Israeli Campus Paradox: More Jews, A lot less Shabbat

At Tel Aviv College, future health care provider Jordana Hikri was encountering a typical Israeli paradox.

Hikri spent her undergraduate several years at Dartmouth, exactly where the Jewish scholar population hardly fills two school buses. Still Jewish lifestyle on campus was Energetic, and her calendar was booked with Shabbat dinners, getaway celebrations, and Jewish gatherings. In Tel Aviv, Friday night time is for clubbing.

“I had been very involved with Chabad at Dartmouth, says Hikri, who discovered herself missing Rabbi Moshe Leib and Chani Gray of Chabad at Dartmouth. She missed their Little ones and also the intellectual atmosphere close to their Shabbat table.

“Israel can be quite a problem spiritually. Everyone seems to be Jewish, and folks acquire it as a right. The rituals They are really used to every week are no longer practiced except by those who are religious.”

But when her boyfriend introduced her to Chabad at Tel Aviv University, Friday night was Shabbat again.

Chabad on Campus representatives at TAU, Rabbi (Shay) Yeshayahu and Chava Gerlitzky, happen to be welcoming college students to their Shabbat table each week for three many years now. Numerous of their visitors are American students studying at TAU hoping to recreate their Chabad-on-Campus experiences whilst in Israel.

“They keep in mind the warmth so fondly. They miss their Chabad family,” said Rabbi Gerlitzky. Of the 80 learners within the Shabbat tables originally of the semester, he believed fifty% attended as a consequence of their beneficial activities with Chabad at their property universities.

Jeremy Dery, president of Chabad at TAU's overseas college student srednja elektrotehnicka skola novi sad routines, posts ads about Chabad's Shabbat dinners on three bulletin boards in the Carter Building, the house foundation for abroad pupils, and at Einstein dorms, in which nearly all overseas students Are living.

“Pretty much All people I am aware went to Chabad on campus while in the States,” he explained. “Until finally they know Chabad is right here, They're a little frustrated. They do not know what they're going to accomplish for the holidays.”

Most overseas learners do not need household in Israel, and TAU will not supply holiday programming. Ariel Ben Solomon, who attended universities in Wisconsin and Switzerland prior to coming to Israel reported that Chabad at TAU “is the one selection for undertaking Shabbat in case you are staying in the dorm with the weekend.”

For the Gerlitzkys' Shabbat table, students are subjected to a standard Shabbat using an Israeli twist. The two Gerlitzkys speak English, as well as their small children are group pleasers. The menu is much more Mediterranean compared to stateside equivalent, with extra hummus and olives, additional fish, and a lot more spices inside the meals. In addition to that, say pupils that have invested Shabbat with Chabad on campus during the U.S., the activities share hallmarks of heat and very good conversation.

Orly Zaguri, a local Israeli, breaks from her architecture scientific tests to spend Friday night with Chabad. She finds that a lot of American pupils want to know Israeli slang, and she or he obliges, instructing them “sababa” and “magniv,” each variants on interesting. Assembly a new crew of scholars each and every semester assists Zaguri begin to see the charms of her tough country anew.

Just after Shabbat finishes, pupil occur absent with greater than comprehensive bellies and content memories. Rabbi Gerlitzsky officiated prekvalifikacija at Ariel Ben Solomon's wedding 6 months ago. Now, the Solomons are setting up their life with memories of Shabbat with Chabad.

“Rabbi Shay results in a lively ambiance. I uncovered how you can do Shabbat and the foremost vacations from him, and he made it beautiful. Now we do Shabbat within our dwelling.”