11,695 Israeli Students Join Chabad Shabbos Meals

In most institutes of higher learning in Israel, the winter semester ends now. The students are perhaps leaving for a brief vacation, but at the headquarters of Chabad on the Campus, work continues round the clock.

Among other things, they marked this week an unusual record that has been reached in hundreds of Shabbat meals that took place during the past several months. In the course of the winter, no less than 11,695 students participated in meals organized by the shluchim on various campuses.

In the administration of the project we were told of an immense achievement: 30 shluchim of the Rebbe are spread out in colleges and universities all over the country. And to define this in a single sentence – they simply grant love.

First of all, they are available there to each student and open their homes and hearts to them. In addition, many things are being done. The dedicated learning plan from the house of JLI operates on the campuses, and those who participate are even granted scholarships. The Shabbat meals, in which dozens of students participate each week, have already become a well-known feature. Many events take place throughout the year, including shabbatons and appearances of Jewish artists. In addition, the shluchim also assist students in financial straits.

The students who participate in the meals provide us with a unique experience. Thus, for example, Hilah, a student in business administration, tells us the following: “I come from a traditional home, I am Shabbat observant and at times it happens that I remain alone in the apartment over the weekend. When I found out about the existence of this warm place, where I can go, this filled me and provided me with confidence.” Doreen, a student in behavioral sciences, came from an entire different background – “in the beginning I was not familiar with the customs and didn’t know what to do, what should be read at the meal, etc. But then I learned little by little ‘how this works’ and discovered the true taste of Shabbat. It is not a meal which one finishes and gets up and leaves thereafter.”

How can a young couple finance by himself a mass meal, week in, week out?” We asked. “The shluchim finance a part of the meals and we assist them in this. These meals work wonders. As is well known, a Chassidic get-together is able to achieve something that even the Angel Michael cannot. It is not for nothing that the number of participants in the meals grows continuously.”

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