The Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University
420 Murray Hill Rd. • Vestal, NY 13850 607-797-0015
info@chabadofbinghamton.com www.JewishBU.com
Postage paid at Newark, NJ post offices.
Volume 12, Issue 1 Published by CHABAD OF BINGHAMTON
Contact us at: Hakesher@JewishBU.com
Editor Rivkah Slonim
Staff Writer Alan Zeitlin
Proofreading Marlene Serkin, Chaya M. Slonim
Design Avrohom Weg
Photo Credits Jennifer Mahram
Sidney Wilson
A WORD FROM THE DIRECTORS
Dear Friend,
Are leaders born or made? Is leadership about power and authority, or is it about learning when to deliberately relinquish? To what extent do environmental factors influence the emergence of leaders, or is it all in the DNA?
These and other questions are the focus of myriad research papers and studies. But for us, it’s far from academic. Over the years we have learned that leaders come in all stripes and colors. Some are classic extroverts but many are not. Some held leadership positions in High School but just as many only found their voice in college. Leadership runs in some families, but often, is anomalous to that gene pool.
What defines our student leaders? They all care. Deeply. They are ready to put a lot of time and head space into thinking about others, and they don’t skimp on the elbow grease. To be perfectly honest, these students take our breath away; they bring us to tears. They are fearless and selfless. They dream big and work hard. They have moxie, creativity, smarts and drive. They believe in the power of one. And have learned how one can influence many, so that tens become hundreds and hundreds become thousands.
Peruse the pages of this magazine. Take note of the astounding fact that “mere” college kids raised over $35,000 worth of toys for Chai Lifeline! But that’s just a small part of what’s going on: Planning is already underway for Chabad of Binghamton’s very own version of March Madness: Shabbat 2000 - the biggest such Shabbat meal on any campus (the catering and staggering logistics is all done by students), the much anticipated Purim Carnival Extravaganza, and the Fashion for a Cure program—more edgy each year-- which raises money for Sharsheret. And that’s just March.
The jury is still out on the nature of leadership, but this we know with certainty: Chabad of Binghamton is producing our next generation of Jewish leaders. With these boots on the ground our future is beyond bright and secure; it is vibrant and exciting.
We feel exceedingly blessed and humbled and we just wanted to share our sentiments with you. It’s your support and friendship that make this all possible.
N’hiyeh B’kesher, let’s keep in touch,
December 2022, Volume 12, Issue 1 Hakesher is published two times a year; December, and May by Chabad of Binghamton, 420 Murray Hill Rd., Vestal, NY 13850.
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe of righteous memory
Seasons of the Soul; the Power of Winter
By Rabbi Yanki Tauber
In the cycle of the Jewish year, the six months from Nissan to Tishrei are the Season of the Sun, and the Tishrei to Nissan months are our Season of Rains otherwise known as Winter.
During the Season of the Sun, we celebrate and reexperience the great unilateral acts of divine involvement in our destiny: the Exodus on Passover, when G-d descended to Egypt to take for Himself a nation from the womb of a nation, amidst trials, signs, wonders and battles; the giving of the Torah on Shavuot, when G-d came down on Mount Sinai to grant us His blueprint for life and our charter as His kingdom of priests and holy nation.
The Season of Rains, on the other hand, is a half-year characterized by human endeavor and initiative. The month of Tishrei—the month of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the Ten Days of Repentance—is a time of teshuvah, of soul-searching and self-improvement.
The “Season of Rains” also contains the two rabbinical festivals of the Jewish year—Chanukah (25 Kislev to 2 or 3 Tevet) and Purim (14 Adar). Unlike the biblical festivals, which were unilaterally commanded by G-d, these are humanly initiated festivals, instituted as our response to the milestones in our relationship with G-d which they commemorate.
Another winter festival is the New Year of Chassidism, celebrated on the 19th of Kislev. The teachings of Chassidism emphasize the need for intellectual appreciation and emotional experience in our fulfillment of the divine commandments (as opposed to mere mechanical observance). Chassidism thus belongs to the “rainy” area of our spiritual lives—our capacity for involvement and initiative in our relationship with G-d.
The Jewish calendar is based upon the lunar cycle, with
the beginning of each month falling within a day or two of the new moon. Since the moon completes its orbit of the earth every 29.5 days, the Jewish month alternates between 29 and 30 days. A 30-day month is called a malei (full month), and a 29-day month is called a chasser (lacking month).
Generally speaking, the months follow a set pattern: Nissan is always full, Iyar always lacking, Sivan full, Tammuz lacking, and so on. However, two months, the months of Cheshvan and Kislev (the second and third months after Tishrei), have no fixed length: in certain years both are full, in other years both are lacking, and in others still, Cheshvan is lacking and Kislev is full.
In other words, the summer months are fixed and unvarying, while the months of the Season of Rains are subject to changes and fluctuations.
In this, too, our calendar reflects the dynamics of the seasons of the soul. The “sunlight” aspect of our spiritual lives is fixed and unvarying. When we surrender ourselves to a higher truth, we also surrender our human frailties and inconsistencies. We surrender to what is infinite, perfect and unequivocal, and what we receive is likewise infinite, perfect and unequivocal.
But when we turn to our “rainmaking” self, our initiatives and achievements are subject to the rises and falls of a finite, imperfect self. This is a season with fluctuating months, sometimes lacking, sometimes full, reflecting the vacillating nature of everything human.
Therein lies the weakness of our rainy season, as well as its strength. By all objective criteria, this is the lesser half of our internal cycle, plagued by the instabilities and deficiencies of the human state. But it is also our more flexible half, where a lack might be transformed into a gain and a vulnerability exploited as a source of blessing.
Yanki Tauber is a chassidic scholar and the author of eleven books—including the groundbreaking Book of Jewish Knowledge—and hundreds of essays on Jewish and Hasidic thought. From 1999 to 2014 he served as content editor of Chabad.org, the world’s largest Jewish educational website. Tauber is currently a senior editor at the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. He is also editor-in-chief of The Book, a new translation and anthologized commentary for the Five Books of Moses.
It takes an extraordinary person to be an angel.
The children of Chai Lifeline are grateful to the many super-extraordinary people at
The Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life and Sigma Delta Tau at
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
For being our amazing Chanukah Angels.
We love the toys, games, and gifts. But we are blown away by the caring and compassion that led you to make sure our Chanukahs were super bright this year.
ALUMNISPOTLIGHT BRITTANY AND JONATHANCOGAN
Alumni Couple Starts Foundation In Honor of Daughter’s Recovery
The first indications of a problem with Ellie Ruby were that the usually cheerful child had been irritable and had problems using her left arm. When an MRI revealed that Jonathan and Brittany’s daughter had a brain tumor, shortly before her first birthday, it was a shock to their system.
The Deal, New Jersey, residents, who graduated from Binghamton University about 12 years ago, would not only fight to protect their daughter, who they refer to as their “princess warrior,” but they went on to help others.
The couple founded the Ellie Ruby Foundation (www. ellierubyfoundation.org) to support families with children battling cancer.
“We were in the city and moved to Deal during Covid,” Jonathan explained. “Shortly after that, Ellie was diagnosed. Obviously, it was devastating. We had support, however, and felt love from so many different areas. We really didn’t know how to say, ‘thank you’ and we decided to pay it forward, so we started the foundation in honor of Ellie’s refuah, healing. And we did it to honor everyone that helped us and to make sure people have a similar supportive community to what we had because that was critical in helping us make it to the other side successfully.”
The foundation has delivered more than $250,000 in research and support grants, including $100,000 to the Children’s Brain Tumor Project. It also launched a financial assistance program, to help families who have a child with cancer. Supporters have donated 100 inches of hair, created 50 hospital care packages, sent 150 get-well cards and delivered 60 inspirational bracelets for pediatric cancer patients.
Brittany, who noted that Ellie is doing much better, said they also did a weekly challah bake
for her recovery.
“It grew so big that we had to do it on Instagram Live and we talked about how to use challah as a tool for Hashem to answer our prayers,” she said.
She added that the community gave great strength in being united in support of Ellie and the family.
Brittany, a learning specialist, who works with children with disabilities, met Jonathan, who works in finance when they were in high school. He attended The Frisch School in Paramus, and she attended Hillel in Ocean Township. Jonathan was friends with Brittany’s brother from Camp Seneca Lake and he went to their home for a Shabbos.
“It fell into place pretty quickly,” Jonathan said.
“He always made me smile and had a good joke,” Brittany said. “I guess it was destiny.’
Once in Binghamton, both said they enjoyed Friday nights with friends and that Shabbos at Chabad of Binghamton made them feel like they were at home. They enjoyed Simchat Torah, the Purim carnival and numerous other events. Though they initially tried to stay “under the radar” after they ended up at Rabbi and Rivky’s table, “the rest was history.” Both became very involved and Jon went on to become a student president.
At Chabad of Binghamton, both enjoyed the cholent and salad. Jon insisted Rabbi Slonim teach him a Chatan class (Groom Class) and Brittany took a Taharat Hamishpacha class with Rivky.
Jonathan would propose via a scavenger hunt in Riverside Park. He said he was proud that Rabbi Slonim officiated their wedding because he was the only rabbi who knew them both well and their bond was invaluable.
As for advice for students, Brittany said they should “cherish the moment, maintain your Jewish identity and enjoy it - cause life gets real afterwards.”
Jonathan credited his wife for knowing how to set up extra support for Ellie so she would have as normal a life as possible.
Videos on the foundation’s website show Ellie’s infectious smile and recovery. Both parents said they want to raise awareness to help others and are thankful for their daughter.
“She is our miracle,” Brittany said.
ALUMNI NEWS
MAZEL TOVS
‘90 Chaya (Cindy Schwartz) and Ed Harris announce the marriage of their son, Aryeh Moshe, to Shevy Arnstein, on December 4, 2022.
‘91 Hadasa and Emanuel Behar announce the marriage of their son Moshe to Rochel Rosenbarum on Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5783.
‘98 Michelle and Brian Major announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Orly Zahava, on December 29, 2022.
‘00 Brett and Rachel Hartstein announce the birth of their son, Marvin Ziggy (Mordechai Zalman), on October 9, 2022.
‘01 Yehoshua and Ahuva November announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Leib Meir, on Tishrei 4, 5783.
‘02 Scott and Jenny Eckers announce the birth of their son, Simon David (Shimon David), on November 23, 2022. He was welcomed home by big brother, Jacob.
‘04 Amy and Simcha Weinberg announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Zalmy, on Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5782 and the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Leah, on Elul 13, 5782.
‘05 Meeka (Levin) and David Natanov announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Ahuva, on September 5, 2022.
‘09 Rochel and Eliezer Bushman announce the birth of their son, Shalom Meir Yaakov, on December 2, 2022. He was welcomed home by big brothers, Aharon Ber, Chaim Michel Lev, and Baruch Yitzchok.
‘10 Jared and Beth (Goldfischer) Balavram announce the birth of their son Liam Shai (Zev Shamai) on May 14, 2022. He was welcomed home by big sister Leyla Alexandra (Elia Leor).
Avi and Rachel Gordon announce the birth of their son, Dylan Asher (Dov Asher Melech), on November 3rd, 2022. He was welcomed home by big sister Sophie (Froma Miriam).
Gavrielah (Kuchlik) and Avner Lechner announce the birth of their son, Pesach Chaim, on July 15, 2022.
‘11 Alex and Kellie Tafet announce the birth of their daughter, Anna Esme, on November 16, 2022.
Natalie Levin announces her engagement to Moshe Saada; a Summer ‘23 wedding is planned. Natalie is a Psychotherapist; Moshe is a Software developer. They will divide their time between NY and Israel.
Laurie (Hutt) and Isaac Katz announce the birth of their daughter, Shiri, on March 11, 2022. She was welcomed home by big sister, Maya.
‘12 Samantha Hechler and Ariel Koban announce the birth of their daughter Shiloh Ruth Koban (Sarah Raizel) on June 25, 2022.
Shayna (Dayna Driscoll) and David Muller announce the birth of their daughter, Raya Aviva, on May 21, 2022. She was welcomed home by big sister Emmy.
David and Jacqueline Mizrahi announce the birth of their daughter, Sabrina (Rena), on June 22nd, 2022.
Keren (Shpigel) and Avi Siegel announce the birth of their daughter Adira on September 2nd, 2022. She was welcomed home by big sisters Arianna and Zohar.
Rebecca Lipson announces her engagement to Danny Pecoraro; an August ‘23 wedding is planned. Rebecca is the Assistant political director at United Food and Commercial Workers International Union; Danny is a High School English Teacher. They will make their home in the MD area.
Josh Aharonoff and Sharon Smilovich were married on September 4th, 2022. They make their home in Manhattan.
Jon Rubin announces his engagement to Dana Gelles; a Spring 2023 wedding is planned. Jon is an attorney; Dana is a social worker. They will make their home in NYC.
‘13 Daniel and Randi Lazrus announce the birth of their daughter, Eliana
Nicole, on May 15, 2022.
Ariel Schnur and Andrew Azarian announce the birth of their daughter Ava (Tova Esther) on March 31, 2022.
Eliza and Josh Kaplan announce the birth of their son Yeruchem Dovid on November 16th, 2022.
‘14 Cari and Benjamin Roth announce the birth of their son Zachary Landon, on May 30, 2022. He was welcomed home by big sister Annie Teagan (Chana Tamar).
Rebecca and Jacob Shamsian announce the birth of their son, Judah Ramy (Rachamim Chaim), on July 14, 2022.
David and Devorah (Levin) Petrover announce the birth of their son, Daniel Ashar on December 21, 2022. He was welcomed home by big brother, Leor.
‘15 Benjamin and Cari Roth announce the birth of their son Zachary Landon. (see ‘14 for full details.)
Jacob and Rebecca Shamsian announce the birth of their son, Judah Ramy. (see ‘14 for full details.)
Jon and Emunah Berns announce the birth of their daughter, Ella Sophia. She was welcomed home by big brother Samuel Ezra (Shmuel Ezra).
‘16 Jennifer Reich was married to Justin Kelman on November 6, 2022. Jen is a Special Projects Coordinator in the Bureau of Mental Health at the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene. Justin is an Electrical Engineer at Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) as a government contractor working on space and defense projects. They make their home in Washington, DC.
Josh and Jessica Eagle announce the birth of their daughter Mollie Brooke (Batya Malka) on June 29, 2022.
Rebecca (Tanzer) and Robbie Gruener announce the birth of their son Akiva Shimon, on October 21st, 2022.
Andrew Freeman announces his engagement to Joelle Swatez; a June ‘23 wedding is planned. Andrew is a Technical Recruiter, and Joelle works for a giving team for a foundation. They plan on making their home in Chicago.
Continued on Page 22
SYMPATHIES
Chabad mourns the passing of...
Mr. Jeffrey (Yosef Chaim ben Moshe) Zerowin, father of Liba (Jill Zerowin) and father-in-law of Yaakov Kadar ‘94.
Gavriella Esther (bat Yisroel David v’Atara Yafa) Bader, on December 12, 2022, daughter of Scott Bader ‘94 and Stephanie Cohen Bader ‘95.
Gerald Rieff, on June 29, 2022, 30th of Sivan 5782, father of Jordan Rieff ‘01.
Dr. Larry J. Needle, on October 22, 2022, father of Josh Needle ‘07.
Judith (Yehudit Chena bat Daniel) Jelen, on June 24, 2022, mother of Emily Jelen ‘19.
May the families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
For up to date Chabad Alumni news, visit: www.facebook.com/ChabadBUAlumni
Chabad and it’s supporters: a Radical Reframing
By George Rohr
From the keynote address delivered at the Banquet of the International Shluchim Conference 2022.
My friends often hear me say that from the perspective of return on a tzedakah investment, Chabad offers the best bang for the buck.
Why?
There are several reasons – some obvious, and some less so.
First, there is your legendary mesirus nefesh, or selfsacrifice, rooted in your boundless ahavas Israel
Every Chabad House is built on the foundation of the self-sacrifice of the shluchim.
Here is another reason.
In the investing world, we look to make sure that the leaders of a company seeking investment are deeply committed.
You don’t want to invest and find out that the CEO has decided to take a job elsewhere – you want to know that he or she will be around for at least a few years.
Well, in the world of Chabad, that’s nothing. Shluchim and their families don’t just have some skin in the game; they have all their skin in the game.
“ The biggest reason why donors should support Chabad is the extraordinary multiplier effect of shlichus, or what business people call leverage ”
Whether in the far reaches of Siberia, in the Pampas of Argentina or on a small college campus in the Midwest, whether in war-torn Ukraine or on the beaches and mountains of Thailand and India, or in every single state of the United States and all across Israel – indeed, wherever there are Jews – for that shaliach and shlucha, there is simply no plan B. Failure is not an option.
Yes, they will encounter setbacks and sometimes those setbacks will seem extreme – but the Rebbe taught that any setback is yerida le’tzorech aliya – that every screwup,
every disappointment is ultimately meant only to propel them forward.
But perhaps the biggest reason why donors should support Chabad is the extraordinary multiplier effect of shlichus, or what business people call leverage.
Allow me to illustrate this with two stories.
I
First story: Miri arrives at the University of Virginia in 2004.
Her first week there, she wanders around the student activities fair during freshman orientation and signs up to receive information from a range of campus organizations that seem vaguely interesting. Miri comes across the Chabad booth, and having had a weak and uninspiring Jewish upbringing, she sort of ambivalently decides to write down her name and email address on the Chabad list. In the weeks and months that follow, she receives dozens of friendly emails from the Chabad shaliach on that campus, Rabbi Shlomo Meyer, inviting her and her friends to come to this or that event at Chabad. But Miri is busy academically and socially, and deletes each of those emails.
One day, Rabbi Meyer decides he is going to call every single student on that list who has not responded, including Miri. (Rabbi Meyer is obviously a big nudge.)
At last, the two speak, and, being polite, Miri agrees to come to Chabad.
As she tells the story, it’s the first time in her life that she meets an observant Jewish family. And she’s shocked.
Though tentative at first, intrigued by what she has encountered, she keeps coming back, curious to learn more. Eventually this leads her to take some time to study at the Chabad Mayanot women’s program in Jerusalem, where through Mayanot she meets a wonderful young man. The two marry.
Today, Miri and Rabbi Dovid Birk work side-by-side with Rabbi Eli and Rebbetzin Chana Silberstein in their shlichus at Cornell University.
For ten years now, they’ve been spectacularly successful teaching and celebrating Yiddishkeit with Jewish students at Cornell.
You can draw a straight line, from the loving persistence of one shaliach, tracking down one eighteen-year-old student, to invite her to experience the beauty and power of her heritage… to her and her husband ultimately selflessly dedicating their lives to doing the same, at a university with 4,000 Jewish undergraduate and graduate students… to the countless students who as a direct result of their experiences at that Chabad House, have become Jewishly committed leaders impacting their own worlds for the good.
Growing antisemitism on campuses is not an obstacle to these shluchim – not to them nor to Chabad couples like them across colleges and universities – it only emboldens them to work even harder every single day to build Jewish literacy, grow Jewish pride, and indeed, to awaken every neshama among the students and faculty in all those places.
That is leverage.
I should note that Chassidus teaches us that each individual mitzvah, like each individual Jew, is infinitely precious – even without leverage.
Let’s be clear that had Miri “only” learned to appreciate the warmth of Shabbat, or “only” taken on the mitzvah of lighting Shabbat candles, that would have more than justified Rabbi Meyer’s efforts. But as we know, one mitzvah leads to another and then another.
And no Jewish movement has been able to nurture that multiplier effect more effectively than Chabad.
Another story, this from the other side of the world:
Alexey Smirnov, called Lyosha as a little boy, is born in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, Russia in 1998 and lives there until he is four.
He and his older sister Katya have no exposure to Jewish life – and how could they, growing up then, in a town previously named after Joseph Stalin, yemach shemo
their Jewish identities.
He suggests to the grandmother that perhaps Lyosha and his sister could be raised instead in the Chabad Moscow Children’s Home, where they will find hot food, warm beds, safety and love.
She agrees.
“ Growing antisemitism on campuses is not an obstacle to these shluchim –it only emboldens them to work even harder every single day ”
So, the children move to Moscow, and together with the other children in the home, study for twelve years in the local Chabad schools. Along the way, at his bris mila, Lyosha takes the name Shlomo.
Now fast forward to 2016. The news from Israel reports a long list of horrific acts of terror against Jews. Shlomo, now 18, and four classmates decide to make aliya, and join the Israeli army, feeling that it’s now their turn to protect Jews.
In Israel, Shlomo patrols the borders of Chevron and surrounding cities, often finding himself in danger. One night, his unit receives IDF intelligence that an armed terrorist is on the loose. Springing into action, Shlomo and his colleagues notice a suspicious figure in a nearby alleyway. After a struggle they subdue and detain the would-be terrorist – saving the local Jewish community from a potential catastrophe.
Around that time, Rabbi Berel Lazar, whom the Rebbe had sent as his shaliach to Moscow when the Soviet Union collapsed, sends Rabbi Zalman Yaffee as the shaliach to Volgograd. Times are very hard there. In search of local Jews, Rabbi Yaffee finds Lyosha’s maternal grandmother, and learns that because of the family’s extraordinarily difficult circumstances, little Lyosha and his sister are at risk of being placed in a Russian state orphanage, where Rabbi Yaffee fears they would lose any chance of developing
The little boy who once risked fading away in a Volgograd state orphanage, becomes a Jewish hero.
Through his shluchim, the Rebbe ignited in a young boy a Jewishly purposeful life, which years later led to the saving of precious Jewish lives in Eretz Hakodesh.
Once again, that’s leverage.
And that’s the power of Chabad.
I
To me, the case for why we should support Chabad is obvious and is constantly being renewed with compelling evidence. And the proof is in a reality that we see today, and every day, with our own eyes.
continued on page 23
REBECCALINDER
For One Dancer, Binghamton is Music to Her Ears
It pays to have a father who is blunt.
Rebecca Linder’s dad didn’t mince words at a party when he wanted to let someone know about his daughter’s skills.
“He went up to the guy and said, ‘my daughter can do exactly what your dancers are doing,” she recounted. “You should send her an email.”
So, since her days at Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) she was not only a pitcher on the softball team and a shooting guard at the basketball team, she began dancing and amplifying the joy for participants at bat mitzvahs.
“I’ve always had a lot of energy and dancing is something that I love,” she said.
The West Hempstead, Long Island, resident had been to Israel a few times and decided to study there after high school for a year, at Midreshet HaRova in Jerusalem.
“It was great to study Talmud but I also like philosophy,” she said.
By Alan Zeitlin ‘00
“Going from there to Binghamton, it’s the first time I was in a school where not all the students are Jewish. It took a little getting used to. I think the important thing is to be patient with yourself and as you learn different subjects, you shouldn’t get so caught up that you forget that you are learning about yourself. It’s important to reflect on who you are.”
Linder says she loves going to Chabad and enjoying the chicken soup on Friday night, and she had fun teaching Zumba, as she helped lead a GNO, or Girls Night Out at Chabad.
“It was definitely one of the coolest nights,” she said, adding that there was a great sense of community.
She said on a visit for Shabbat when she was deciding what school to go to, she could see Binghamton was the choice.
“It was a no-brainer,” Linder said. “I wanted a school in New York that had a great Jewish environment, and it was pretty obvious at Chabad that it’s a special place.”
She interacts a lot with Rabbi and Rebbetzin Ohana, who she described as thoughtful and caring.
As for her most interesting class, she said it’s one on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and she is looking at perspectives she hadn’t previously considered.
She said she is finding a sense of balance.
“Before I was observant, I felt like I was always running,” she said. “Now it’s more that there is a beginning, a middle and end to the week and I can always re-set.”
The freshman said she may major in Human Development and minor in Education and thinks she might want to become a teacher.
She said Chabad has made the adjustment to college smooth and she is also thankful to her mother and father.
“My parents are very chill,” she said. “They have high expectations, of course, but they don’t put too much pressure on me. They know that I will be on the right path.”
Linder, who plays guitar and also enjoys singing, said she always been a musical person.
As for dancing at bnai mitzvah celebrations, she said it is heartwarming to help make the event memorable for the child of honor.
She said there are still some oldschool dances like the cha-chaslide.
Are they still doing the macarena? “No,” Linder said. “That’s been retired.”
ONE SEMESTER
91 DAYS
1884 HOURS
FILLED WITH NON-STOP ACTIVITY.
Developing Self.
Nurturing Friendships.
Building Community. Shabbat.
Philanthropy. Holidays.
Education. Deli and Café. Minyan.
Programming and Social Events.
Chabad Welcomes our new students in Style
Chagim at Chabad
Education. Education.
Studying Torah on campus is completely different. There is no compelling factor except for the desire to take advantage of all the wonderful offerings.
• Supper and Study • Pizza ‘n’ Parasha • Sinai Scholars • Jewish U • JGC • Lunch ’n’Learn • Pre- Chagim Yom Iyun • Torah Panapoly! • One-on-one chevrutas • And so much more!
For a full gallery of pictures of these events and others, please visit: www.JewishBU.com/photos
Celebration
The Naomi Staiman Mega Challah Bake
Ashkefardic Night
PLEASE NOTE: All photos were taken before the onset of Shabbat.
Philanthropy
The Light up a Life Toy Drive run in conjunction with SDT to benefit the children helped through Chai Lifeline kicked off with a Color Run held in memory of Camren Vilinsky and culminated with a pre-Chanukah celebration. Over 35k worth of toys will be given to children because of the hard work of our outstanding community of students.
Fun. Fun. Fun!
BNO’s are gaining traction with game and pizza night and Poke Bowl building.
Midnight Madness, the ultimate way to finish off a semester!
Pre- holiday baking workshops feature Honey cookies and Donuts
Sharon Smilovich and Josh Aharonoff announce their marriage. See ‘12 for full details.
‘17 Dvir Ofer announces his engagement to Anna Zborowski.
Michelle Goldhirsch and Brandon Koenig announce their engagement.
Jacob Green and Abby (Biesman) Green announce their marriage on August 21st, 2022. Jacob is a consultant for Accenture and Abby is a Product Specialist in a private equity firm. They make their home in Manhattan.
‘18 Daniella Forman and Tyler Faden were married on December 22, 2022; they make their home in Philadelphia, PA. Daniella is a third-year student at Drexel Medical School; Tyler works as a product lead at a new company he helped found called Ghost.
Bradley and Ilana (Forchheimer) Goldman announce their marriage.
‘19 Kaila (Kaner) and Jonathan Nulman announce the birth of their son, Yosef Kalman, on October 2nd, 2022.
Brandon Koenig and Michelle Goldhirsh announce their engagement. Betty Cohn and Daniel Gabel announce their engagement; an August 6, 2023 wedding is planned. Betty is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health Genetics at the University of Washington; Danny is the office manager at Seattle Jewish Community School. They will make their home in Seattle, Washington.
‘20 Rebecca Harris announces her engagement to Rafael Jacobovitz; a March 5, 2023 wedding is planned. Rebecca is a second-year student at New York Medical College; Rafi is a co-founder at a tech start-up. They will make their home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Moshe and Bat-Sheva (Poloshik) Mintz announce the birth of their son Noam Shimshon, on February 26, 2022.
Samantha Kahn and Asaf Hiltzig announce their engagement; a Fall 2023 wedding is planned. Samantha is a school social worker at Woodland Middle School; Asaf is a second-year student at St. George’s University.
‘21 Avi and Amanda (Heisler) Gottlieb were married on June 19, 2022. Amanda is a Marketing Specialist at Retensa; Avi is a Sales Development Representative at GigaSpaces. They make their home in Queens, NY.
Justin Glickman and Shoham Benmelech were married on July 4th, 2022. Justin is working for ASML in Connecticut, and Shoham is pursuing a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.
Daniel Gabel and Betty Cohn announce their engagement. See ‘19 for full details.
‘22 Jonny Beretz announces his engagement to Darby Sokolow; a June 4, 2023 wedding is planned. Jonny will be working at McKinsey and Co; Darby will be working at PwC. They will make their home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Naomi Bruk and Zev Blumenthal announce their engagement; a June 2023 wedding is planned. Naomi will be working in Binghamton while applying to medical school; Zev will be completing his Masters at BU while doing an engineering development program at BAE. They will make their home in Vestal, NY.
Shoshana Klein and EJ Meltzer announce their engagement; a July 31, 2023 wedding is planned.
Carolyn Albom and Nathan Klausner announce their engagement; a July 3, 2023 wedding is planned. Nathan is a first year student at Central Michigan University medical School; Carolyn is pursuing her Ph.D. in physical therapy at Wayne State University. They will make their home in Detroit.
All of us are here tonight, 28 years after the Rebbe’s passing on Gimmel Tamuz, because of the Rebbe’s bold, inspired vision.
Not only is his “business model” sustainable – it is spectacularly so.
In 1994, there were nearly 1200 shluchim working in 737 Chabad institutions worldwide.
It had taken the Rebbe 44 years to build that network.
Today there are over five thousand seven hundred shluchim, and nearly three thousand Chabad institutions worldwide.
A five-fold and four-fold increase, respectively, since 1994. Incredible!
And as part of that – look at the campus shluchim:
There were 20 full-time Chabad Houses on college campuses; today BH, there are 244. A twelve-fold increase!
Look at just this past year –120 new couples have joined the ranks of shluchim around the world – that’s a new Chabad shaliach every three days!
And if you ask any shaliach, young or old, he’ll tell you they’re only just getting started.
Friends, the world knows this, but let’s say it explicitly: in all of Jewish history, there has never been a phenomenon remotely comparable to the Rebbe’s army.
I want to conclude tonight by proposing a radically new framing of the relationship between the shluchim, and the many supporters of Chabad.
The pasuk states: “S’mach Zevulun be’tzeitecha, ve’Issachar be’ohaleicha.” “Rejoice, Zevulun, in your excursions – meaning your business excursions – and Issachar in your tents.”
Two of Jacob’s sons were partners. Zevulun, the businessman, and Issachar, the Torah scholar.
The Torah is specifically telling Zevulun to rejoice.
In his talk at a Machne Israel Development Fund gathering in 1991 that I was privileged to attend, the Rebbe
asked: Why does Zevulun rejoice? Firstly, said the Rebbe, because he works to exercise his individual potential to the fullest. And second, because Zevulun’s happiness stems mainly from his connection to Issachar – i.e., to Torah, its study, and its scholars. The two brothers, continued the Rebbe, established a full and multidimensional partnership, transforming Zevulun’s life, granting him fulfillment, purpose and peace of mind as he supports Issachar’s endeavors in learning and teaching Torah.
“ the world knows this, but let’s say it explicitly: in all of Jewish history, there has never been a phenomenon remotely comparable to the Rebbe’s army ”
So I submit to you that going forward, you, the shluchim, and we, those of us who have the honor of supporting your work, should fundamentally reframe our understanding of our relationship to reflect the Rebbe’s worldview.
Because that worldview is not limited to the shluchim.
The Rebbe intended it for all of us.
If you are Issachar, we are Zevulun, and together we can enhance the value, power and impact of all we might achieve separately.
Generally we think of ourselves as baalei batim, or “philanthropists”, or donors – whether we are contributing financially, or contributing our time, skills, work and creativity, or both. The premise is that we are the donors, and you, the shluchim, are the recipients.
But that isn’t true, and if it ever was true, it shouldn’t be the case from now on.
We baalei batim now need to understand our relationship with you differently.
We are not donors, and you are not recipients.
We and you are us.
We are partners who rejoice in our privilege to be partners in the work of Chabad, partners in the great vision of the Rebbe.
We are bound by a joint achrayus – a joint responsibility to continue to grow the world-changing impact of the Rebbe’s vision, and together, to work to bring the ultimate light of Moshiach to a still-dark world, bimhera beyameinu. Amen. continued from page 9
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The Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University
