The Fall Semester 2014 is about to begin… some students have already moved back into the dorms, Freshmen move in this week, the rest of the students this week and next. We are finalizing this year’s Lchaim t-shirt(s), getting the Torah-Tues bookmark and Shabbos candlelighting cards printed, and the Opening Weekend Shabbat Flyers posted on campus. We can’t wait to meet the new class of students, and begin a new year of programs and campus community, our 18th at UAlbany.

We’re not 100% ready yet, but we’re not worried. L’chaim Board and many participating students of our very special Jewish campus community all pitch in and pull together, and it works out beautifully.

img_0005Family-wise, we took this family photo thanks to Sheryl and Aron’s arrangements. Perfect timing, so we can include our youngest baby Rivka and our oldest daughter Mushky before she sets off for a year of study in Israel. Our Moshe is back from 7+ weeks in camp, so we were all home for the final week of summer before the students return. We spent a quality Shabbos together, relaxing and enjoying. We enjoyed a fire-pit (roasted sweet corn, marshmallows and hotdogs) with our visiting cousin Moshe Cohen.

Baby Rivka still isn’t sleeping the night but she has lot of sisters who give her much love. We’ve been trying to give Raizy all the rest she can get before the semester begins, so she can properly recuperate and get her strength back.

Bluma and Bassie had a blast at Camp Gan Israel in Albany, 4+ weeks of fun and activities. In addition Bassie has been devouring books from the Library and Bluma has been practicing her reading, phonics and math as she prepares to enter first grade. Moshe had a great summer at YSP, he came home with a complete small Talmud set as a reward for learning the entire chapter of Talmud by heart. He met lots of new and old friends, and went on all kinds of exciting trips. Mushky had a great summer as a day-camp counselor out in California with a bunch of friends from summers past, she’s now ultra careful with wasting water (which we take for granted here in the Northeast). Chani was a day-camp counselor in Solon OH, where she got to spend quality time with her uncle Shimon and aunt Mushky and met a new group of fellow staff. Sara enjoyed a great season of camp at JGR- the Jewish Girls Retreat and came home just in time to be a huge help with baby Rivka, she’s great with her. And EM? She’s pretty much toilet-trained, which is a big milestone, and has become much more talkative and expressive over the summer.

Looking back, it’s been a busy summer of travel to alumni Simchas, productive Chabad on Campus conference, Cozy-Shabbats on the home-turf (hosting alumni, travelers, summer students). the new baby, and planning for the new year. We did quite a bit of work on this website, too. We’re also catching up on office work. We hope to keep at it!

Here’s a simple way you can help us: Please keep us updated on your current phone, email and home address so we can keep in touch. As our community of friends grows, it’s harder to stay on top of all the changes and missed inputs. Thanks a lot!