Chabad Unrecognized

Your next deed will change the world... make it a good one!

= Mission Statement =

ChabadNation serves the four colleges: Mount Holyoke, Smith, Amherst, and Hampshire. ChabadNation is a safe environment where you can ask questions without feeling censored or judged. We also offer counseling as mentors to students who need guidance or just need someone to talk to. We welcome everyone regardless of age, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, nation orgin, race, beliefs, or gender identity. We also throw really good parties with awesome food, so you should definetly check us out. No prior knowledge about Judaism is required to attend any classes or holiday events! Chabad is an educational resource. We teach classes about different topics in Judaism on the level called "Pinimiut," or, "inside" the Torah. Classes are based on Kabbalah and on the teachings of Chassidus as it is explained by Torah scholars. We want to help educate individuals in order to empower them to be leaders in their own Jewish communities.

= Regular Programming =


 * Thursday night Fabrengen at ChabadNation in Amherst Center
 * "Cooking and Kabballah" Wednesday night in Merrill Kitchen
 * Shabbat: Friday night services, Friday night dinner, Saturday kiddush, Havdalla.
 * Don't ride the bus on shabbat? Crash at the Kravitskys with other 5-college students! RSVP with Ariel.
 * Rosh Chodesh activities

= Upcoming Events =


 * Disco Purim; Saturday March 19, 8:30pm @ ChabadNation
 * Purim Day Feast; Sunday March 20, 5:30pm @ ChabadNation
 * "Emotional Sobriety"—a talk with Rabbi Shais Taub; Thursday April 14, 6:30pm @ Main Lecture Hall
 * Seder Under the Stars; Monday April 18, 8:30pm @ Amherst Center
 * Sinai Scholars; TBD
 * JewsCruise; TBD

= Past Events and Programming =


 * "Hebrew School Dropout"; class @ Smith
 * Sinai Scholars; class @ Amherst
 * Rosh Chodesh hamentashen baking
 * Rosh Chodesh cookie icing
 * Hannukah party
 * International Student Shabbaton in Crown Heights
 * Giant Sukkah in Amherst Center
 * Seder Under the Stars; Spring 2009
 * Purim Party Bus; Spring 2009

= What is ChabadNation? =

ChabadNation is an affiliate of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which includes over three thousand campus centers, community centers, schools, and more. Chabad seeks to be a "home away from home" for Jews on campus and offers a wealth of social, educational and spiritual programs at campuses across America and around the globe. At college, students are exposed to new ideas and experiences and Chabad seeks to ensure that students graduate as stronger and more empowered Jews than when they entered.

= Who are the Kravitskys? =

Rabbi Kravitsky, Ariel (F04), and their children Moussia and Yosef moved to Amherst in August of 2008 to enhance Jewish life and Judaic programming for college students in the Amherst area. They are followers of the Chabad-Lubavitch Movement, founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi in the 1700s.

Ariel Kravitsky is from Hartford, Connecticut. She attended Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. where she studied sociology, poetry, and sustainable agriculture. She finished her degree at a womens seminary in New York and afterwards studied in Israel. After getting married she and her husband worked in the Flatiron area in New York City at a community Chabad house.

Rabbi Shmuel Kravitsky was born in Israel and immigrated to the US as a child. Rabbi Kravitsky lived in New York City for close to 25 years and attended both secular and religious schools. After five years of intensive study in the Hadar Hatorah Rabbinical Seminary and the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva he received his Rabbinical Ordination from the Rabbinical Court of Israel. For the past ten years, he has traveled throughout the US and abroad, teaching, inspiring, and caring for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Be it directing a camp of 140 kids in Eastern Europe to teaching and mentoring students, lawyers, businessman, artists, and politicians in New York City and more, Rabbi Kravitsky has touched the lives of many. His forte is lecturing about Judaism and Jewish Mysticism, also known as Kabbalah, to people who have had little or no exposure to it. His love and knowledge of pop-culture is evident in both his classes and group discussions.

= Get Involved =


 * Visit the official webpage
 * Join the ChabadNation group on Facebook to receive updates
 * Friend Rabbi Shmuel on Facebook
 * Friend Ariel on Facebook
 * Come to Shabbat Dinner Friday nights around 7 at 284 North Pleasant St in Amherst Center
 * Come to other events and bring a friend, everyone is welcome!
 * Look for events, classes, and holiday festivities on Facebook
 * Keep an eye out for the Kravitskys around campus

= Jewish Life Resources =


 * ChabadNation webpage
 * ChabadNation Facebook
 * Candle lighting calculator
 * ChabadNation is now an off-campus work-study employer!

= Jewish Holidays 5771 (2010-2011) =

All holidays begin at sundown on the night before the date listed:


 * Rosh HaShanah - Sep 9, 2010


 * Yom Kippur - Sep 18, 2010


 * Sukkot - Sep 23, 2010


 * Simhat Torah - Sep 30, 2010


 * Hanukah - Dec 2, 2010


 * Tu Bishvat - Jan 20, 2011


 * Purim - Mar 20, 2011


 * Passover - Apr 19, 2011


 * Yom Hashoa - May 2, 2011


 * Yom HaAtzmaut - May 10, 2011


 * Shavuot - Jun 8, 2011

= ChabadNation Alums =

UNDER CONSTRUCTION