Name: Benjamin Schiffman
Major: Politics, Philosophy and Law
Future Plans: Law School

While it is difficult to capture my feelings regarding the Chabad House in a short article, I will attempt to do so with the aid of the following teaching:
“He (Abraham) planted an eshel in Beer-sheba, and there he proclaimed the Name of Hashem, God of the Universe.” – Bereishit, 21:33
The great sage Reish Lakish related the following teaching based on this verse: It teaches that Abraham made an orchard and planted in it many types of fine fruits for the benefit of his guests. He then caused the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He, to be called in the mouth of every passerby. How did Abraham accomplish this? After the wayfarers ate and drank, they stood up to bless him. He would say to them: “Was it then of my food that you ate? You ate from the food of the Lord of the world. Rather you should thank, praise, and bless He Who spoke and caused the world to come into being.” – Tractate Sotah 10b.
Before coming to Binghamton, I was fortunate to spend my first year of college at Yeshivat Hakotel, engulfed in the study of Torah. I was wary about coming to Binghamton because I was under the impression that it was the antithesis of all that the Torah stands for. Nevertheless, I decided to come to Binghamton, and committed myself to remain dedicated to the Torah and its values. When I first arrived at the University, my belief became reality, and I was put to the test. I was surrounded by a culture that was the converse of a Torah oriented society. Throughout my tenure at Binghamton I was faced with challenge after challenge. There were occasions when I failed to overcome particular obstacles. However, I picked myself up after each fall. Today, I am proud to say that I have indeed remained committed to the teachings of Judaism, despite the tantalizing surroundings around me.
The Chabad House is the Eshel of Binghamton. In the middle of a place void of Torah values and teachings, I have been able to escape to the Chabad House. Just like Abraham and Sarah were successful in planting a viable orchard in the middle of the Beer-sheba desert, the Chabad House has been successful in building and maintaining a center for Jewish life here in Binghamton. The doors to Chabad never close and there is always a light on outside. Meals are served and there are even couches to sleep on. Chabad offers opportunities to both learn Torah and perform Mitzvot. But most importantly, the Chabad House has made me realize that while all of its goodness is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of the organization, it is ultimately successful through the blessings of Hashem.
With God’s help I have been able to work my way through the Binghamton bureaucracy in two years. I will be attending Brooklyn Law School in the fall as a part time evening student and plan to work during the day. Most importantly however, Hashem has blessed me with finding Dishy, my Eishet Chayil. We will Im Yirtzeh Hashem be getting married next month and we hope and pray that we will be zoche to build our own Eshel and be able to follow in the footsteps of Abraham and Sarah which has been instilled in us through the goodness of the Chabad House.