Last semester, Jewish life at Oxford College turned a new chapter with the opening of Chabad at Oxford, with programming run by Rabbi Mendel Lipskier and Chaya Lipskier. Already, the new Chabad center has held Friday night dinners, holiday events and educational programming, according to Lipskier.
Chabad at Oxford adds to the programming offered at Emory University’s Atlanta campus Chabad center, which opened in 2000. Chabad, a movement of Orthodox Judaism, often operates near or on college campuses to create a space for Jewish students and the larger college community.
Lipskier, who leads Chabad at Oxford, said he hopes the new house will strengthen Oxford’s Jewish community, which he called “underserved.” Prior to the Fall 2025 semester, Oxford students interested in attending Chabad events, like morning services, Shabbat services and holiday events, had to commute 45 minutes to the Atlanta campus.
Emory Hillel and Emory’s Jewish Student Union (JSU) already offer community programming centered on Jewish culture. However, Lipskier said that since these organizations do not have a physical space around Oxford, they do not foster the tight-knit community that Jewish students desire.
“The pressing need is to have some sort of building [for the] Jewish community or spaces for Jews at Oxford College,” Lipskier said. “Whatever the need was, it was always filled satisfactorily. But now we’re able to invest more and create something and have a community built.”
Carly Weiss (26Ox) mentioned she has largely been uninvolved with the on-campus Jewish community because she “didn’t really see much advertisement for it.”
“There’s not that many [Jewish] organizations on the Oxford campus,” Weiss said. “There is the Jewish Student Union, that’s pretty much about it.”
Weiss said she hopes the new Chabad chapter will equalize access to Jewish programming between the Oxford and Atlanta campuses, especially with a new physical space for Oxford Jewish students.
“Emory is all about equal opportunity when it comes to the Oxford and Atlanta campuses — they are always saying ‘different campuses, equal opportunity,’” Weiss said. “But I feel like that’s not entirely true when there’s not a space for the Jewish Student Union on this campus, but there is in Atlanta.”
Weiss cited the travel time to Atlanta as the main reason she and her peers do not attend many Chabad events there. She believes that the new Chabad chapter will improve accessibility for many Oxford students.
“I know people who are less religious than me that definitely would be down to do Shabbat dinners if they didn’t have to drive,” Weiss said. “It’s like an hour with traffic from Oxford.”
Arad Ganir (26Ox), who has attended JSU events in the past, said the opening of the Chabad center has brought new liveliness to the Oxford Jewish community.
“The Chabad house here, being open and it being more formal, rather than just sitting in the side room of the dining hall, is going to feel a lot more unique and special,” Ganir said. “Just based off of the first one that we’ve had this semester, it was already a ton of fun.”
Ganir noted that JSU’s events lacked “energy” compared to Chabad-hosted events at the Atlanta campus.
“The energy in Atlanta was a lot better for Shabbat, like, more of what I was looking for,” Ganir said.
Both Lipskier and Ganir are hopeful that Chabad at Oxford will help strengthen Oxford’s Jewish community.
“We’re hoping that we can create a space where Jews can come and build a community and feel proud about their identity,” Lipskier said.
Ganir mentioned the new center will encourage Jewish students to be more involved with their culture.
“Having a Jewish presence at Oxford would be incredible because there are a ton of uninvolved Jewish students here,” Ganir said. “I keep hearing from other students that they would love to get more involved in Jewish life, but they never had an excuse to.”
