Hundreds of Jewish college students from around the world gathered Saturday in Brooklyn for an event organized by Chabad on Campus International.

“In this critical moment, we could not turn away a single student,” Chabad on Campus International COO Rabbi Avi Weinstein said. So they booked a second venue, and this year will see the largest-ever gathering of Jewish college students: 2,000 of them, hailing from 176 colleges.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov has long said that the answer to antisemitism is “robust Semitism,” or proudly engaging in Jewish traditions. That’s why the founder of Chabad at George Washington University organizes and hosts Mega Shabbat every semester for the GW community.

No more tents and mud—that’s two of the positive changes brought about by the new $1.85 million center built for Chabad-Lubavitch of Clinton in upstate New York, which opened in time for the new 2024-25 semester and the Jewish new year.

If you walked past WashU’s Chabad house the night of Oct. 4, you may have smelled the sweet scent of honey or seen students shuffling in and out of a small opening to a fenced-in yard. You certainly heard the excited chatter of over 400 Jewish students.