Student Wins After Mitzvah

In an effort to inspire and strengthen Jewish leadership and involvement on university campuses throughout North America, Sinai Scholars Society, a project of Chabad on Campus International and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute gathered 150 students to hear from prominent Jewish thinkers, address topics of Jewish identity, and facilitate increased commitment in their lives.

150 Jewish students and 21 Chabad on Campus directors from across the country gathered this week for the Sinai Scholars National Jewish Retreat in Palm Springs, California.

One of these students, 22 year-old Ruslan Belousov, grew up as an only child in Moscow before immigrating to the United States in 2010.

Upon his arrival to S. Monica College, he connected with Rabbi Eli Moshe Levitansky, the Director of Chabad on Campus at the college, and joined the Sinai Scholars Society. This brought him to the retreat, where he experienced a sequence of serendipitous and deeply moving events.

During a farbrengen (a chassidic gathering where people connect with one another and share words of inspiration), Belousov spoke of his past and how his sense of Jewish belonging did not extend further than the fact that he had two Jewish parents.

He shared how moving it was to have discovered a shared identity with so many new people. “Before the retreat I was an only child,” said a moved Belousov, “but now I have so many brothers and sisters.”

During the program, students were encouraged to make resolutions related to Jewish life and commitment to carry back with them to their college campuses. Inspired by the many lectures and activities, Belousov resolved to begin wrapping tefillin 6 days a week. In a meaningful and emotional turn of events, he won the grand prize in the raffle shortly thereafter, which happened to be a brand new pair of his own tefillin.

A key part of the program that speaks to its success was when two students shared the significant ways in which the retreat had impacted them. One student, Taylor Gershberg from University at Buffalo, spoke of the non-Jewish boyfriend she once had and how although she cared deeply for him, she struggled with their differences in identity. “It wasn’t until I began to become active in the Sinai Scholars Society and took classes in college that I really understood why this relationship might not work out”, Gershberg stated. “When I went home last year from the National Jewish Retreat all pumped up, inspired and in love with my religion, I broke up with this boy… I began to surround myself with wonderful, caring people like Nava and Dubi Rabinowitz where I often go to celebrate Shabbat.” Gershberg passionately beseeched her audience to marry Jewish, hoping they would learn from her experience. She remarked that while her family’s Jewish identity had been weakening for generations, she was reversing the trend and strengthening her commitment to her heritage, largely as a result of the program.

The second student, Ben Suster from University of Central Florida, spoke about how the program challenged his notion of what it meant to be a Jew. He shared how moving it was to learn that Jewish practices are not tasks to be completed but an expression of his nature. “Sinai Scholars is the ideal bridge for young adults like myself to transcend from merely identifying as a Jew, to grasping what it truly means to be one”, he shared. He related how Sinai Scholars permanently changed his identity and empowered him to lead others by combating antisemitism and instilling Jewish pride in other students. Suster now runs an Israel advocacy and cultural awareness organization on campus called Knights for Israel.

For five days, participants heard from a diverse selection of world-renowned speakers, including, Dennis Prager, the nationally-syndicated radio talk-show host and author, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice-Chairman of Merkos L’lnyonei Chinuch, Lawrence Schiffman, a professor at New York University and Director of the Global Institute for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies, and Carolyn Hessel, who has been nicknamed ‘Jewish Oprah’ for the success she has had with finding talented Jewish writers and helping them build successful careers.

Sinai Scholars Society has been educating Jewish college students about their Jewish heritage since its founding in 2006. Each year, more than 2,500 students from 120 universities attend 8 courses over a semester as well as a Shabbat dinner, an educational field trip, and a closing gala event. The retreat has been a valuable way to inspire these Jewish students to continue their Judaic education.

Dozens of leading Torah scholars and lecturers presented throughout the five day retreat, including, Mrs. Shaindy Jacobson, Mrs. Rivky Kaplan, Rabbis Simon Jacobson, Yosef Y. Jacobson, Berel Bell, YY Schochet, and Boruch Kaplan. The students also had a chance to hear from Chabad on Campus directors from across the country, including, Rabbi and Mrs. Shlomie and Devorah Leah Chein from University of California, S. Cruz, Rabbi and Mrs. Levi and Sashie Friedman, from Florida International University, Rabbi Dov Greenberg from Stanford University, Rabbi and Mrs. Dovid and Elisa Gurevich from UCLA, Rabbi and Mrs. Yossi and Manya Lazaroff from Texas A&M, Rabbi and Mrs. Eli Moshe and Mirel Levitansky from S. Monica College, Rabbi Chaim Boruch Lipskier from the University of Central Florida, Rabbi and Mrs. Zevi and Miriam Tenenbaum from University of California, Irvine, Rabbi and Mrs. Shmuel and Rashi Weiss from McGill University, Rabbi and Mrs. Zalman and Chana Wilhelm from the University of Vermont, and Rabbi and Mrs. Yossi and Naomi Winner from the University of Arizona (Tucson).

Other standout moments from the retreat included a presentation by Sassy Reuven, who as a member of the Israeli Defense Special Operation Forces took part in the famous Entebbe mission called Operation Thunderbolt, a talk by Mrs. Shimona Tzukernik on how the Torah, a three thousand year-old guidebook, can remain relevant today, and a firsthand account of the spiritual journey of David Sacks, the Emmy-award winning writer/producer of The Simpsons and other television classics.

“This year’s retreat focused on a famous saying of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ‘If you know Alef (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) teach Alef,’” said Rabbi Dubi Rabinowitz, the Director of the Sinai Scholars Society. “This saying encompasses the Rebbe’s passion for Jews to reach out to other Jews and help educate them with whatever Jewish knowledge they may have. Our goal is to uplift Jewish morale and enthusiasm, creating ‘ambassadors for Torah’ throughout the world.”

“The Sinai Scholars Society offers thousands of young Jewish university students the chance to truly explore their Judaism,” said Rabbi Yossy Gordon, Executive Vice President of Chabad on Campus International. “Joining together with their contemporaries and hearing from the lineup of Jewish luminaries is a unique experience that impacts these young people in a very deep way.”

Having been challenged, inspired and further educated on a variety of matters related to Jewish life, the students are empowered and enthusiastic about taking leadership roles on their respective campuses.