On Sept. 20 (Chai Elul, or the 18th day of the Jewish month of Elul), the Chabad House on Campus in Pittsburgh will celebrate its 28th anniversary, highlighting its partnership with nine local campuses. After bringing on two additional couples, Rabbi Shmuel and Sara Weinstein are broadening their base, as well as reaching out to faculty and administrators. They are also able to team up with the younger generation in new ways, taking it to a level beyond what they could accomplish on their own.
For Rabbi Shmuel and Sara Weinstein, Chabad on Campus of Pittsburgh has been nearly 30 years in the making. The couple, both of whom became inspired by Chabad during their own college years and decided to transform their lives as a result, established the Chabad House at the University of Pittsburgh in 1988.
Since then, their operations have grown to serve nine area campuses, and they have enlisted two of their daughters and sons-in-law to establish Chabad outposts to serve the needs of the growing Jewish student population.
“All along, our goal has been to make people feel a part of our family,” says Sara Weinstein, who is originally from Charlotte, N.C. “This is what gives people strength and keeps their Jewish identity strong. Over the years, we have seen that when people truly connect, that connection never goes away; it’s something very real.”
The pair originally found themselves in Pittsburgh when Shmuel Weinstein, who had graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in physics and mathematics, landed a job in his field in the Western Pennsylvanian city. Seeing it as an ideal opportunity to utilize his education for the dual purpose of livelihood and Jewish outreach, the Weinsteins moved to Pittsburgh with their young daughters, Chaya and Chani (6 months and 2 years old at the time), and were able to fund their new Chabad House through his income.
They moved into a large home equidistant from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, and have remained there since. Over the years, the now eight-bedroom home has undergone renovations to double the size of the kitchen and the dining room, but the location has remained the same.
“Though different times and generations have warranted change, who the students are and what they’re going through has remained true all of the time,” said Rabbi Weinstein, who is originally from Richmond, Va. “For many, this is the first time that students are away from home, and it’s a time of exploration for them. They’re beginning to think more deeply about life and to search for meaning. Our goal is to be there for students during this crucial time of maturity and to be a part of their process.”
Sara Weinstein echoes his sentiment.
“This search for meaning is something beyond the classroom; it’s who you are,” she says. “We offer personal relationships and guidance to students during their time on campus and beyond. People have to deal with so many things in their lives, so we want to make sure they can see how accessible the joy of Jewish life is—to experience it for themselves and to see the joy of the Shabbat table, for example.”
‘A Very Personal Level’
For past and present students, the warm, familial environment that the Weinsteins create at Chabad is its most powerful feature. The Weinsteins have always made a point to include students and alumni in their family life and celebrations, which is an important reason for alumni to remain connected to the Weinsteins even after graduation. And both the Weinsteins and alumni make a point to attend each other’s life-cycle celebrations, often traveling great distances to do so.
“Students past and present want to know what our kids are doing now and like to see them grow up,” says Sara Weinstein. “And now that we have second-generation students at our Chabad House, they are continuing the tradition because there’s a level of trust that they already know our family; they’re not just sending their kids away to an institution. They know that if their children need someone to talk to, Chabad will be there.
“And we see that so many of our alumni have carried on the Chabad House model of establishing open homes for themselves in their own communities,” she continues. “Alumni are our extended family: we’re fortifying Jewish life from within to without on a very personal level.”
In 2008, Chani (the Weinsteins’ oldest child, now Silverman) and her husband, Shlomo (also from Pittsburgh), moved back to establish Chabad of Carnegie Mellon University. And Chani’s sister, Chasi Rothstein, 24, also returned to Pittsburgh with her husband Shmuli, in 2015 to focus on undergraduate programming at the University of Pittsburgh itself.
“It’s really thrilling to have them here with us,” says Sara Weinstein. “What better joy can a parent have than to see her children supersede her own efforts?! We get such joy when we see them interacting with the students.”
The Weinsteins make a point of hosting weekly family dinners to include the Silvermans, Rothsteins and any other Weinstein children or family members either living at home or visiting.
Now that the Rothsteins are working with undergraduates, the Weinsteins can focus their attention on eight other campuses in Pittsburgh.
For Silverman, 30, campus life was all she knew as a child; it was her standard of normalcy.
“I didn’t always know that I wanted to be an emissary myself, but I did always know that I loved the way of life,” says Silverman, who now lives five minutes away from her parents. “When I went away to school and I wasn’t in that position of giving in the same way anymore, I realized how much I missed that lifestyle, and it became my dream to come back to the warm, giving community of Pittsburgh. Seeing my parents’ example of how they relate to students helped my new role on campus come naturally to me.”
Billy Matchen, a member of the Carnegie Mellon Chabad student board, emphasizes the feeling of family and community that Silverman has infused into her Chabad House, similar to the environment in which she was raised. He even comes on Fridays to help set up the Shabbat meal.
“I love the sense of community; I always feel welcome in the Silverman home, and I enjoy meeting new people at all of the different events that take place in the Chabad House and on campus each year,” said Matchen, a senior physics major from Pleasantville, N.Y. “I think it is remarkable how long Chani and her family have been committed to promoting Jewish life on and around campus. Her familiarity with the area and the community are great assets in developing and running the many programs that she and her family provide.”
Sophomore Eliana Abbas similarly connects with the family atmosphere. “I like how Chabad focuses on having a solid, family-like community. They make everyone feel welcome and maintain an emphasis on learning about the culture of Judaism while doing so,” said Abbas, a mechanical-engineering major from Ohio. “I take part to reconnect with Judaism as a whole, and it has encouraged me to learn as much as I can about my culture and heritage.”
For the Rothsteins, returning to campus in Pittsburgh was an important opportunity to expand the already thriving Chabad House.
“We already knew the campus and felt comfortable here. We felt so needed and special to have this opportunity,” says 24-year-old Rothstein. “Growing up, it was so normal to have tons of people coming to our home. Now that I’m doing this myself, I appreciate so much more what my parents did and still do. It’s different to come back with an adult’s perspective, which is so different from a child’s.”
When the Rothsteins first moved back to campus, they hosted all meals and events in the Weinsteins’ already existing Chabad House. They moved to a small apartment in the heart of student housing in August of 2015, and what began with seven students at Shabbat quickly grew to nearly 50, with standing-room only. They began searching for a larger place to live and with the help of a generous benefactor were able to secure a six-bedroom house in a centrally located campus neighborhood, with the option to buy in the coming years.
‘Just From Being Ourselves’
Leah Kaufman, who just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and plans to study Arabic in the coming year, has been involved with Chabad through events, as well as helping the Rothsteins with social media and newsletters.
“I am inspired by the people at Chabad at Pitt who are so kind, generous and inquisitive,” says Kaufman, who is from Philadelphia, and enjoyed weekly walks with Rothstein (and her baby boy) through campus during her senior year. “I love how open and accessible it is.
“I think that often, what deters students from participating in services or activities is that they deem it to be ‘too religious.’ This is simply not true. Chabad is indiscriminate and nonjudgmental. All are welcome and received with open arms,” she says. “More importantly, I have found that the environment not only tolerates—but encourages—open discussions and differences of opinion.”
Rothstein emphasizes the powerful effect emissary families have upon students during their time on campus. “Students always love the kids, having them around,” says Rothstein. “Now with my own baby, I see the same thing. I try not to be too protective of him because I see how much he affects people. One girl even said that my baby changed her entire perspective on having her own children. It just shows that the biggest impact we have on people is from just being ourselves.”
For Shoshana Hoexter—who partners with Rabbi Shlomo and Chani Silverman in running Chabad’s JGrads program, covering all campuses with her husband, Rabbi Shua Hoexter—serving the Pittsburgh community has also come naturally. After becoming close to Chabad throughout her childhood in Pittsburgh, she became involved with the Weinsteins as an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. Eventually, she and her husband returned to Pittsburgh under similar conditions the Weinsteins originally set up for themselves: The rabbi works as a software engineer in the city, while Shoshana manages the Chabad programming.
“What I most admire about the Weinsteins is their faith in G‑d, and dedication to the Rebbe’s work,” explains Shoshana Hoexter, who came to work for the Weinsteins in 2003. “The meaningful work that Shua and I saw them doing through the Chabad House inspired us to want to join ‘the team.’ They have envisioned this tremendous growth of Chabad on Campus and made this all possible.”
As part of the JGrads program, the Hoexters host two graduate-student Shabbat meals every month at their home and two larger Shabbat meals on campus every year. They also offer lunch and dinner classes, as well as joint programming for Carnegie Mellon graduate students as well.
Keeping Up With Alumni
For the Weinsteins and all who know them, one of the most powerful testaments to their effect on students past and present is the way in which alumni remain deeply attached to Chabad well after graduation.
For example, Reuven Sutin, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and nearby Chatham University between 2002 and 2004, was so drawn to Chabad’s “warm and lively environment” that he couldn’t stay away.
“They made it possible for me to embrace Jewish practice that I had been thinking about doing for so long beforehand,” says Sutin, who now works as a special-education teacher in New Jersey. “The Weinsteins are the most giving, selfless people I’ve ever met. I’ve never met anyone else like them or their children before.”
Throughout his years in Pittsburgh, Sutin slept at the Chabad House for Shabbat almost every Friday night and would spend most Thursday evenings there as well, helping to prepare for the Shabbat meal.
“Chabad was a great opportunity for me to get away from the party atmosphere. And Chabad is not just a warm place, it is also filled with intellectualism that I found in the study of Chassidic philosophy,” says Sutin, who speaks to Rabbi Weinstein on a regular basis as a mentee. “They taught me that there’s more to Judaism than just attending synagogue; Judaism is much bigger than yourself, it’s in every aspect of life, and everything’s much bigger than you are. I wouldn't have come to understand this fact otherwise.”
And for Sam Krichevsky, who graduated in 2008, the fact that he attended Friday-night Shabbat dinner every week throughout his undergraduate career helped him remain strong in his Jewish identity, to the point where he decided to raise his own family observing kashrut and Shabbat.
“The Weinsteins helped me in my Jewish journey and were a very calming force for me,” says Krichevsky, who runs a successful live-event production company (TanZ) in Cleveland. “It is so powerful they way they are able to gather the Jewish community together on campus. The homey vibe of their Chabad House is a lasting memory for me and showed me that Shabbat is something cool—something to look forward to.”
As part of the Weinsteins’ first group of students on campus, Orah Toni Linzer has developed a strong bond with the family throughout the years. She even says that she remembers holding Chani Weinstein and Shlomo Silverman on her lap as children and predicting their marriage.
“I was truly a part of the family, and they made us all a part of the team,” says Linzer, who graduated from Duquesne University in 1993 and now lives in Baltimore. “You can talk to them about anything. And you know that you’re not gone just because you’re gone and have left the campus.”
Linzer is still friends with the original Chabad House group of students, and she recalls her famous raspberry mousse and peanut-butter balls that she would cook each week for Shabbat. She knew that when her stepson would begin his freshman year at the university this fall that the Weinsteins and Rothsteins would offer their support.
“I know they’re watching out for him—they look after every student, and this is what makes them unique,” says Linzer. “I’m so lucky that I have the Weinsteins in my life. I truly believe in what they do.”
For more information on the Sept. 20 event, click here.
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