzor, a seat in your car or an hour of your time, please say so. Confirmed information will be shared directly with registered guests.
What if the cost is difficult for me?
Then call us, and come anyway. Nobody who belongs at this table is going to be kept from it over money. We can arrange to take less, or to settle it after Yom Tov, or to leave it entirely — quietly, and without anybody else knowing. Please ask before deciding you cannot come.
What is expected of me while I am there?
A hand, where you can give one. This runs more like a big family Yom Tov than a hotel: setting a table, helping clear one, keeping an eye out for somebody who walked in alone. We have a chef running the kitchen and the meals, so nobody is left to figure out food — but volunteers and practical help are genuinely needed and genuinely noticed.
Warm community · Real family · Open hearts
Make space for a meaningful New Year.
Reserve your place online, then contact us early with family, lodging, transportation or cost questions so we can do our best to plan with you.
And if somebody came to mind while you were reading — someone with nowhere in particular to be this Yom Tov — send this to them, or tell us and we will reach out ourselves.