New Chabad House at Binghamton University

Tom Wilber - Press & Sun-Bulletin

The new Chabad Center for Jewish Life on Murray Hill Road in Vestal is holding a grand opening on Sunday. The 24,000-square-foot structure has a great room that can accommodate 450 people, a synagogue, library, meetings and guest rooms, a fitness center and a cafe with a game room. The artwork in the lobby, greet guest with the saying,“ Where a lantern is place, those who seek light will gather.”
CHUCK HAUPT / Press & Sun-Bulletin

New Chabad House at Binghamton University

Tom Wilber – Press & Sun-Bulletin

VESTAL, NY — The Jewish community at Binghamton University showcased its hub for cultural and spiritual life Sunday with the dedication of the $3.5 million Chabad Center for Jewish Life on Murray Hill Road in Vestal.

More than 400 people, including students from the nearby campus and alumni from all over the county, gathered at the 24,000-square-foot center to feast, dance and pray. Before the festivities, they dedicated a polished stone Holocaust memorial overlooking Fuller Hollow Creek, with children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors participating in the ceremony.

“The best memorial we can do for our loved ones is to do more good deeds and dedicate our lives to strengthening Jewish identity,” said Rabbi Levi Slonim, director of programs and development for the center.

The recent expansion made the center the largest Jewish student center in the State University of New York system, housing a fitness center, synagogue and cafe. But most importantly for BU junior Tobey Lass and her peers, it remains an intimate home away from home.

“This is home for every student who walks through its doors,” said Lass, vice president of the center’s student board. That includes a diverse bunch, she added — bookworms and punk rockers, sorority girls and quiet boys.

“We’re all taught not to judge a book by its cover, and people in the house defy all labels,” Lass said.

Supporters throughout the community participated in the event, including developer Barry Newman, and Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur.

“The bricks and mortar are wonderful,” DeFleur said, addressing a crowd filling all corners of the center’s vast great room and overflowing into the lobby. “But they do not capture what Chabad means to this campus and campus community, helping not only in academic ways, but in cultural and spiritual ways.”

The construction project that began in 2007 included an 18,000-square-foot addition and upgrade to the existing structure.

It is one of 135 Chabad-Lubavitch centers serving university campuses around the world.