Students Pour Into NY for Shabbat

By Karen Schwartz, Chabad.edu

By car, train, bus and plane, Jewish college students are traveling into New York to attend “JewFest,” the annual International Shabbaton.

The weekend of programming, which starts in full force on Friday and lasts through Sunday, includes educational, spiritual and social activities for the 1,200-plus young men and women scheduled to attend.

The goal is for students to connect with each other, enjoy a spirit of celebration, and return to their respective universities rejuvenated and more active in Jewish life.

Rabbi Yecheszkel Thaler, co-director of the Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center serving the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and nearby colleges, is taking a total of nine students to the conference this year—five from UWM and four from nearby Marquette University. Eight of them will be going for the first time.

He looks forward to introducing the students to the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., and especially to the Ohel in nearby Queens—the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, and his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe—Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef Schneersohn, of righteous memory.

As for the students, he hopes they come away with a positive Jewish experience that they’ll talk about for a long time, as well as the motivation to continue their Jewish growth. “There’s just so much pride and inspiration that comes out of the entire experience,” he says. “Sometimes, it opens up new doorways to a next step they’re ready for in Yiddishkeit.”

Isaac Vineburg, 21, a senior at Marquette University, will return to the conference for the second time. He says he relishes being in a place with Jewish students from across the United States and from other countries, and going home with a deeper connection to his Judaism.

It’s more on his mind than usual as he contemplates the move he’ll be making from school to the working world in the months ahead. “I’m going to rely on my connection to Judaism and other Jews to help make that transition,” he says. “I can find strength and comfort in these Jewish connections.”

More immediately, he’s ready for a weekend of celebration, talks from speakers on topics relevant to his life and some delicious kosher food. He also notes the warm welcome and extended-family environment that Crown Heights offers.

“I remember one of my favorite memories last year was walking through the community on Friday night and seeing so many people at Shabbat dinners, and hearing Shabbat songs and laughter going on,” he recalls. “It wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before.”

‘Every Kind of Student’

The conference, which takes place from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13, has a new name this year: “JewFest,” with a logo saying, “The future needs us.” This year, it’s drawing students from throughout the United States, Canada and Western Europe for a jam-packed program.

Highlights include tours of New York City and the Jewish Children’s Museum; a look inside Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, including the Rebbe’s study; an uplifting Shabbat with meals, workshops and interactive discussions; a mega party following Havdalah on Saturday night; a visit to the Ohel; and a closing ceremony on Sunday.

A separate track for graduate students and undergraduate students over the age of 21 will include business discussions, and workshops relevant to law and medical students.

“We will have the largest number of students ever this year, from the largest number of schools. But more than that, we are reaching every kind of student—from the ‘expected’ to the one who might never have considered coming,” says Rabbi Moshe Chaim Dubrowski, director of programming at Chabad on Campus International. “There are a significant number of first-time participants, who will quickly learn that this is an experience they will want to have again and again. That is the modus operandi and effect of Chabad.”

Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive vice president of Chabad on Campus International, says, “the results of the Hertog Study show a direct correlation between student involvement with their campus Chabad center and their future involvement in Jewish spiritual and communal life after graduation.

‘JewFest’ is just one program—a powerful and lasting one—that connects Jewish young people to each other and their heritage. It’s experiential learning and socialization at its best.”

Totally Absorbed in Jewish Environment

Rabbi Avraham Lapine, co-director of Chabad at the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou), is taking 12 students this year. Three years ago, he brought three students, then the number grew to seven, and this year, it reached a dozen. His crowd is mostly juniors this year and three freshmen. With about 600 or 700 Jewish students out of some 30,000, he says it’s a good opportunity for them to be around other Jewish students. And unlike Jewish holidays on campus or other Jewish events where students come and go back to their regular routine after a few hours, this is a full weekend experience, he emphasizes.

“It’s an opportunity for them to be totally absorbed in a Jewish environment for days at a time,” he says.

Jason Peiser, 20, a junior at the University of Missouri, is taking his third trip to the conference. His group will carpool from Columbia to St. Louis and then fly to New York, arriving late Thursday. He says he is looking to the feeling of connection with everyone around him. “I’m looking forward to the friends I’ll make from around the country,” he says.

“I’ll go a whole year without having a Jewish experience like this, being in Missouri,” says Peiser. “I’m in a Jewish fraternity and go to Chabad, but nothing compares to what you experience at the Shabbaton.”

From learning sessions and hearing from prominent Jewish speakers from around the world to socializing with other young Jews, he says he’s sure the weekend will be a success. As president of his local chapter of Jewish fraternity Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT), he’s also convinced a few other fraternity brothers to attend this year. “I’ve gone twice in a row. It’s so much fun—such a great experience—and I want to share that with as many people as possible,” he says.

University of Missouri sophomore Sarah Kusnitz, 19, is a first-timer. She says she is eager to see old friends from the Jewish high school she attended in Greensboro, N.C., who plan on being at the conference, as well as make new ones.

“I’m also really looking forward to the learning sessions—just being around 1,000 other Jewish college students,” she says. “I’ve been talking to some of the people that went last year, and they only have good things to say.”

From a traditional Shabbat and the learning sessions to sight-seeing and being social, Kusnitz thinks the weekend will get her out of her comfort zone. “For the last year-and-a-half, I’ve lived in a place where I know all the Jewish people in town. “To be somewhere where everywhere you turn there’s another Jew, that’s going to be really exciting.”