It would make any Jewish mother beam with pride to announce that her child is in law school. Well, for Rabbi Eliyahu Raskin – a Chabad shliach serving one law school and four other undergraduate programs – make that fivefold. He was also recently awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from St. Francis College.
It was not easy catching Rabbi Eliyahu Raskin to do this interview. But what do you expect from the young Chabad rabbi and father of four who together with his dedicated wife, Shaindy, services five different colleges in the downtown Brooklyn area? When I finally was able to reach Rabbi Raskin to learn more about his work co-directing Chabad of Brooklyn Heights and running Brooklyn Heights Young Jewish Professionals, I was in awe of the multitude and magnitude of all of his daily accomplishments.
Most notable is his most recent ambitious endeavor: opening the first Jewish student housing building in Brooklyn Heights, so students enrolled at LIU, St. Francis College, Brooklyn Law School, NYU Tandon, and City Tech have a Jewish and safe environment to hang out and be comfortable in during these often hostile times on campus.
It’s easy to see where Brooklyn Heights-born-and-raised Rabbi Raskin gets his passion for outreach; it is imbedded in his blood; he inherited it from a long line of family members who are also very active in kiruv work. His parents, Rabbi Aaron and Shternie Raskin, co-founded Chabad Lubavitch of Brooklyn Heights and run the only Orthodox synagogue in the area, Congregation B’nai Avraham.
“I was born and bred to help people connect to Judaism,” he reveals, reiterating that his life’s passion is to help Jewish law students and lawyers achieve their Jewish and personal potential. After many years of dabbling in kiruv work by organizing and running several projects for the community, being a public speaker, prolific writer, and helping run the biggest Jewish parades in Los Angeles, Rabbi Raskin knew he could venture out and expand his mission.
And so he did. He and his devoted wife, who Rabbi Raskin refers to as his “right hand,” started their outreach the day they got married. It wasn’t long before they launched Chabad Law Students as a resource for Jewish students attending Brooklyn Law School and neighboring colleges. They also founded Brooklyn Heights Young Jewish Professionals (BHYJP), initiated the Chabad Tzedek Society, an exclusive membership club for students who are ready to expand their Judaism with community service projects, and launched a Breakfast Networking series ensuring that all of the Jewish professionals in Brooklyn Heights/Downtown area have multiple monthly opportunities to meet new friends and create new business opportunities, through networking events.
He was even elected to be part of the Brandeis Society where he recently invited Judge David Wecht, a Supreme Court Justice from Pennsylvania who is an authority on the matter of antisemitism and law, to advise other Jewish judges and lawyers on the legalities of expressing their religious and political views outside the courtroom. He also mentioned in passing that he is the founder and director of JewishConversionAcademy.com, an online-based Orthodox conversion organization that offers guidance in helping people convert and learn more about Judaism.
I ask Rabbi Raskin what attracted him to focus on law specifically, and he says that it has always been a fascinating area for him.
“There is a symbiotic relationship with law and Judaism, as much of our Constitution is based off Judaic principles,” he explains. Additionally, after getting married and moving to the area, the couple quickly noticed that there was a huge void for the many Jewish students enrolled at law programs (most of the Jewish undergraduate students are enrolled in pre-law majors and classes) in the area; most were without any religious guidance and support.
“The law programs in Downtown Brooklyn are packed with Jews, maybe 30–40% of the student body is made up of Jews and no one is reaching out to them.” he noted. Rabbi Raskin’s role at the five colleges far exceeds what a typical campus Chabad rabbi offers. Of course he engages in the typical one-on-one learning, Shabbos meals, putting on daily tefillin, holiday education and observance, but he tells me that he is literally on call 24/7 offering mentorship and life advice as it comes up. Rabbi Raskin is there for students through all their milestones, even officiating weddings of post graduate students. His work surpasses the religious needs of the Jewish student body.
Rabbi Raskin proudly tells me that he helped create the largest “outline bank” for Brooklyn Law School. This bank is a composite of notes, exams, and outlines that students shared to incoming students to help prepare them for upcoming exams. He collects and donates books, so students can save money and avoid buying new costly textbooks. Rabbi Raskin is a huge asset to the Jewish students. He sets up internship and job opportunities for them and connects them with other Jewish lawyers and judges allowing them to forge a strong networking professional connection.
I next ask Rabbi Raskin if his children, ages seven, six, five and one, ever feel resentful of his long hours, and he is quick to point out that they are not because this is a team effort. The reason why his work doesn’t negatively impact the family, as he explains, is because, “As shluchim we understand that we all must be involved, not just the adults,” he says. He tells me that his oldest child recites parasha derashes to the students at their weekly Friday night meals while the younger girls sing songs they learned in school. His wife is his “partner in crime” and he stressed that none of this would be possible without the involvement of his creative wife who “always manages to keep up with my ADHD rabbi brain.”
“She has a connection with these students that extends past graduation,” he states. To maintain normalcy, the Raskins have Shabbos day meals by themselves and always make sure to be home with their kids for dinner and bedtime. “My children are getting more out of this then they are giving. It’s an amazing teaching opportunity.”
Even prior to October 7, Rabbi Raskin had the foresight to see that offering his services during the day and even on weekends was insufficient during these turbulent times. Impressionable college students need a safe haven they can turn to, to openly practice their religious observance with like-minded individuals without the fear of antisemitism, which is always lurking.
“I want a friendly space where anyone can come in and have an authentic Jewish experience,” he explains. This is why he spearheaded the fundraising campaign to raise $1.3 million (so far $850,000 has been raised) for phase one of the project and open the first and only Jewish housing building in Downtown Brooklyn.
“There is nothing kosher in the area,” Rabbi Raskin says, adding that minus his father’s place, there aren’t any synagogues or any semblance of Orthodox life in the area at all. Especially now with the ongoing war in Israel, tensions on campus are high. Rabbi Raskin tells me that students have expressed concern seeing Palestinian flags pop up around campus. “Some students are facing social media threats, a club room was raided, and it has become a bit of a negative environment.”
Rabbi Raskin is proud to announce that they recently closed on a facility on Montague Street, which will house 20-30 students from the five neighboring schools. Rabbi Raskin envisions a Chabad center opening, where students have a “chilled place surrounded by a Jewish healthy staff.” The new facility, which will be situated in the heart of five local college campuses, will include modernly-furnished suites, a student cafeteria serving three kosher meals daily, laundry facilities, social halls, student lounges and quiet study areas. Funding has been a challenge because of the war. But “we are casting a wide net and shooting darts from all angels to reach alumni, neighborhood people, or anyone who recognizes the sincerity of this need,” he says.
It’s become quite apparent that many college campuses today have morphed into a hotbed of Jew hatred. So it’s nice to know that with Rabbi Eliyahu and Shaindy Raskin around, students attending Brooklyn Heights institutions can focus on their studies knowing they have the academic, professional, and religious support of such a dedicated couple. The Raskins truly are a defense that never rests, and with all their hard work, it won’t be long before Brooklyn Heights gets its first-ever kosher housing, and those interested in connecting to their heritage can do so in a safe space under the spiritual tutelage of a Chabad campus rabbi like no other.
