This message was in our “What’s Cooking?” update newsletter for Fall 2014. The shirts and towel may be all gone by the time you read this, but the messages about Shabbos House remain true.

TWO SHIRTS & A TOWEL

Dear friends,

This isn’t a packing list. Two shirts and a towel might work in a vacation paradise, but you’ll need a lot more for Albany’s frigid winters.

For Fall 2014 we made them for awareness & promotion. The towel was our giveaway at the SA Block Party, the purple “DaneJew Home” shirt was for the Lchaim Board and others. Just before Sukkot we realized Pharrell’s “Happy” song has a great Sukkot message so we created the “Like a Room Without a Roof” shirts and imprinted it on the Simchas Torah souvenir as well.

It’s not just shirts and towels. These messages are reflective of the mission, values and experiences at Shabbos House Chabad.

This is a twist on UAlbany’s popular DANEger ZONE. Indeed, Shabbos House is more home than zone, and while today’s world can be dangerous and challenging, Shabbos House provides comfort, support, positive safe space & a sense of belonging.

We may be dry alcohol-wise, but our atmosphere is overflowing with love, brimming with enthusiasm, saturated with meaning & permeated with warmth. We don’t like to flood, pressure or overwhelm, instead the goal is to provide an abundance of rich experiences and opportunities for each student to soak in & internalize at their own absorption rate.

Even with a beautiful new facility, Shabbos House has a Sukkah frame of mind all year round: joyful uplifting spirits, boundless energy, expanding intellectual horizons, breaking down barriers, reaching upward. We’re not confined to specific hours, denominations, labels or job-descriptions, we think outside of the box, focus on the soul, we are open and welcoming to all.

Thanks to all, past and present, who help make Shabbos House this way, and to all who support this vision & keep it going strong for the future.

Love and best wishes, Rabbi Mendel and Raizy Rubin and family