1. How has your collegiate experience at Binghamton affected
your Jewish identity?
It gave me more security with my Judaism. It made me want to learn more and to be more observant. Mostly it gave me Jewish friends who I became comfortable with, and with whom I could discuss a lot of things. Without my Jewish experience here, I’m not so sure I’d be sad to leave, that I would have friends to miss, that I would keep the holidays and Shabbos.
2. Which event(s) were most memorable/meaningful/enjoyable for you as a Jew?
Shabbos dinners were always a special time, the whole week seemed to evolve around our Shabbos experience. From the moment I walked into my first one, I knew it was a special thing. It was how acquaintances became what I hope to be life-long friends, it was how I first began to realize the true importance of Judaism in my life. Shabbos dinners in whole just made look forward to my weekends and I will remember the many conversations and friends made during them.
3. How would you describe the role of Chabad House within the greater Jewish experience at Binghamton University?
It gave me an easy way to keep Judaism in my life. I could question other areas, but I always knew that when Shabbos or yunitf came I could go to Chabad. The feeling when you first walk in that room and see hundreds of Jews under one roof, is a nerve-wrenching feeling. You wonder how you will ever find anyone worth talking to in that crowded room, but you do. And the first time the Slonims call you by name, makes you feel like you’re special, and then you learn that they have this superhuman ability to know most of the names in that room, but still makes you feel special.