Students and Supporters Gather to Celebrate Chabad on Campus UK

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Chabad on Campus UK hosted a reception on Monday, 12 July, in Central London, for close to 200 supporters. The event took place in Chabad of Bloomsbury’s brand new venue located in the heart of London.

The reception was held to pay tribute to the generosity and encouragement of the organisation’s supporters, as well as to showcase the hard work of the emissaries serving students over the past academic year.

“Having this reception as the very first event in our new venue marks the expansion and growth of Chabad of Bloomsbury in particular and parallels the extraordinary growth of Chabad on Campus across the UK in general,” said Rabbi Yisroel Lew, director of Chabad of Bloomsbury, who welcomed the guests.

The hosts for the evening were David Slager, founding supporter of Chabad on Campus UK, Allan Freinkel, executive board member of the Chabad of Oxford, and Alan Lee, a supporter of Chabad of Bloomsbury. Communal philanthropist, Mendel Tajtelbaum, was the guest speaker. Reflecting on his experiences as the son of a Holocaust survivor, he spoke about the importance of teaching young people about Judaism as way to respond to the trauma of the Holocaust and to ensure Jewish continuity.

“With over twelve centres on campuses in ten cities across the UK, the audience reflects the local support that Chabad on Campus enjoys,” remarked Rabbi Eli Brackman, chairman of Chabad on Campus UK and director of Chabad of Oxford.

David Slager, the principle supporter of Chabad on Campus UK, affixed a mezuzah to the door of the new venue. He then addressed the audience speaking about his appreciation for Chabad’s work while he was a student at Oxford University.

Drawing inspiration from Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, who taught that the purpose of existence is to create a dwelling place for G-d in the physical world, Slager said: “A Chabad house seeks to bring holiness into a mundane world, and more so into the staunchly secular environment of the university campus.”

Speaking on behalf of students, David Stern, a recent graduate, thanked Slager for his generosity and support for Jewish life on campus. “I don’t know what I would have done had it not been for Chabad on Campus at Nottingham University,” he said.

In a video (below) made especially for the event, students spoke about the positive impact Chabad on Campus has had in their lives.

Reflecting on his time spent with Rabbi Mendy and Brocha Lent at Chabad of Nottingham, Daniel Tannenbaum said: “[It is] somewhere I can go to eat or for advice; somewhere away from home that has a young, comfortable and fresh environment… It’s not cliquey.”

“Not only can I go to university and learn things that are on my course, but I can go to Chabad and learn a bit about Judaism which is really good,” said Meir Kojman, a student in Edinburgh where Rabbi Pinny and Gitty Weinman run a Chabad on Campus centre.]

Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive vice president of the New York-based Chabad on Campus International Foundation, congratulated the Bloomsbury center on its move, and noted that more and more campuses around the world are seeing Jewish life expand. At the Chabad on Campus international conference earlier this summer, officials announced that 10 more campus Chabad Houses would open in North America over the next year, joining more than 140 such centers across the globe.

“We are here to help Jewish students explore their heritage and find an anchor amidst a dizzying world of influences,” said Gordon. “Above all, students are looking for a home away from home.”