05/26/2024
WHAT'S NEW AT CHABAD SU
Shalom!
Our first year as directors of Chabad SU is in the books, and what a year it has been!
When we moved to Syracuse this past summer we did so with the full intention of opening up our hearts and home to all the OrangeJews in any way that we could. The year began with a flurry of positive activity, from our Freshmen Social and Shabbat, to our kosher Welcome BBQ and first official Shabbat of the semester, where we were almost bursting out of the room. It was lively to say the least and from there we only continued to numerous weekly programs and a very packed month of holidays and joy. Then came the events of Simchat Torah and Fall Break.
Amid the uncertainty that followed, aside from the arrival of our bundle of joy and swift claimer of the title "Chabad Favorite" - Chaya Mushka, what was the most heartening were the students. Yes the students, your children who stepped up, spoke up, and made it known, both through speech and deed: I am Jewish, I am proud, I love my Jewish brothers and sisters, and I have an intrinsic and inseparable connection to our eternal homeland - The Land of Israel.
The vigil in October, the march in May, new clubs that were founded this year, all done and led by strong and proud Jewish students. The Shabbat after break set the tone for what was to follow. The students showed up, filling the room to the brim, sitting, standing, wherever there was room. We sang, laughed, ate, and talked as one, big, beautiful, united family. The students gave us, and each other, strength.
After, we were faced with the wonderful challenge of keeping up with inspired, passionate Jews. We got busier. Aside from regular programming, we have proudly supported student initiatives, hosted speakers, written letters to soldiers, packed care packages for displaced Israeli families- another student organized initiative, received and fulfilled request after request to wrap teffillin, light Shabbat candles, and hang up mezuzahs. All because Jewish students have been keen to explore their Jewish identity in a deeper way.
We experienced a light filled eight days of Channukah full of events attended by students displaying Jewish pride. Purim, another holiday of Jewish triumph, was celebrated with incredible energy. Last but not least, we ended the year with Pesach, where we commemorated our freedom and birth as a nation with heads held high, no matter what was and is happening in the world around us.
Jewish identity isn't a pill we conveniently pop when we feel the need, rather it is a muscle we must exercise so that when it is needed we can engage it. Jewish students at Syracuse were flexing that muscle as of late and there is much to be proud of.
This is an appropriate theme for where we stand now in the Jewish calander, approaching Lag B'omer - the 33rd day of the Omer which we celebrate this Sunday.
The students of Rabbi Akiva were all great Torah scholars, devoted to their mentor’s every word. In fact, they were so committed to disseminating Rabbi Akiva’s teachings that they felt that anyone who didn’t see eye-to-eye with them was not deserving of any respect or recognition.
As well-intentioned as this seemed, in practice it led to the exact opposite of what Rabbi Akiva’s primary teaching of loving one's fellow Jew was meant to accomplish – respect and acceptance of everyone, even someone who sees things very differently from you. As a result, a plague decimated almost all of the 24,000 students who couldn’t see past their own understanding.
Every year during the period between Passover and Shavuot, we mourn their deaths, until the day of Lag B'omer, when the plague receded and the surviving students were able to rebuild and re-engage with one another in accordance with the true meaning of Rabbi Akiva’s teachings.
Thus, Lag B'omer today is celebrated as a day of Jewish unity, when we emphasize what brings us together – our Jewish soul. Jews around the world come together to celebrate the day with public displays of Jewish pride. There are parades, fairs, barbecues, all focused on bringing Jews together to counter all that plagues us today.
By proudly displaying our Jewish unity, we proclaim to the world that we are here to stay, that nothing will ever come between us and our fellow Jews. We are one!
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Mendy, Lakey, and Chaya Mushka Rapoport
