They come for the free food. And they come back for everything else.
Students on 340 college campuses worldwide say that a highlight of their (stressful) week is Friday night at the local Chabad. While the current economic crisis is causing some Jewish campus organizations to cut back and charge for their meals, Chabad is continuing to provide the same service, at the same price: free.
Coming Back for Seconds: Friday Nights with Chabad on Campus
They come for the free food. And they come back for everything else.
Students on 340 college campuses worldwide say that a highlight of their (stressful) week is Friday night at the local Chabad. While the current economic crisis is causing some Jewish campus organizations to cut back and charge for their meals, Chabad is continuing to provide the same service, at the same price: free.
“I had never heard of Chabad before Harvard,” says Andrew Obus. “A friend invited me to tag along for dinner at the Rabbi’s house in my sophomore year, so I went.” He is still going, though now as a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. “There are many Jewish organizations on campus, offering classes and Shabbat programs. But Chabad is the only place where you find a homey, spiritual feeling.”
Obus is hoping his peers will get that vibe from this week’s Penn Grad Student Shabbat Dinner. The annual dinner, co-sponsored by Chabad and Hillel, attracts 350 graduate students from 13 different schools. “There are a lot of people who don’t attend other events, and many don’t even know that Chabad exists,” explains Obus. “This could be their only Shabbat dinner this year, but that’s better than nothing, right?”
Rabbi Levi Haskelevich and his wife, Nechama, lead Chabad at the University of Pennsylvania. Typically the couple hosts 50 students each Friday night. But specialty weekends, like the Hawaiian-themed Shabbat following President Obama’s inauguration or the Philly Shabbat after the Phillies won the World Series, shoot their numbers out of the ballpark. “We live in a world where our Blackberries don’t get turned off,” says Haskelevich. “Shabbat allows for cohesiveness and forces us to stop what we are doing and rearrange our priorities.”
