One of the more frustrating elements of this past year following the October 7 attacks and subsequent war is the campus protest movement and the impotent response to those protests on the part of most university administrations. Countless words have been written lamenting the antisemitic sentiments on many college campuses. Much has been opined on how challenging it has been for Jewish students at those universities. Many have felt threatened, or at the very least, marginalized, by the anti-Israel protests and the blatant antisemitism that emerged from them.
The need for engaging Jewish students on college campuses has come into stark focus. Students on their own have sought to become more engaged as the look for a space where they can comfortably connect with their Jewish identities. They want to associate with fellow Jewish students, find support during this time of challenge, and experience Jewish life as it is available during their college years. Among the organizations dedicated to Jewish college students, Chabad is currently serving Jewish students at 950 college campuses, including locally at Tulane University. The uptick of students looking for Jewish engagement over the past year is very much in evidence at the Tulane Chabad.
One of the highlights on the Chabad on Campus calendar is Pegisha weekend. For decades Chabad on Campus has invited students to spend a Shabbat in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York for a Shabbaton, called the Pegisha. Students from campuses all around the world come together to celebrate their Jewishness.
This weekend over 2,000 students will participate in this year’s Pegisha, including a nice Tulane Chabad delegation. This is a college student gathering that we can all get behind. You can rest assured that students will return from the Pegisha with a reinvigorated pride in their Jewish identities, and the resolve to share that pride with their fellow Jewish students. This, my friends, is Am Yisrael Chai in real time!
On a different note, this week we launched our new JLI adult education course, Nurturing Relationships. While Lesson One is in the books, it is not too late to jump on board and join the course.
While preparing for this course I realized that it has something to offer everyone. It really does not matter if you have little to no background in Torah learning. It really does not matter if you have been studying Torah your entire life. The Torah and Chassidus based tools for enhancing relationships that this course offers are extremely valuable and informative for anyone on the Jewish knowledge continuum. This can help you in any relationship you might have in your life, marital, familial, friendship, professional, workplace, neighbor, and anything in between. I hope that you will take advantage of these gems that are being offered.
Reach out for more information or sign up for the course at www.chabadneworleans.com/jli. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin