Frum mekarvim on college campuses get to connect with young adults standing at a crossroads in life — an unparalleled kiruv opportunity. Yet, they’re also surrounded by a culture anathema to Torah values. How do they navigate the challenges?
aty, a sophomore at Chicago’s Northwestern University, strolled into the Livingstone home at 11 p.m. one Friday night.
“No challah left?” she groused.
Hostess Tamar — who’d laboriously prepared a lavish spread for 70 Jewish students — stifled a retort. Unbeknownst to her, the scene would repeat itself tens of times: Katy would saunter in late, then find numerous reasons to kvetch, broadcasting negativity. She showed a near-total disconnect to others’ feelings, often demanding to talk when Tamar was overwhelmed or in the middle of bedtime.
“I remember thinking ‘Man, she’s ungrateful!’ ” Tamar says. “I made an effort, but just couldn’t develop a relationship. She was negative about everything.”
Despite misgivings, Tamar stretched herself to welcome Katy each week. When she organized a college trip to Israel, the dynamic kiruv professional feared Katy — who wanted to join — would pull down the group, but she ultimately yielded.
For Katy, the tour proved life-changing. “When she came for Shabbos afterward, she cried to me in the kitchen,” Tamar reports. “She had a breakthrough in Israel, something deeply touched her soul.”
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