Good grades, social life, a good night's sleep – pick two out of the three. This humorous rubric generally describes how many college students manage their packed schedules. But this weekend, over 2,000 Jewish college students are making room for a fourth priority: Judaism.
From November 7-9, nearly 2,000 students from 175 colleges are gathering in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for Pegisha, a weekend of learning, spiritual growth, social programs, and sightseeing.
Organized by Chabad on Campus International, the Pegisha—Hebrew for “encounter”— brings college students into contact with an authentic Shabbat experience, some for the first time. Students are hosted by local Jewish families and get to enjoy home-cooked Shabbat meals and joyful Shabbat traditions, all while making new friends from around the world.
“I wanted to strengthen my connection with Judaism and meet students from other campuses,” said Emily Sullivan, a student at University of North Florida in Jacksonville and vice president of the UNF Chabad student group. “It’s an opportunity for me to grow in my Judaism and learn from all the rabbis and Jewish programs here.”
She credits the UNF Chabad House, directed by Rabbi Shmuli and Chana Novack, for her Jewish education and identity. She sees the Chabad House as her second home, where she comes not only to enjoy Shabbat dinners, social events and classes, but also to hang out with her friends and spend time with the Novacks.
Rabbi Novack, who has co-directed Chabad of UNF since 2005, says that interest in the Pegisha and all of Chabad’s Campus programming has surged since October 7, when many Jewish students woke up to the importance of their Jewish identity. “Two years later, students are still hungry for substance, for tradition, and for a community that is there for them when they need it.”
A Historic Conference
While this year’s Conference brings together almost 2,000 students from over 175 campuses, it wasn’t always this way. The Pegisha began in 1961, when Rabbi Yaacov Hanoka, a renowned scientist and a pioneer in “ba’al teshuvah” programming, organized a weekend for college students to experience Jewish life in its fullness. That first year, 17 students visited Crown Heights during winter break for a remarkable Shabbat experience.
From those early days till now, the Pegisha has transformed into Chabad on Campus International’s largest program.
Rabbi Yossi Gordon, CEO of Chabad on Campus International, shares that “Pegisha seeks to engage each participant at their own level, whether through deep conversations in Jewish thought or through simple, profound discovery of connection to Judaism.” While it might seem like a great effort to bring together thousands of students each year for the Pegisha, he added, it’s his great privilege. “Every Jew is our child… and what wouldn’t we do to help our own children succeed in life?”
For many participants, the appeal of Pegisha lies in the immersion, being in a neighborhood where Jewish life is the norm, surrounded by thousands of their peers. Shabbat in Crown Heights offers a glimpse of Jewish life that isn't defensive or “other,” but lived openly, proudly and joyfully.
"It’s a chance to be fully yourself. You get to come to Crown Heights, be fully Jewish, be fully immersed in it, go by your Hebrew name if you want,” shared Leora Gad, co-president of the Chabad student group at Arizona State University. This is her fourth Pegisha, and she looks forward to making friends, learning new concepts, and coming home inspired. Her favorite Pegisha memory is the all-night farbrengen that ASU hosts every year. “I have friends who I’ve met at the Pegisha, who I’ve stayed in touch with at Jewish U events, at the JLI retreat and other Chabad events.”
Gad said that Chabad has been there throughout her Jewish journey in life, from attending Hebrew School and then CTeen at the Chabad House in Naperville, Ill. through being involved as a student leader in ASU.
Immersive Jewish Learning and Experiences
One of the main appeals of the Pegisha is the wide range of classes offered. This year's topics range from Kabbalistic insights into Pop Culture to Talmudic Secrets for Stress Relief and The Rebbe's Strategic Playbook for Lasting Peace in Israel. The weekend also features workshops on Jewish dating and marriage, as well as facilitated speed dating where students can perhaps discover their “bashert.”
As one of the speakers at Pegisha ‘Ted Talks’ – a series of lectures where students share their stories of personal growth – Emily will speak about her journey from being someone vaguely aware of her Jewish heritage to a proud Jewish leader on her college campus.
“I didn’t grow up in a particularly religious Jewish home. I didn’t know Hebrew or go to a Jewish school. Chabad helped me strengthen my Judaism and stop thinking of myself as “Jew-ish,” She shared. “I’m really excited to share my story, but I’m also really looking forward to hearing what other students have to say.”
Ilana Chekroun, a French exchange student from Paris studying at USF in Tampa, Fla., shared that she has been on a journey toward greater observance and began keeping Shabbat last year. Despite being warned that USF had a small religious Jewish population on campus, she ultimately chose to study there because it had a Chabad House within walking distance.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to fully keep Shabbat in the US. By a divine miracle, out of the 55,000 students on campus, my residential advisor was also a French Jew who keeps Shabbat,” she shared. “The support I got from her and the Chabad House gave me the confidence to know that it’s possible to keep Shabbat anywhere, even in Tampa.”
Ilana is excited for one of the weekend's most profound moments, which is the visit to the Ohel—the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, in Queens. On Sunday, students will write personal notes reflecting on their hopes, struggles, and prayers before visiting the gravesite, a practice rooted in Jewish tradition of seeking guidance and connection at the graves of righteous teachers.
“I really enjoyed getting the tour of 770, and I’m really excited to see the Ohel,” said Chekroun. “I have heard many things about it and want to see for myself what the experience will be like for me.”
For Chekroun, who has watched antisemitism become normalized in France and witnessed its manifestations on American campuses, Chabad has offered her not a response to hate, but an enduring identity worth celebrating. “Chabad has shown me that it's ‘Geshmak to be a Yid, – it’s awesome to be a Jew!"
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