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The Two States of Judaism at USC

The Two States of Judaism at USC

A dialectic on the campus's massive religious renaissance.

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Isaac Simpson
Apr 13, 2022
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The Two States of Judaism at USC
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“A lie can be halfway around the world before the truth has its boots on.” - Proverb

Last year, Chabad Rabbi Dov Wagner hosted twelve fraternity brothers around a menorah for Hanukkah at Sigma Chi, one of USC’s least Jewish houses. Two days later, the Rabbi’s wife Runya was lugging 32 dozen donuts into the Chabad house when she was approached by a young man who offered to help. She accepted and they began talking.

“He says, ‘Ma’am, you were at Sigma Chi the other night, weren't you?’” Rabbi Wagner recounts. “She says, ‘Yeah.’ He says, ‘Well, I was there. I'm in Sigma Chi. I was in the next room. I didn't come to the event because it had nothing to do with me, but I was on the phone with my mom. I told her there's a Hanukkah thing going on in the next room. She says, 'do you know that I'm Jewish?' A week and a half later, he comes to Shabbos dinner with a friend. It was the last Shabbos of the semester so we went around and shared favorite memories. He says, ‘My favorite memory is right …

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