What do Mickey Mouse-shaped challah, the L’cha Dodi prayer set to the melody of 
‘Under the Sea’ from Little Mermaid, and AirBnbs with huge Star Wars murals 
that greet you as you walk in the door, all have in common? 

The answer, of course, is Disney, and the recently concluded Mem Global Disney 
retreat. This brand-new retreat concept was a way to take a seemingly secular 
concept like Disney World and look at it through the lens of Jewish ritual. On a 
blustery January weekend that turned out to be the coldest weekend in Orlando 
in 90 years, 32 young adult Jewish Community Builders descended on Disney World for the weekend. While Disney might have been a hook, the result was a magical weekend that ignited Jewish passion, sparked tremendous conversations and learning, and provided a respite from some of the hardships that Jews are facing around the world. 

 So, how do you combine the world of Disney with Judaism? The lens of Jewish 
ritual provided the perfect avenue. First, we would look at the concept of Jewish 
rituals in general, then, look at rituals throughout Disney, and finally, bring 
them together and think about we can use concepts like Disney to embrace and 
enhance our own Jewish rituals. 

 Everything about this weekend was intentional. It began with an opening ritual 
that led to a huge challah bake, followed by a Disney-themed Kabbalat Shabbat 
service. Nate, our song leader, brought four different Disney tunes into the 
service which got everyone smiling and singing along. For the first educational 
program, the participants were divided into their six park groups and given a 
puzzle related to Jewish ritual to put together. Once they explained their topics to 
the rest of the group, they shared their favorite Jewish rituals. Not surprisingly, they quickly learned that many of the dearest rituals didn’t begin as Halakha, or Jewish law, but often fall into the category of minhag, customs whose practice has been expanded over time. 

And Judaism certainly appeared at Disney that day! Before we entered Magic 
Kingdom, we gathered for an opening ritual, received incredible Mem Global 
Mickey Mouse ears pins (although the plan was to trade them, no one wanted to give theirs up!) and said the Shecheyanu prayer to thank God for getting us to that moment. Then it was time to explore the park. 

When we gathered for Seudah Shlishit (the third meal of Shabbat) later in the day, it allowed us to celebrate that two of the participants got engaged in 
front of Cinderella’s Castle. An impromptu singing of Siman Tov u’Mazal Tov was 
one of the most powerful moments of the trip. In a time when some feel that they 
must hide their Judaism, even wondering if it would be safe to take a group of 35 
people to Disney, openly signing in Hebrew and celebrating a ritual in a public space felt like a huge exhale of emotion. 

Sunday morning, as each group presented their findings from the park, it became 
apparent that this weekend was more than just Mickey. It was healing, community, and a door to expanding rituals in their lives. It was an open 
invitation to embracing their Judaism and Jewish futures. As one of the
participants summed it up, “It was a Jewish Disney movie, where all of our Torah 
dreams came true.”