“Not only was the food delicious, I really felt part of their family,” relates Melissa Tarlow, on placement at the University of Nottingham who joined Rabbi Mendy and Brocha Lent for the Pesach holiday. “I was kindly hosted for every meal over Pesach, and there is no way I would’ve survived without them.”
Since the autumn semester Chabad On Campus has been dishing out a lot of kosher food.
Aside from the usual Friday night and Shabbat hospitality, an anonymous donor has underwritten over £300,000 for the Passover programme and cost of weekday provisions. The result has had a welcome impact on student life particularly at universities where kosher food is not easily available.
This year, with Pesach coinciding with the onset of the spring/summer term, many students were unable to leave university so the grant was extended to include provisions for Seder nights and Kosher for Passover meals throughout the festival. The result – over 20 universities were able to host over a thousand students who wished to keep kosher and Pesach.
Sebastian Ruvinski Camjalli – a Spanish final year engineering student who frequented the home of Rabbi Eli and Mushka Simon at Manchester Chabad – commented, “It was nice to hang out with the Simon kids while eating breakfast before uni – a great way to start the day!”
Rabbi Mendy Korer of Chabad Islington, who coordinated the scheme with colleagues on Campus said “keeping Pesach at University can be complicated, this project was designed to make Passover as easy as possible for students.”
Liverpool University Chabad run by Rabbi Shmuli and his indefatigable wife Tziva Brown were inundated with hundreds of requests for Pesach meals. “The system is both a literal and metaphorical godsend,” responded Jason Gardner an Astrophysics student “it makes it easier to go out and get work done in the library, as I can take lunch with me rather than having to go all the way back home to make something or living off fruit.”
The system varies from place to place depending on demand. One thing, however, remains consistent – all are welcome.” It was a true pleasure to be invited to Chabad over Pesach, commented Gaby of Sheffield University. “This was the first year I spent Pesach away from my family and I took comfort in knowing that I could spend the holiday with my Chabad family instead. I am so thankful that they put a meal on EVERY day. Meals on Pesach are difficult and repetitive, so I cannot thank Rabbi and Mrs Golomb enough for their kindness over this period. They are amazing and the sponsors are too, thank you for your generosity, it means a lot”.
