Chabad at the University of Cincinnati

Dear Students and Faculty at UC and area schools, It is our pleasure to be here serving you, at the Chabad House - Jewish Student Center at the University of Cincinnati. My wife Dina and I, along with our six sons Schneur, Yossi, Mendel, Ami, Chezky, and little Boruch Mordechai, invite you to join us at Chabad for everything we do, whether it is Shabbat and Holiday services and meals, classes and lectures, charity events or fun and social activities (like crafts, and workshops), or even just to play games or hang out. We have an open-door policy - come when you want, leave when you want. There is no obligation, no membership, no prerequisites. Our aim is to be your "Jewish Home Away From Home." Please join our family in making this Chabad House an environment where the Jewish UC Community can feel comfortable. Rabbi Yitz, Dina & the boys

Chabad came to Cincinnati over forty years ago. During this time, Chabad served the Jewish campus community sporadically; as the University was primarily a commuter school, most of the students went home for the weekends and attended their local synagogues. In recent years, this has changed. In 2005, a group of Chabad Rabbinical students were approached by UC students who wanted some large-scale Jewish programming - both fun and educational - as well as complete Shabbat and Holiday services. Until then, a handful of the more traditional students had been making their way to Amberley to join the Jewish community there for these special days. No more.... In 2006, Rabbi Yitzi and Dina Creeger arrived in Cincinnati with their two young sons to start a full-time Chabad House on Campus. A fantastic building was quickly found, fixed up and opened its doors to the Jewish students, faculty and staff of UC and nearby colleges (Xavier, HUC, NKU) as well as area residents. A full programming schedule quickly followed, and as one semester followed the next, the attendance increased. Today, Chabad sees a wide variety of students from across the Jewish spectrum at its numerous activities.

Born and raised in College Park, Maryland, Yitzi is a natural for Chabad on Campus. His parents, although they worked during the week, had an open house for the students at UMD for Shabbat and holidays, and helped Chabad run the traditional services at the Hillel House. After moving to Pittsburgh in 1986, Yitzi looked up the Pittsburgh Chabad on Campus and volunteered there from his Bar Mitzvah onward, whenever possible. He completed Yeshiva High School in Pittsburgh, and went on to attend the Rabbinical Colleges of Australia (1 year) and Canada (2 years) before doing his Rabbinic internship running youth programs in South Manchester, England. Yitzi met and married Dina in 2000, and soon found a position as Program Director at the hugely successful Chabad on Campus at Binghamton, NY. After four years of innovative programming, teaching and other work, it was time to run his own, independent Chabad House. One year in Syracuse gave him the experience he needed, and an urgent call from Cincinnati brought him to Ohio. In Cincinnati, Rabbi Yitz quickly became an honorary brother at AEPi. He enjoys playing sports with the guys, and long conversations on Jewish (and sometimes other) topics at the fraternity, during learning opportunities like Pizza and Parsha, or over the Shabbat table.

Dina Weiss was born and spent her youth in Man-chester, England. She attended local schools until age 17, when she went to France for one year at a Women's Seminary. After a couple years teaching preschool and learning hairdressing in England, she made the move to Montreal to further her education, and then Brooklyn, New York, where she continued to teach pre-school. In 2000, she met and married Yitzi Creeger, and continued to live in Brooklyn for a short while. When the opportunity presented itself, they picked up and moved to Binghamton in upstate New York to work with Chabad on Campus there. Preparing food for over 250 students every Friday night, raising two young boys and working as the Judaic Educator in the local JCC preschool were just some of her regular duties. Similar work came their way in Syracuse, but this time overseeing all aspects of Chabad on Campus work, helping to set the stage for her current position as program director of Chabad at the University of Cincinnati. Her classes and kosher cooking instruction vie for her time while raising the boys still at home.

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