Kids on Campus: The Surprising Power of Chabad Babies

LOS ANGELES, CA — At Hofstra University’s Student Union, Mendel Lieberman is a familiar face. Sorority sisters expect him to be at the table next to theirs. Students stop to beam at him on their way to the ATM. During Shabbat dinner, he always greets them by name – even if the guest list tops twenty. Typical of Chabad on campus, yes, but Mendel is only two.

Children are typically viewed as a category all its own. There are “just for kids” cable networks. Children’s wear franchises, ketchup friendly children’s menus, gummy bear vitamins for kids, all keep with the notion that the youngest among us must be kept separate from the guys and gals in the big shoes.

A glance at photo albums kept by Chabad centers on college campuses, numbering well over the century mark, tells a very different story.

Cuddled in the arms of a grad student or piggybacking astride a sweatshirt-clad communications major, the children of Chabad representatives show up in shot after shot.

More than cute camera magnets, kids are right in the mix of Chabad activities. Even before their first “ga-ga,” these charmers are essential partners in their parents’ activities.

“When students hear Mendel say ‘hello,’ they feel special, they feel important,” said Chavie Lieberman who co-directs Chabad Jewish Student Center. Away from home, dumped into the stew of mass produced meals, strange roommates and imperious professors, college students are forgiven for feeling lost.

Article Continued (Lubavitch.com)