CHABAD HOUSE g JEWISH STUDENT CENTER g BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK Serving the Community through Education and Inspiration Kislev 5768 November 2007 Vol. 22, No. 2 Chabad’s Can Menorah to Light up Lives in the he Chabad House Jewish which is why in addition to cans, dona- Student Center in concert with tions are being accepted towards the T the Tau Kappa Epsilon frater- purchase of these large size cans. nity and the Alpha Phi sorority is bring- Receipts in the form of coupons will NEWS ing Binghamton University an innova- be given to participants who donate tive and meaningful way to celebrate towards this project. Project captains Alumni Women to Gather with Rivky in NJ Chanukah. Dubbed “You can light up a in each dorm and from various social life”, the project calls for the collection groups will coordinate the collection By popular demand, a special program of two tons of canned food which will of cans and sale of coupons at vari- will be held Sunday, December 16 for women alumni of Chabad and their friends. The be donated to CHOW. The twist in this ous points on campus as well as in the event will begin at 11am and will be held in humanitarian effort is that the cans will Student Union. the home of Leah (Tratt) ‘97 and Kevin ‘95 be used to construct a Menorah in the Community members are urged to Eisenberg located at 237 Harding Drive in center of campus (near the Dickinson contribute to this project as well. Cans South Orange, NJ 07079. Amphitheater) which will be lit in a cer- may be deposited at the Chabad House Rivky Slonim will address Raising emony on the first night of Chanukah, (in the entrance way of the Great Room) a Mentch: Thoughts on Parenting and Tuesday, December 4 at 6:15pm. The Personal Growth. Discussion will follow the and donations earmarked for this proj- celebration will include free delicious ect can be mailed to the Chabad House presentation with plenty of time to catch up Chanukah treats, music and entertain- and shmooze. Brunch and desserts will be 420 Murray Hill Rd Vestal, NY 13850. served. ment by the Crosbys as well as excit- “Chanukah is all about light, warmth ing prize drawings for which anyone There is a $10 suggested donation and celebration. This way we will be for the program; program sponsor is $54. who contributes to the can project will including hundreds of people less for- Reservations can be made to Naomi be eligible. After the ceremony, the tunate than ourselves in our festival of Rosenfeld at [email protected], Menorah will be disassembled and the The Can Menorah created at BU in 2003 lights. We are very excited about and Rikki Holtzman at rikkiholtzman@optonline. cans will be driven to the food pantry for proud of this effort. We hope that every- net or directly to Rivky at rslonim@chabado The Menorah, which will stand fif- distribution to the poor and homeless in one will contribute!“ said Toby Lass and fbinghamton.com teen feet high, will be constructed pri- the area. Michael Sokol, project chairs. “We are so excited about this special marily of #10 cans (institution sized) program for alumni and friends”, said Rikki Gelfarb Holtzman ‘04.“ It will be wonderful to spend time reconnecting with old friends, but Community invited to Cafe Comedy Night I suspect that most of us are especially look- ing forward to sharing and receiving inspira- habad House will host tion in a warm and intimate environment. a Chanukah Cafe During my years at Binghamton, I remember C Comedy Night featur- Weiner Illuminates the Slonims making me feel as if they were ing comedian Marc Weiner on there just for me! How much more amazed Shabbat Chanukah at am I that, 13 years later and now a wife and Saturday December 8 beginning mother, we are continually in touch. This 8pm. His show is titledJewber Chabad for Students program is just one more way that Chabad Jabber: Sharing the Guilt 5768. shows how much they care about us, long There is a $6 admission charge; By popular demand, Marc Chanukah treats and coffee will Weiner will return to Chabad House be served. Reservations are this time to spend Shabbat. On necessary and should be made Friday Night, December 7 he will by calling Chabad House at 797- present a comedy show with all in this 0015 or writing aslonim@chabad new material. He will also speak ofbinghamton.com. Marc Weiner at lunch and present a workshop is a comedian and television ISSUE producer. on Non Violent Communication on Saturday afternoon. “Weiner was The Rebbe’s Army Gathers .............. 4-5 The New York Times calls a huge hit when he presented his Chanukah Holiday Guide ................. 6-7 Marc Weiner “a gifted comic” comedy show at a Chabad Cafe A Miracle in the Seventh Year ............. 9 and “absolutely charming.” night in Spring ‘06 and there is tre- Chabad Happenings ...................... 10-12 His life story was told in a mendous excitement about having NYTimes Magazine article, Of Alumni News ....................................... 12 currently is the voices of Map, and Swiper God And Weinerville which focused on the him back,” explained Rabbi Slonim. the Fox, in the Dora the Explorer show on story of the talented comic who became “We traditionally do something spe- the Nickelodeon network.Marc has per- religously observant. cial at Chabad for the Shabbat of formed at the Comic Strip, Catch a Rising Chanukah and we are delighted to His TV credits include appearances Star, the Comedy Cellar and scores of on HBO, Showtime, Comedy Central, venues around the country. make this year extra special. and Nickelodeon’s “Ned’s Declassified SPONSORS Most recently Marc has been a School Survival Guide”, as well as his In honor of the birth of our son student of Nonviolent Communication own show, Nickelodeon’s “Weinerville.” Micah Gabriel (NVC). He completed the 2006 BayNVC students,“ said Rivkah Slonim. “By popu- He was also a regular cast member of lar demand we are bringing him back for by Jane (‘01) and John (‘00) Brophy Leadership program, and is creator of and writer for Saturday Night Live and he the Empathy Labyrinth. Marc is currently a Shabbat with our students and are offer- traveling the world, performing his one- ing this program to the general community BU lights up for Chanukah man comedy show, and giving workshops on Saturday night. When Marc performed on the Empathy Labyrinth, a powerful in the Spring I laughed so hard, I cried! I can’t wait to enjoy him again on Chanukah Guideline for Lighting your communication tool with which he trains The Chabad House Jewish with all our friends in the community.” Student Center has mounted a Menorah in the Dorm Room people to improve their personal and campaign to ensure that each Jewish The Chabad House has organizational relationships. student will have a Menorah and obtained the following statement from “Weiner brought down the house candles to light for the Chanukah Residential Life concerning students when he was here in the Spring for our holiday. Student leaders will be manning lighting Menorahs in their dorm rooms: Chanukah Kiosks in each housing community during lunch and dinner Permission must be obtained by students from the Resident Director to CHABAD HOUSE NON-PROFIT ORG hours, as well as in the Library, Lecture U.S. POSTAGE burn candles in observing religious hol- JEWISH STUDENT CENTER Halls and Union. Students will be able PAID idays. Approved candles must never to pick up their free “Chanukah kits” 420 Murray Hill Road BINGHAMTON, NY be left burning unattended. Failure to including dreidels, chocolate “gelt” and Vestal, New York 13850 PERMIT NO. 157 a sheet with instructions and blessings obtain permission to burn candles may for Menorah lighting. “We don’t want result in judicial charges. Residents Change Service Requested any Jewish student to be without a are liable for damage or injuries result- menorah and candles for the holiday,” ing from the use of candles. said Iris Feinberg, project chair. “We are Please be sure to notify your RD going to light up the nights!” in advance of Chanukah. CHABAD HOUSE of BINGHAMTON g 420 MURRAY HILL ROAD, VESTAL, NY g 797-0015 2 November 2007 from the Chabad House Jewish Student Center DIRECTORS Capital Campaign Campaign Objective: 3 million dollars The Eternal Flames of Chanukah Dear friend, through most holidays will be almost This year Chanukah comes “ear- lost in the luminous radiance of Godli- ly” but nobody’s complaining. Chanu- ness which will fill the universe. In that kah is a time of joy and fun, presents age, Godliness will be manifest, no and parties – a winning holiday with longer shrouded and obscured, and young and old. the holidays will be eclipsed by this “blinding light.” Many believe that Chanukah en- joys such universal appeal because it The spiritual light of Chanukah mimics the “holiday season” culture (and Purim) however, will remain vis- around us, but of itself, holds little reli- ibly bright even against this backdrop. gious significance. While the first part Unlike the other holidays whose ob- of that position may be true, the latter servance was commanded by God is decidedly faulty. and devolve upon the Jewish people as an obligation, these holidays which Chanukah is of course a post were legislated by the Jewish sages Biblical holiday. As such it does not embody the overtures and spirit of rank with the three pilgrimage festi- the Jewish people. They spring forth vals, nor with Rosh Hashana or Yom from the pure essence of the Jew- Kippur, all of which are clearly man- ish soul, from the light which refused dated in the Torah.