Fall '18 Holiday Newsletter

‫ב”ה‬

Celebrate the Holidays You Gave Vassar Students!

Chabad on Fulton Jewish Student Center Post Holiday Newsletter Fall 2018/5779

ROSH HASHANA

YOM KIPPUR

SUKKOT/ SIMCHAT TORAH

(break-fast)

Soul-stirring shofar blasts echoing on the Quad that motivated students to reflect on the New Year

Hours of contemplative communal prayer in contrast to an impulsive and isolated world

Amazement that students come back after High Holidays to joyfully celebrate in the Sukkah

Watching students proudly tell their friends about their Judaism

Learning the deeper meaning of why we fast

Enough shakes of the Lulav and Etrog to put Shake Shack out of business

Enough brisket and apples & honey to foster a supportive community

The power of Bagels and Lox to unite students

Your Nachas from a bright

Jewish Future PRICELESS

Bringing students together through ecstatic dancing with the Torah

you made Vassar, which at one time seemed so alien, finally a home My freshman year at Vassar, a wave of anti-zionist,

anti-semitic sentiment threw the campus into chaos... ... and threatened the very essence of the Jewish community. It was a tough year; at its end I considered transferring.

It’s difficult to proudly identify as a Jew when it seems as though the entire campus is screaming that you’re a colonizer and a racist.

During my sophomore year, I started attending services at Chabad. I found something there that I never had before, a Jewish community.

Growing up, I went to a reform synagogue in Westchester County. But, I never identified with that community, and the synagogue wasn’t a home, it was a place I went.

Judaism, for me, meant family. It meant Hanukkah and Passover. It meant seeing my grandparents.. It meant a lot to me, but it did not characterize how I related to my community. It was a personal experience, but not quite a spiritual one.

The Chabad community made Vassar life not just more tolerable, but something I could enjoy.

At Chabad I found a Jewish community that supported me. This community made Vassar life not just more tolerable, but something I could enjoy.

For the first time since starting college, I felt secure in my Jewish identity.

Chabad made Vassar, which at one time seemed so alien, finally a home.

Every Jewish student deserves a community that will nurture their Jewish identity. Chabad provides a space where I can explore spirituality with neither the politically correct restraints of Vassar nor an unwavering push towards a kind of religiosity that I may not be comfortable with.

I appreciate Rabbi’s willingness to discuss issues people may have with his beliefs. His openness has allowed me and other students to explore our spirituality better, because we know that we can feel comfortable expressing disagreement.

I am a much different person today than I was entering Vassar. I know that in every change I’ve made, Chabad had some part in. Attending services with Rabbi and Dalia was the best decision that I made since I started college, and is among one of the best decisions I have made in my entire life.

It is my sincerest hope that you will help Chabad serve Vassar Jewish students for many years to come.

Thank You! Jesser Horowitz ‘19

Anti-Semitic Incidents on Campuses Up 89% , *

How to Respond?

Over the last few years, the world has seen hatred of the Jewish people once again rear its ugly head. And unfortunately, college campuses seem to be getting a lot of it…

For most students, the easiest way to avoid anti-semitism is to

What can you do to stop this troubling trend?

no longer be openly Jewish and just blend into the crowd. I see this on a regular basis and it is deeply troubling.

College is a crucial time when a student’s identity is formed and solidified. What will the Jewish future look like if our college students are uncomfortable with and uninvolved in Jewish life?

What can you do to stop this troubling trend?

To be strong and proud Jews, Vassar students must have the knowledge to understand ‘the why’ and ‘the how’ of Judaism

Attacks on our people have been waged before. How did we overcome?

To understand how we can respond and make real change, let’s take a look back in our rich history. In 701 BCE, the wicked king of Assyria, Sanheriv, sought to destroy the Jewish people. He invaded the land

* Inside Higher Ed, DC-based

of Israel and took control of the towns surrounded Jerusalem. He proceeded to lay siege to our Holy City, but miraculously was not able to breach our walls! But how was such a powerful army defeated?

Isaiah the prophet commented that the Jewish people threw off the yoke of Sanheriv’s control as a result of ‘oil’. This was the oil that King Hezekiah, who reigned during this time period, burned in the lamps of synagogues and study halls to promote and aid the learning of Torah!

It was King Hezekiah’s dedication to provide Jewish education for the masses that saved us from the wicked Assyrian monarchy. He understood that the only way to keep Judaism alive was to inspire everyone to be engaged learners of the Torah.

And today is no different! To be strong and proud Jews, Vassar students must have the knowledge to understand ‘the why’ and ‘the how’ of Judaism.

I truly appreciate you for helping Dalia and me instill Jewish knowledge and values in dozens of Vassar students. Your giving, like King Hezekiah, is protecting and preserving Judaism for generations to come!

Thank you for being our oil and

empowering Jewish students to stand strong against the modern day Sanheriv!

Rabbi Daniel Sanoff

chabadonfulton.org | rabbi@chabadonfulton.org | 845-214-6734 | 94 Fulton Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 Chabad on Fulton is the assumed name of Chabad on Campus Dutchess, Inc. a 501(c)3 registered with the state of New York.

We are unaffiliated with Vassar College