At Princeton, Jewish Students Make Connections for Life

by Reuvena Leah Grodnitzky – Chabad.edu

Not many college students go to Israel in the middle of a semester, but that is exactly where the student board of Chabad at Princeton University just went for a week of learning, touring and discussion.

This was the third year that Rabbi Eitan and Gitty Webb led such a trip. The 11 students, who traded their spring break vacation time for the experience, returned to Princeton energized and Jewishly motivated. The program included learning at the Mayanot Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem; time spent with the Israel Defense Forces; and meetings with Israeli officials.

One student said that speaking with wounded soldiers recovering from terror attacks was especially moving. Another noted the constructive conversation with Knesset member Michael Oren, who holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton, and his valuable advice about Jewish activism on campus. A third board member mentioned a casual conversation near the end of the trip on Talmudic interpretation, which left quite an impression upon him.

When the Webbs first arrived at Princeton University in 2002 to establish a Chabad House on campus (with an infant son in tow), they couldn’t have imagined the growth they would experience over the course of 14 years. What began in a tiny, two-bedroom apartment with a hallway refrigerator—the kitchen was too small to accommodate one—has since turned into a fully customized, four-story home, which they have also outgrown.

The Scharf Family Chabad House at Princeton University provides Jewish students with a sense of home, as well as a powerful lineup of Shabbat and holiday meals, classes and learning opportunities, social events and trips.

“I love the sense of family that I feel at Chabad,” says Molly Reiner, a junior at Princeton who studies international development. “I have met some of my closest friends there, and it is one of the places on campus where I feel like I can fully be myself. I have also enjoyed learning more about Judaism, especially incorporating Shabbat into my weekly routine.”

For Reiner, this connection has translated into other parts of her life as well. For example, she attended Friday-night services and dinner every week last summer at Chabad Taipei in Taiwan while on a study program there.

“It’s because of my relationship with the Webbs, which is extremely close, to the point where I feel comfortable walking into their house at any time of day,” says Reiner. “They have played a huge part in making my Princeton experience amazing. I have loved seeing their role in the Jewish community grow during my time here.”

The growth that Reiner mentions has been exponential. Despite the move to a larger home, meals and programs have expanded to outgrow that as well. Friday nights are now frequently conducted in an outdoor tent because the house cannot hold all its guests. And the Webbs, who now have five children, recently brought a new Chabad couple—Rabbi Bentzi and Chaya Brook—to teach classes, learn with individual students and focus on the graduate-student community.

“In the years since Gitty and I have come to Princeton, we have seen a significant growth in the numbers of Jewish students who are involved in various capacities in Jewish life,” says Rabbi Webb. “Students here are very thoughtful, and they are eager to learn.”

Gitty Webb concurs: “We are always looking for new ways to innovate and grow. Ultimately, we want to reach every single Jewish student at Princeton every year.”

‘It Feels Like Family’

Chabad focuses on numerous programs and student groups, including “Jews on the Street” (JOTS) for those involved with Princeton’s “eating clubs” (their singular name for social houses and dining halls, open to juniors and seniors, along Prospect Avenue—aka the “street”); the Sinai Scholars Society learning fellowship (there were 17 such scholars this semester); the Jewish women’s circle Banot; an in-depth halachah(Jewish law) program; weekly study; philanthropic opportunities; travel to Israel; and an ongoing dinner-and-discussion series with visiting professors and high-profile guests.

​This is in addition to Friday-night Shabbat meals, attended by 75 or so students every week; many more come for the High Holidays and other Jewish celebrations. The Webbs are currently planning Passover seders at the eating clubs and at their Chabad House.

“Chabad has become like my second home on campus; it feels like family to me,” says Olivia Allen, a sophomore classics major from New York City. “I had a misconception that religious Jews are not accepting of others, so I was nervous to come at first.

“But the Webbs are so non-judgmental. They really helped introduce me to the Jewish community, so much so that now I’m the president of Banot,” adds Allen, who also makes it a point to go to Shabbat dinner every week.

At one of the premier colleges in the United States, the co-directors of the Scharf Chabad House have long realized that students need a place to unwind from grueling study schedules. It’s during these times that they open up—to Judaism and other parts of their lives. This extends to faculty as well.

Professor emeritus Froma Zeitlin met the rabbi and his wife when they first arrived at the university, and right away started delivering homemade challah. “I am impressed by the ways in which the Webbs have greatly expanded their activities on campus, and by their warmth. Their house is open to all, regardless of affiliation; it has paid off in the appeal to students,” says Zeitlin, who taught in the classics and comparative literature departments for more than 30 years.

She adds that she admires Chabad’s outreach, activities and contributions to Jewish life at Princeton.

Connecting After College

The Webbs also work to maintain relationships with former students, holding alumni events throughout the year in Boston; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Los Angeles. And when the current president of Princeton​ Christopher P. Eisgruber​,hosted the first-ever Princeton alumni event in Tel Aviv, the rabbi joined them.

“Chabad is one of those important sites where students and faculty can engage with one another in a way that is really critical to a liberal-arts education,” said Eisgruber.

Alumni say they appreciate these efforts to stay in touch.

“I met the Webbs during freshman orientation and just kept going back. I’ve stayed close with them; and we’re friends to this day,” says Miryam Amsili (’14), who lives in New York City. She sat on the Chabad board as a student, and now joins weekly learning phone calls with Gitty Webb and other alumni. “I was really drawn to the family feeling at the Chabad House, as well as eating home-cooked meals.”

But more than that, she said: “They helped me realize what Judaism means in my life.”

Amsili still socializes with the same group of friends she met at Princeton Chabad, who get together for a monthly Shabbat dinner in one of their apartments.

For Daniel Berry (’09), who recently moved to the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.—where the Webbs lived before they moved to New Jersey—his time at Princeton had a profound effect in more ways than one.

“Meeting the Webbs was a pivotal moment in my life; they unlocked a whole world for me,” he says. “I wouldn’t be anywhere near this affiliated with Jewish community if I hadn’t met them.

“I value the one-on-one relationship that I had with them,” he adds, “and I’m very close with them to this day.”