Buy A Bottle!

By Kaley Zeiotouni

A student initiative started several months ago right as the current semester got under way.  I found out, by accident, that Chabad at USC was running low on wine!  GASP!  We all know how important wine is for Shabbat.  We make the blessing of Kiddush on wine which deepens the entire meaning and symbolism of Shabbat.  We also use wine to make “l’chaims”, or toasts, thereby channeling the spirit of Shabbat and the good times we share in this holy atmosphere with friends and family.  So when I made my discovery that the Wagners were not stocked with wine for this very important part of Jewish life, I felt the urge to do something about it.  
    As a senior at USC, I have personally benefited greatly from everything the Wagners are constantly doing for me and for my fellow students.  Although my parents live only 20 minutes away, Chabad at USC still became my home away from home and the Wagners quickly became a family to me; before I had even started classes as a Freshman.  Knowing that they were struggling to pay some bills and provide the same Shabbat experience really struck a chord deep inside me.  Obviously the economy is affecting everyone, and since I run a non-profit organization myself, I was able to immediately understand that the first people who are going to be hit, and the groups that will be hit the worst, are the non-profits and the charities.  This makes a lot of sense so I don’t know why it came as such a shock to me when I understood Chabad’s situation.  I’m glad it came as a shock though because I immediately recognized that we all need to translate that shock into action!  Melody Kashani and I have started a campaign to get the students involved in Shabbat.  With everything that the Wagners do for us on a regular basis, it should not be too hard to ask the students of USC to help out a little bit.  Our campaign is called ‘Buy A Bottle’ and is completely a student initiative.  The concept is simple: the students buy the wine.  It has been easy to pull off because a bottle of wine costs $7 and a case of 12 bottles costs $84.  I work with the Rabbi each week to coordinate an order of wine from a Kosher wholesaler in downtown and voila, Shabbat is blessed with wine from our own pockets.  It is a magical experience to sit at a Shabbat table of 80 students knowing that each person there participated and helped make this Shabbat possible.
    Students at USC, and alumni, have been covering all the wine costs for Shabbat every week since the semester started!  This is truly incredible and inspiring, and I am proud of my fellow students for really getting involved.  As we enter the second half of the semester, I really want to encourage new students to get involved and buy a bottle, or three!  I also sincerely hope that students who bought wine the first week of the semester will buy another bottle.  Of course we are all students and it is hard to budget donations into our limited means.  But, $7 is hardly a lot to put out, and it goes a long way!  Not only will you buy a bottle that provides Kiddush for several people, you instantly become a piece of something much larger than you, which creates a great and lasting feeling inside.  I strongly encourage students to get involved in this campaign before the end of the semester.  To do so please Facebook me or add yourself to the event page “Buy A Bottle.”  You can coordinate a way to give me cash or check, or you can donate online at www.ChabadUSC.com and just shoot me a Facebook message to let me know you made the donation.
    We are all facing tough times, this is an easy way for you to make a difference and make these times a little easier.  
Contact Kaley at kzeitoun@usc.edu