Living & Arts

Chabad at college

In print | January 31, 2008

Chabad-Lubavitch, a branch of the ultra-orthodox Hasidic movement of Judaism, has about 200,000 members. About an eighth of the Chabadniks, as they are called, live near the organization’s headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Growing up in New York, I encountered many Chabadniks. They were distinguishable by their dress: men wear dark suits with white shirts, tzitzis (fringes), long beards and yarmulkes often covered by another hat (the women are harder to pick out of a crowd).

My impression of Chabad has not been positive. I have found it to be very aggressive in promoting Jewish orthodoxy, and proselytizing does not sit right with me. Interestingly, Chabadniks are not interested in converting people to Judaism; rather, they push Jews who, for whatever reason, do not practice as religiously as they. On some Sundays, Chabad sets up a stand outside of the Union Square subway station in Manhattan. They ask passers by “Are you Jewish?” When I said yes, one man asked me if I had ever wrapped tefillin (also known as phylacteries). Tefillin is two boxes with biblical verses inside that one wraps around the arm and the forehead. I had not, and when I mentioned that I had been bar mitzvah-ed, he scolded my mother for not making me wrap tefillin then. They then showed me how to wrap tefillin and gave me some literature.

Another bit of Chabad presence in Manhattan is a billboard on the West Side Highway and 44th St. with a picture of the late Chabad religious leader Rebbe, saying “Moshiach,” the messiah, “is here… Long live the Rebbe King Messiah forever!” This public display of religion not so subtly suggests that Chasidism is the true way (their Rebbe is the messiah, after all). When I heard there was a Chabad group at Swarthmore, I expected the same Jewish evangelism. As it turns out, the only public voice Chabad has is in the form of advertising for events, and that’s fine as long as it isn’t in the Reserved Students Digest. Swat’s Chabad group is a branch of Chabad on Campus, a foundation that sends rabbis to college campuses in order to create a “‘home away from home’ for Jews on campus and offers a wealth of social, educational and spiritual programs.”

Rabbi Eli Gurevitz is the Director of Chabad on Campus for Tri-Co. He serves as an “internal resource to Jewish students” and performs Jewish educational outreach. He holds weekly Lunch ‘n’ Learn meetings in Sharples where he serves bagels and lox, distributes the week’s Torah portion and chats with students. Rabbi Gurevitz conducts informal classes on various aspects of Judaism, including text study, and meets with students individually upon request. Chabad on Campus also sponsors events surrounding Jewish holidays. For instance, this past fall they had Sushi in the Sukkah, hosted a trip to a Shofar factory and held a Hanukah party.

Rabbi Gurevitz aims “to reach every student that’s interested in exploring Jewish educational texts or Jewish heritage.” But if people are not interested, that’s okay. He isn’t looking to convert people or get them to “sign on to anything.” He looks, instead, to explore Jewish wisdom with interested students and faculty, Jews and gentiles alike. For Rabbi Gurevitz, Jewish wisdom is neverending; it’s a constant journey of discovery. According to Rabbi Gurevitz, “Chabad philosophy is based on love for your fellow human.” Even if the Chabadniks in Union Square are pushy, and even if they put up messianic billboards, any religious movement that sticks to this philosophy has a place at Swarthmore. Especially if they aren’t pushy here.

Julian is a junior. You can reach him at jchende1@swarthmore.edu.