Freshmen Move-In is around the corner, the summer is slipping away!
MINI-REUNION THIS SUNDAY (& LAST OF SUMMER SHABBATS)
We have one more Mini-Reunion this coming Sunday, August 17th, 11:30am-1pm at 816 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. If you can make it (or for this upcoming last Cozy Shabbat or maybe for one of the next two in-session Shabbat weekends before Labor Day) please use this SH End of Summer 2025 Form.
PREPARING FOR STUDENTS RETURN
We mailed Welcome Packages to incoming Freshman and Transfer students on Monday, and tomorrow will get a Welcome Back envelope mailed out to returning students. We have an almost all-new line-up for Torah-Tuesdays this Fall. We’re also planning for a few special events in the first month back. And after much effort, Kosher is coming back to Campus this Fall – see this Kosher Returns to Campus post for some of the details as we know them now. This week we’re trying to chisel away at a long to-do list to see how much we can get done before students return.
SOME RECENT POSTS
And Mendel is done with his 8 Fridays of Grand Jury Duty. But the lessons linger! Here’s messages from the ADA’s Repetitive Questions, and this earlier post titled Like a Rose Among Thorns. We also have a post from an encounter at the end of our last mini-Reunion at the Rebbe’s Ohel this one titled “Rabbi Cousin and the Shema”.
WE’RE STILL TRAVELING
BH we’re still traveling to weddings and Simchas this summer. We officiated at an alumni wedding in Westchester this past Thursday night, and attended an Albany community wedding in Brooklyn yesterday, and we have an alumni engagement party this Sunday and a Pidyon HaBen this coming Monday, both on Long Island. May we share many more Simchas!
OUR KIDS AT CAMP
Our daughter Bluma is back from staffing a 6-week day-camp in Pittsburgh and now she’s doing one more week of camp at Gan Izzy here in Albany. Bassie went from being camp photographer in CGI-Poconos to 3 weeks of running the camp office at Emunah BJJ Teen Camp in the Catskills. Esther Miriam and Rivka are in the junior and teen divisions of that same Camp Emunah. Those 3 kids return after the Welcome (Back) BBQ and Firepit!
CAMPUS KINUS HIGHLIGHTS
One of the highlights of the recent Chabad on Campus Shluchim KInus Conference was hearing about our graduates and their involvement in other campuses, young professional or communal Chabads around the northeast, or around the country. Please let us know if you’d like us to connect you to a Chabad where you now live/work/study or even vacation. Another highlight was the remarkable attendance at early morning Chassidus classes Mendel gave to his fellow Shluchim! And despite being 28 years in the field, now entering our 29th, there are always new things to learn!
START OFF NEW YEAR, ON HIGH NOTE?
The start of a new year has its concerns and anxieties, not the least of which is how Shabbos House can keep programming up and cover the heightened costs these days, and all those who need blessings and answers to prayers… but there are also many positives, much to feel blessed about, and much to look forward to! Speaking of which, see this article we wrote for Chabad.org “Start on a High Note!” about the up-high-from-the-start melody of Reb Levi Yitzchak, the Rebbe’s father, whose yartzeit is this Wednesday night into Thursday, the 20th of Av. May we all be blessed with such inner strength and uplift!
THE CHAYENU – DAILY STUDY CHAT
A good thing this summer is that we’ve gotten back into the regular groove of our Daily Study Whatsapp Group (message us to the join link). We share an insight or two, a message, usually in text, sometimes a voice note, sometimes an image. Something each day. It’s a way to keep up with daily study of the Parsha of the week (and select Rashi commentary) or sometimes a piece from the daily Tanya study. It’s most meaningful for those who follow the daily study, but regardless everyone should be able to get something from it.
Love and best wishes!
Mendel and Raizy
Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center