Chabad on Campus shluchos bear witness

By Regan Lipes

(AJNews) – Jewish communities of the Diaspora have long contended with the sting of antisemitism, but in past months this has become a constant onslaught. In solidarity of and concern for Israel, international Jewry has united to demonstrate to the world ‘Am Israel Chai.’ Chabad shluchim and shluchos (emmisaries) are on the front-line of defense. Nowhere is antisemitism being amplified as loudly or as virulently as on university campuses internationally, and that leaves these Chabad on Campus coordinators as the guardians of Jewish students the world over. Secondary and postsecondary students throughout Alberta know this all too well, and that is what made Rebbetzin Chaya Sarah Blachman’s recent trip to Israel significant on both sides of the globe.

Rebbetzin Blachman, who with her husband Rabbi Mendy Blachman, facilitates and operates Chabad on Campus programming for Edmonton, joined a delegation of shluchos who traveled to Israel on a mission of hope and healing. The delegation filled three tour buses, and brought together shluchos from Europe, North and South America, and locations as remote as Grenada.  “There were many mixed emotions that came with preparing for the kinus (conference). There was the anticipation of coming to my homeland after so many years and the holiest place in the world mixed with the knowledge that our entire nation is mourning,” the Rebbetzin explained in a recent interview at Edmonton’s Chabad House with Alberta Jewish News. “It’s like an entire country sitting shivah,” she elaborated. “How can one really prepare for something as significant as that?”

Rebbetzin Blachman left Edmonton right after Lag B’Omer, and her journey lasted nearly two days. It had been sixteen years since her last visit back to Israel, and emotions were understandably high. “As we were landing, there was a man playing ‘Oseh Shalom’ on a harmonica,” she recalled poignantly. “It was so beautiful, and it released any worry that there may have been. It was as though through this man and his harmonica, Hashem was letting us all know that it would be okay.”

The mission these devoted women underwent was one with an intended impact both in Israel and within communities at home. “Jewish students need support like never before, provided with relentless intensity,” said Rabbi Yossy Gordon , CEO of Chabad on Campus International in an interview with Col Live. “This support must come from individuals dedicated to the truth of our existence as the Jewish People and our rights to our beautiful and cherished homeland, Eretz Yisrael. These individuals are the shluchim and shluchos who direct Chabad Houses on campuses. Clearly, the opportunity for campus shluchos to connect, recharge, unite, and inspire one another has never been more significant!”

Chabad on Campus programming aims to build strong Jewish student communities and connect young adults with their traditions and culture. Team Blachman regularly engages with postsecondary students at the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology so they have heard firsthand that the toxicity of antisemitism is on the rise. “What was amazing to hear when we met with survivors of October 7, and soldiers fighting for the safety of our homeland was how much concern they had for us: their fellow Jews living outside of Israel,” observed the Rebbetzin. “There was an overwhelming expression of gratitude for our visit, but also so much concern for our wellbeing. They hear about all the hate and violence against Jews around the world, and even after all they’ve gone through everyone is confident that the safest place to be a Jew is still Israel,” she added with conviction. “I had collected letters from students [and others] here in Edmonton: words of support and compassion for those protecting Israel. When I would give these to people we met, there was just this outpour of love and gratitude.”

When asked how she managed to maintain emotional composure amidst so much loss Rebbetzin Blachman commented: “We all react differently, but by being focused on the goal, my commitment to being there for my people, fueled my own resilience. It’s so incredible that we were there to provide comfort and support, but over and over in our debriefing sessions, people expressed that they felt like we were the ones being consoled.”

All told, this chesed (kindness) mission was a whirlwind that lasted only five days but made a huge impact: both for the shluchos delegates and those they visited. “The Rebbe teaches us that we shouldn’t say that something is ‘bad,’ but that it’s ‘not good.’ This is about learning how to interpret the world.” The Jewish people are united in a way that they had not been prior to October 7. “There were these mobile pop-up spaces for prayer…There was an opportunity for visitors to transform their pain into positive action and bring light into the world in the merit of those whose lives were cut short.”

As reported by Col Live, on their final day, the delegates met with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersch remains in forcible captivity after nine months.  Movingly, she expressed: ““I am so indebted to you righteous Tzadikot who are here. […] We are in such pain, and your comfort means the world to us. Thank you so much for carving out the time to be with your people when you were needed. I love you. I feel so zochah that I got to be in your presence today. The work you do on campus is so holy, and powerful, and mighty. You are moving mountains, and you are changing the world.”

On July 4, in honour of the 30th yahrzeit (anniversary) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s passing, Edmontonians gathered at the Fantastyland Hotel to share in a message of hope. Hasidic singer / song-writer Rabbi Shlomo Glayzer, of Monsey, regaled the crowed with selections from his recent album Flying Colors, and volunteers handed out small postcards for an empowering initiative ‘A Mitzvah for Every Soldier.’ Attendees were asked to commit to filling the world with goodness to help bring home the hostages without delay. “The Rebbe teaches that the world is a balance of good and the not good. Doing just one mitzvah can be the force that tips the scales so good dominates. Our fellow Jews in Israel feel the power of our mitzvot,” Rebbetzin Blachman stated during a speech given at the community-wide event.

In a matter of days Rabbi Mendy Blachman would embark on a similar voyage organized for Chabad shluchim, also carrying these messages of solidarity from Edmonton to Israel.There is no way to adequately prepare to stand upon earth that has been saturated by so much devastation, but just as his wife has borne witness, Rabbi Blachman too will bring home prayers for world Jewry.

“I’m very grateful to have gone,” said Rebbetzin Blachman with finality. The work ahead is not without astonishingly formidable obstacles as recent events on postsecondary campuses has demonstrated. Team Blachman will continue to support the Jewish communities on postsecondary campuses and share with them the love and gratitude expressed by those healing in Israel. Chabad on Campus Edmonton invites Jewish postsecondary students and young adults to attend exciting programming this summer and a roster of fulfilling activities and gatherings this upcoming school year. Students and young adults should remain on the lookout for information about one-to-two-week volunteer trips to Israel that would not impact eligibility for Birthright.

For information visit Instagram @Chabadoncampusyeg or email Csblachman@chabadedmonton.org.

Regan Lipes is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.