By: Chaya Chazan
We don’t yet have a big, beautiful building. Instead, we cram as many students as we can fit into our small home. For a regular Shabbos, we make it work. But Purim was coming up, and we wanted ample space for a much larger crowd.
After some creative thinking, we decided to rent a party bus. Not only would we have more space, we could also drive around from dormitory to dormitory, bringing the party to the students! Purim fell out on Motzei Shabbos so we arranged for the bus to come right after Havdalah.
While we enjoyed a calm, serene Shabbos at home, we had no idea what was taking place on campus. A pro-Palestinian organization had arranged a “die-in,” where dozens of students lay on the floor, as if dead. It cast a pall over the entire campus, and a feeling of unease amongst the Jewish students.
Without knowing any of this, we came driving down the street, blasting festive Jewish music and pulling students in to dance. In moments, the mood switched from anxious and tense to happy, cheerful, and confident. And the city of Ithaca rejoiced and was glad.
Charlie’s* whole family came to celebrate his graduation. Charlie had become quite a regular in our Chabad house, and he was excited to introduce us.
“Do you want to mark this special occasion by putting on tefillin?” I asked Charlie. “Sure!” Charlie said, rolling up his sleeve.
I offered Charlie’s father and brothers in turn. It was their first time wearing tefillin. I explained I’d received that pair from my cousin, who asked me to use them to help people put on tefillin in honor of his father, my uncle, who’d recently passed.
I then turned to Charlie’s grandfather, and offered him a chance to put on tefillin. “No thanks,” he grunted. “Come on!” I pressed lightly. “When was the last time you put on tefillin?” “It was with a rabbi named Velvy Finkelstein,” he answered. My jaw dropped. “That’s the uncle I was just talking about!” Charlie’s grandfather was shocked enough that he agreed to put them on. “Your uncle was a very special man who helped me a lot,” he shared, emotionally. “I’m so happy I got to do something for him in return.”
*Names changed to protect privacy
Like many college campuses across the country, we haven’t been immune to loud, anti-Israel demonstrations. With an overwhelmingly large Jewish population, it’s been much less dramatic than those staged at Columbia and Harvard, and the administration has taken a peaceable, neutral stance.
In the wake of the horrific attack on October 7th, we saw a surge of Jewish pride and yearning to connect. People who never wanted to put on tefillin before were suddenly volunteering their arms, and we got many calls of support.
We had an idea to take our students on a Shabbaton and give them a true Shabbos experience.
The Shabbaton was a massive success. The students experienced a real Shabbos for the first time in their lives, and it impressed them tremendously. It was so successful, we’ve decided to make it a recurring event every semester!
After the Shabbaton, we gave out Sinai Scholar T-shirts, emblazoned with the message I love being Jewish! We had a long, emotional talk about what it meant to have Jewish pride, and how to combat the fear of anti-Semitism and not let it hold us back. Many of the students resolved to wear their T-shirts on campus the next day.
Sharon* was extremely reluctant. She’d seen so many hateful messages and heard too many stories to become a walking target. Her mother advised her to remove her magen David necklace. But when she thought more about our discussion, she overcame her fear and joined the other students, wearing her t-shirt to class. She even snapped a selfie and sent it to her mother.
Sharon’s mother, Mattie*, was set to run the New York City Marathon a few days later. She’d been suffering the same cycle of fear and anxiety as her daughter. Seeing her daughter overcome her fear and wearing her I love being Jewish shirt inspired Mattie too. When she ran the marathon, she ran with the names of every hostage displayed on her back, and the name of a fallen soldier pinned over her heart. She ran, unafraid, through crowds waving the Palestinian flag and shouting hateful chants. She crossed the finish line with tears running down her face, and a heart beating fiercely with pride and love for her people.
Since we’re still in the beginning years at Ithaca, Rabbi Raffy Filler relates: I had a traditional Chabad upbringing in the large Lubavitch community in Montreal. As a young man, I was privileged to help Chabad representatives in various parts of the world. My wife Chana grew up in Stony Brook, helping her parents teach university students about Judaism.
We both added to our experience after our marriage, working with the Johnsons, at Chabad of the University of Texas. It was an invaluable experience under expert tutelage that empowered us, when we were offered a post of our own at Ithaca College, to accept it with confidence.
We’re still in the beginning stages, having moved out just under two years ago. Our first order of business was getting recognized by the college as an official student club - not an easy feat in most US colleges.
We began by gauging student interest, offering programs or services they requested. We’re continuing to grow our current programs, as well as adding more. We offer Shabbos and holiday programs, Sinai scholars, lunch and learns, and other one-on-one opportunities to deepen the student’s understanding of their heritage.
