The beat of Israeli electronic dance music pumped the air in a packed community hall in Brooklyn, N.Y., last Friday until the DJ cut in: “If you haven’t wrapped tefillin yet, come to the front!”
One by one, teenage boys stepped up for their turn to help break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of Jews to wrap tefillin. They were guided by fellow teens and Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, or shluchim, during events associated with the annual CTeen Shabbaton.
By the end of two hours, 1,241 individuals had taken part in the effort, and history was made.

Attendees of the annual CTeen Shabbaton in Brooklyn, N.Y., participate in an effort to break the world record for putting on tefillin, Feb. 28, 2025. Photo by Shalom Ross/Merkos 302.
The three-day program from Feb. 28 to March 2 brought together more than 4,000 Jewish teenagers from 60 countries, including 300 from Israel and 200 from South America. The weekend retreat celebrates Jewish pride, uniting young people from communities worldwide to celebrate Shabbos in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Jacob Cancino, 15, a 10th-grader from Short Hills, N.J., told JNS that breaking a record was just a bonus.
“It felt amazing to wrap tefillin with such a big group of people,” he said. “It’s powerful to see you’re part of something—to see everyone join in something that is meaningful.”
Attending the Shabbaton for the first time, Cancino told JNS that he saw the chance to break the tefillin-wrapping record as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, adding both an entertaining and spiritual component to what he described as an action-packed weekend.
“For me, this CTeen Shabbaton is adventurous,” he said. “There are so many things to do here—from making new friends to trying different activities and meeting other Jewish teens from all over the world.”
Attendees of the annual CTeen Shabbaton in Brooklyn, N.Y., participate in an effort to break the world record for putting on tefillin, Feb. 28, 2025. Photo by Shalom Ross/Merkos 302.
Alan Krasnov, 18, a senior in high school from Buenos Aires, told JNS that it was “energizing” to start his day alongside a thousand other Jewish teens doing the exact same thing.
“It’s cool to start your morning this way,” he said. “In my house, I don’t wrap tefillin because in Argentina, where I’m from, it can be expensive, and I can’t afford it. So being able to wrap is special for me.”
He added, “I feel a strong connection to God, and while I don’t have the best words to describe what it feels like to wrap tefillin, it just overall puts a good feeling in your heart when you do it.”
Sammy Seokar, 16, an 11th-grader from Boynton Beach, Fla., told JNS, “I want to wrap tefillin more often, but it’s hard sometimes to remember.” He added that it’s “pretty crazy to know I was part of breaking this record.”
He said putting on tefillin is “like the face of Judaism. When people think of Jewish people, you see an image of them wrapping tefillin and davening,” he said, using the Hebrew word for “praying.”
“It is an empowering ritual because it is very spiritual to have this process of waking up in the morning and thanking God for your life,” Seokar said.
Attendees of the annual CTeen Shabbaton in Brooklyn, N.Y., participate in an effort to break the world record for putting on tefillin, Feb. 28, 2025. Photo by Shalom Ross/Merkos 302.
‘The voice of Jewish pride’
Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, chair of CTeen International, told JNS that while breaking a record is memorable, what matters most is that CTeen brings teens together to build the Jewish future.
“CTeen is about being 15 or 16 years old. It started when we developed our next-gen strategy for building the Jewish future and realized that there weren’t many great options for teens, especially within Chabad,” he said.
After all, acknowledged Kotlarsky, teens don’t always like going to the same synagogues as their parents. “They like to rebel, and they speak a different language. You can’t create the same programs for adults and teens,” he said.
The program was created to bridge that gap. Now, CTeen has almost 1,000 clubs reaching nearly 200,000 teens annually, according to Kotlarsky.
Attendees of the annual CTeen Shabbaton in Brooklyn, N.Y., participate in an effort to break the world record for putting on tefillin, Feb. 28, 2025. Photo by Shalom Ross/Merkos 302.
As for the Shabbaton, “many of these teens are here for the second or third time,” he said. “They’ve realized it’s not just about them but about being the voice of Jewish pride in their communities. That’s more significant than a Guinness World Record.”
“The record is nice,” he noted, “but what matters is these teens learning to share and inspire others. That’s how you create influencers who can reverse trends, shift tides and push back against antisemitism.” JNS
{Matzav.com}