Students, Alumni Are Family at Chabad in Pittsburgh

A quarter of a century ago, Rabbi Shmuel Weinstein and his wife, Sara, co-directors of the Chabad House on Campus—Pittsburgh, set up shop. It was 1988; their first program was for Rosh Hashanah. They had one student. It was a start.

Fast-forward 25 years and the picture looks completely different. Their growth has been downright astonishing.

As part of their celebration of 25 years on campus, they have begun an alumni tour, which started at the end of June in New York and then went on to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. “It was like visiting family, in every place we went, seeing people that we had not seen in anywhere from a month or two—those who just graduated—to more than two decades ago,” explains Sara Weinstein. “Just being together, it was a very special feeling.”

The goal this year is to continue to seek out alumni throughout the United States and Israel.

They have had hundreds of people at their table, topping 1,000 at times, and maxing out both their space and their budget on more than one occasion. As a result, they have expanded their space, aided by supporters who in 1998 helped them add a kitchen and a dining room.

Jews have seemingly come out of the woodwork as Chabad has established itself over the years, says Rabbi Shmuel Weinstein. The Weinsteins added classes, as well as the Jewish Heritage Program, designed to empower unaffiliated students. It ran from 1994 to the early 2000s on campus.

“We’re very close to a lot of alumni who came through that program—students who would have otherwise never come to a Chabad House,” says Weinstein.

Rabbi Shmuel and Sara Weinstein with their family

Recently, they made the move to bring Shabbat meals to campus versus hosting them at the Chabad House, a 10-minute walk away. Students have long considered the Weinstein house a second home; they come to eat, to hang out, they even fall asleep on the sofa, says Weinstein. Now they’ll be dining at a former Jewish country club, located in the middle of campus, which was sold two years ago to the university as a student center.

They have also been joined by program directors Rabbi Yehoshua Hoexter and his wife, Shoshana, who arrived in 2003 to help serve the roughly 2,500 to 3,000 Jewish students on campus.

Shoshana and Rabbi Yehoshua Hoexter, program directors at Chabad House on Campus-Pittsburgh, with their children

Years ago, Shoshana attended the Chabad-affiliated Jewish day school in the area, Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh. Later, she completed a degree at the University of Pittsburgh, during which she became a student leader in the Chabad House. After getting married she returned, both as an alumna and as staff of Chabad.

Her mother, Andrea Chester, says she’s proud that her daughter and her daughter’s husband are now program directors for Chabad.

“I’m glad she could work for such nice people,” she says. “They were very supportive when Shoshana was growing up and instrumental in helping with her shidduch.

“And they’ve been there for her ever since,” says Chester.

Nir Golan, 32, was a student at the University of Pittsburgh from 1998 to 2002, and then stayed for a graduate degree. During his time there, he says, he was very close with the Weinsteins.

He recalls them as being nonjudgmental and making Jewish expression broadly accessible. He also admires how they sought to work with other Jewish organizations on campus to host events.

Students and staff at a recent meeting

And he is impressed at how Chabad has grown to include a monthly calendar with night after night of learning and programs: “There’s always something going on at the Chabad House.”

David Gantshar, 44, counts himself among the first students to walk through Chabad’s doors. He wound up there for Yom Kippur in 1988, invited as he passed by to return with some friends to break the fast.

The Boston native went on to become the first student president of the Chabad House, then graduated in 1990. But he has stayed in touch, he says, and he fondly remembers the singing, the warmth and the shalom bayit (peace in their home) that kept him coming back.

“I love the effect they’ve had on me,” he said. “I think they’ve made me a better person. It gave me a sense of what a relationship with G‑d is; I don’t think I’d even thought of Judaism in that way before.”

The rabbi went on to perform the Gantshar wedding in 1992. Gantshar and his wife, Meredith (now Miriam after the couple made aliyah to Israel some six years ago) have sought not only to appreciate, but to learn from the Weinstein family. “Every step we’ve taken is because of their influence,” he says. The Gantshars have six children, ages 9 to 18, and host Shabbat guests regularly.

He wishes Chabad success for another 25 years: “I hope they can continue to bring as many people as possible back to Yiddishkeit.”

Kathy W. Humphrey, center, vice provost and dean of students at the University of Pittsburgh, with Chabad House students and Rabbi Weinstein