Chabad Recognized By UCM

After Eight Years, Group Wins Official Place in Campus Jewish Community

Eight years after arriving at Columbia, Chabad has finally been recognized as an official campus group.

Chabad, an organization led by Hasidic Jews, has unofficially been a part of campus for years but was just granted recognition under United Campus Ministries as Columbia's newest Jewish organization, after first applying in 2003.

"Everything is a process and this wasn't going to happen overnight," said Rabbi Yonah Blum, who runs Chabad out of his 110th street apartment. "It took a while but sometimes that is how life works. Not everything is simple and immediate."

The membership procedure of the United Campus Ministries includes submission of a resume by the potential group representative, a petition of at least 30 current Columbia University students interested in joining the religious group, and an interview with University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis.

Davis said she made the final decision to recognize Chabad largely because "Rabbi Blum will be a great support to students seeking involvement with Chabad's activities, and will support interfaith and intercultural programming initiated by the Office of the University Chaplain and by students."

Chabad differs from Hillel, Columbia's largest Jewish organizational umbrella group, in several ways. While Hillel has 56 subgroups under its name, Chabad is a smaller, more intimate organization that has cultivated a following of students who did not feel Hillel, which includes programming for Jewish students of all denominations, met their religious needs.

Other differences between the two groups involve the organization's respective leadership structures.

"Hillel is an organization modeled on student leadership. Chabad is not student-led," said Andy Lebwohl, a current CU law student and Hillel's 2003 president.

This difference in leadership is one reason tension arose when Chabad decided to apply for recognition.

"Chabad arrived on campus and did things the Chabad way," Lebwohl said. He said that Hillel believed its student-run leadership was more appropriate in the Columbia community. "But even when I was Hillel president and actively opposed Chabad recognition, Rabbi Blum invited me to his house. Now, Hillel and Chabad have an excellent working relationship," he said.

Dov Sebrow, president of Yavneh, Hillel's Orthodox and largest subgroup, acknowledged that Hillel initially fought against recognition for Chabad. "I don't think Hillel was being arrogant, they were just used to being the only Jewish group on campus," Sebrow said. "It was just hard to make the transition from one Jewish campus organization to two."