About 500 people from the Penn State community filled HUB Alumni Hall Friday to celebrate the first Blue and White Shabbat, which an administrator called the university's largest religious dinner.

The differences in Shabbat celebrations are as numerous as those who celebrate it, but the weekly holiday is an opportunity for all Jews to reflect.

To remove distractions during Shabbat, food was pre-cooked, water was collected and the overhead lights were illuminated before the Friday evening dinner began.

The hall was filled with tables that ran the length of the room and were decorated with blue and white balloons. Students, professors and children filed in as groups of men and women worshipped separately in the corner.

The event was three years in the making, said Rabbi Nossom Meretsky, who presided over the ceremony.

"The night is finally coming true," he told the crowd.

Waiting for the dinner, Victoria Kasselman (freshman-journalism) said, "This is a good way to get all the Jews together, and it is Easter weekend, so we don't feel left out."

Prompted by two "Quiet" signs, the crowd fell silent as Josh Block (senior-elementary education) and Aaron Kaufman, director of Penn State Hillel, took the stage.

"Shabbat Shalom," said Block, the chair of the Blue and White Shabbat committee, before introducing Kaufman.

Kaufman thanked the people who helped put the Blue and White Shabbat together. Before the dinner, Kaufman said it was the biggest university-wide dinner, and after a short Hebrew blessing, the dinner commenced with the guests' drinking a cup of grape juice in place of wine, which a program for the event called an act that represented the importance of the meal.

Guests also deliberately washed their hands using the stations around the room -- three times on each hand.

The food that was served included a combination of chicken, green beans and string beans, pasta salad, grape juice and tiramisu for dessert.

As people began leaving, Block said, "It turned out better than I ever imagined."

Eric Gabor (sophomore-finance), a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, 225 E. Foster Ave., said the event was a great start.

"It's nice to see the Jewish community come together," he added.

Despite the event's success, Kasselman said there was room for improvement. She said she would like to see more organization at the next dinner.

Blue and White Shabbat was presented by the Chabad Jewish Student Center, Penn State Hillel, and some greek and additional student organizations.