An incredible year on campus

By Rabbi Mendel Gordon

Spring semester has flown by, full of Jewish pride and involvement at Florida Gulf Coast University. I can’t believe it’s over, and we are already wishing our graduates farewell and success as they move on. I would love to share just a few of the highlights.

Passover

Despite Passover occurring during the heat of finals this year, over 50 students joined together for the Passover Seders. We had amazing, fun and enriching seders together, discussing how we can make the exodus messages practical in our own lives, freeing ourselves from our own unhealthy mindsets and personal limits.

Mega Shabbat

Over 60 students joined us for a massive Shabbat dinner on campus, uniting together as proud Jews. Temmy, a freshman, experienced her first Shabbat and can’t wait to bring its beauty to her family back home over summer.

Sinai scholars

Five students joined us for an eight-session crash course on Judaism, challenging them to bring their Jewish knowledge up to college-age level. We discussed how being Jewish is defined; how only through Torah and Mitzvos can we keep Judaism into the future; and we had some amazing fields trips — a kosher hunt at the local grocery, a visit to the river to learn about purifying utensils and learning about the key foundation of a Jewish marriage and Jewish family life while touring the local Mikah.

Antisemitism

I am sure many out there are nervous about what is going on at campus. Thankfully, FGCU has been largely spared the antisemitism and anti-Israel hate that has hit so many campuses.

We work closely with the University administration, which has told us multiple times that they will have no tolerance for antisemitism. We are very thankful to our administration here. With Hashem’s help, FGCU will continue to be a very safe place for Jewish students.

Chabad services Jewish students of all levels of observance at FGCU and surrounding Southwest Florida colleges. We are gearing up for another incredible year for Jewish life on campus.

If you know any Jewish students at FGCU or other local colleges, please reach out to connect them with the local Jewish student community. For more information or to help make that connection, please reach out to me at Rabbi@chabadfgcu.com or call 239355-8481.