History

The Shabbos House Jewish Student Center was founded in 1976, by Rabbi Yisroel Rubin, regional director of Capital Chabad. Originally the house was half its present size, and was expanded in the early 1980's. We look forward to the much needed building of an all-new, bigger and better Shabbos House, hopefully in the very near future.

Several families served as directors since 1975. Rabbi Yisroel and Rochel Rubin (Mendel's parents) were here through the late 1970's. Rabbi Moshe and Esther Chanowitz served through most of the 1980's. Yoel and Ruth (now Ruth Lind) Seliger served from 1988 thru 1992. R' Pinchas and Yehudis Schreiber served from 1992 thru 1996. Rabbi Mendel and Raizy Rubin have been directors since Fall of 1997.

Shabbos House was founded on and continues to be inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe's vision that "every Jew is family", and that Jewish students would greatly benefit from a welcoming, home-style Jewish environment.

As the slogan of the City of Albany at its tricentennial in 1986, "Still Making History", Shabbos House continues to make history with increasing turnouts and involvement in the Jewish campus community at UAlbany.

See our Alumni Page for Pre-1997 Archives. If you have information or photos you would like to share with us, please contact us! Thanks!