Ten Years and Counting | Illini Chabad Celebration Event
October 20, 2013 • Bryn Mawr Country Club

Good evening, my name is Richard Rosenfeld, and I have the pleasure of welcoming you: To Ten Years and Counting

A celebration of Illini Chabad.

An occasion to honor key partners and an occasion to honor some of our exceptional students.

We are also here to insure that the house that Rabbi Dovid and Goldie have built not only endures but grows.

We are here to honor the “home away from home” that Rabbi Dovid and Goldie have so lovingly created.

The safe haven, which continues to welcome all students, students interested in enriching themselves, with a love of Judaism, a love of Israel, and a love of humankind.

Ten years ago Rabbi Dovid and Goldie, with their young infant in hand, came to the Illini campus with no home, no Chabad, no network,  no connections, just a dream.

A dream to plant a seed of Judaism, to nurture it   unconditionally, and as the expression goes: 

If you build it they will come.

Indeed, they have come:

  • over 100 students weekly for Shabbat dinners
  • an annual Greek Shabbat that attracts over 350 students
  • daily prayer services
  • meetings with students to study and discuss the week’s Torah portion
  • a program for special needs children to intersect with the fighting Illini
  • an annual trip to Berlin
  • a study abroad program in Israel
  • a Sinai scholars program that you will hear more about shortly
  • more recently, a kosher meal program in the dorms and the availability of kosher foods at local grocery stores

These are just a few of the programs, student activities, and events that take place at Illini Chabad every year.

None of this would be possible without the kind and generous support Illini Chabad receives from donors such as you.

Chabad is not funded or sponsored by any national organization or group. Chabad is not funded by the university, yet it’s impact on the university is undeniable:

Just 8 weeks ago, I was seated in the tent outside the Chabad house, attending Rosh Hashanah services, when the president of the university, Bob Easter spoke these words:

"For more than a decade, the Chabad Center for Jewish life has been filling a critical need, providing a home away from home for our more than 4,000 Jewish students and nurturing an environment of understanding that enriches the lives of every student.” 

I am a part of Illini Chabad and you are part of Illini Chabad too. We are partners, who bring our energy together, to ensure the future of Judaism.

We are here to celebrate
1 day at a time
1 week at a time
1 student at a time and
1 future   

A future we must all embrace and support

To develop the Jewish leaders of tomorrow