To the editor:

I was disturbed to hear that the University administration has recently severed ties with Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein of the Tannenbaum Chabad House. In my four years at Northwestern, I always knew that Rabbi Klein made the Chabad House a safe, nurturing environment that I could always turn to.

I recall that once or twice a year when I was a freshman and sophomore in Allison Hall (and the social chair of the dorm government my second year), the phone would ring, and Rabbi Klein would be on the other line. “How are you? How are classes?” he would inquire. I wonder how he managed to make personal calls to so many students.

Other times, I would see him at his “Ask the Rabbi” booth in Norris. He always smiled and shared a warm, “How are things?” There was never any pressure, just a friendly rabbi.

Alcohol? I didn’t know a single student who ever went to Chabad for alcohol. Apparently, copious amounts of alcohol were available to underage students in other locations, without trying too hard. At those locations, no one ever called you to check up on you.

Rabbi Klein not only serves as a positive role model to NU students, but he also planted the seed in my idealistic heart to follow in his footsteps. I now direct the Chabad House at Queens College in New York.

It is disheartening to see that, notwithstanding Rabbi Klein’s significant contribution spanning a tenure of nearly 30 years, a misguided administration has acted to the detriment of the NU community.

Shaul Wertheimer

CAS ‘97

Queens, NY