Donate
About us

The door has been open since 2014.

Chabad of Clinton is a home away from home at the bottom of College Hill where Jewish life at Hamilton College happens at full volume. Here is the story, the family, and the building.

Life at Chabad of Clinton
Our story

It started with a table.

In September 2014, Rabbi Didy and Devorah Waks moved to Clinton with no building, no members, and one conviction: every Jewish student at Hamilton College deserves a seat at a Shabbat table. So they set one. Students came. They told their friends.

What grew was never a program. It was a family. Students came for the food and stayed for everything else: holidays done right, real conversations, a rabbi who remembers your name and a rebbetzin who remembers how you take your coffee. Ten years of Friday nights, one table at a time.

In September 2024, almost ten years to the day after that first dinner, the community dedicated the Sands Chabad House at 108 College Street. A permanent home, dedicated by Richard '87 and Phylise Sands, and made possible by many alumni, parents and friends, for a community that had long since outgrown every room in the house.

If you are a member of the Jewish people, you're a member at Chabad.
Our entire membership policy
At Chabad of Clinton
At Chabad of Clinton
At Chabad of Clinton
The Waks Family
The Waks Family
Mendel (15), Yetta (13), Nissi (10), Ari (8), Musya (5), and Meir (2)
The people

Meet the Waks family.

Rabbi Didy Waks

Rabbi Didy Waks

Rabbi & Co-director

Rabbi Didy grew up in Melbourne, Australia, the eleventh of seventeen children. A packed table has always been his normal. He studied at Yeshiva College Melbourne and received rabbinic training from the Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand, Yeshivas Chabad in Safed, Israel, and Chovevei Torah in Brooklyn, NY. He served as a mentor at the yeshiva in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and at Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati, and was ordained by the Machon LeSmicha in Boca Raton, Florida. He served at the Palm Beach Synagogue in Florida from 2011 to 2014, when he and Devorah took the leap and moved to Clinton.

Devorah Waks

Devorah Waks

Co-director

Devorah grew up in Brooklyn and studied at Beth Rivkah in Brooklyn, NY, and at Ohel Chana Seminary in Melbourne. She worked as a docent and program developer at the Jewish Children's Museum and ran children and youth programming at the Palm Beach Synagogue. At Chabad of Clinton she is the warmth behind the whole operation: the meals, the holidays, and the reason students say the house feels like home.

Of course, nothing would be possible without the soul of the Chabad House: the Waks kids. Mendel (15), Yetta (13), Nissi (10), Ari (8), Musya (5), and Meir (2).

The building

The Sands Chabad House.

Dedicated in September 2024 by Richard '87 and Phylise Sands, and made possible by the generosity of many parents, alumni, locals and friends of Chabad, the Sands Chabad House stands at 108 College Street, minutes from campus.

It is a home first: Shabbat dinners, holiday meals, classes over coffee, quiet conversations and loud ones too. If it matters to Jewish life on the Hill, it happens here.

Dedicated
September 2024
Dedicated by
Richard '87 & Phylise Sands
Address
108 College Street, Clinton, NY
From the old house to the Sands Chabad House
In their words

In their words.

Eliana Good
“My Hamilton experience would have been nowhere near the same without Chabad. It provided me with endless support, warmth, and many bowls of matzo ball soup. Chabad is what makes Hamilton home.”
Eliana Good · Class of '24
Max Bratter
“Chabad represents community in ways that many have never felt in their lives before. It provides me with a space that alleviates stress when troubling times are affecting my peers and me.”
Max Bratter · Class of '25
Sophie Blomberg
“Chabad is a supportive community of Jewish friends that have been essential in helping me embrace my Jewish identity. I'm so thankful to be a part of such a tight-knit family.”
Sophie Blomberg · Class of '26
Alexis Mayer
“Chabad is one of the most important parts of my Hamilton experience. It provides me with a warm and welcoming place to express my Jewish identity.”
Alexis Mayer · Class of '26
“Chabad gives me a connection to the Jewish community on campus and provides me a home with excellent Shabbat dinners.”
Jacob Slovin · Class of '18
“Chabad did so much while I was at Hamilton. I want to make sure other students get to have it too.”
Meredyth Ohringer · Class of '17
Jake Mair
“I have gained so much from being involved with Chabad. The most important thing I've gained is another Jewish family here at school.”
Jake Mair · Class of '25
Sean Bennett
“I've been all over campus this weekend. This is the happiest place at Hamilton College.”
Sean Bennett · Hamilton VP
Bruce Leight
“Chabad was the best part of college.”
Bruce Leight · Class of '25
Jacob Shulman
“One day, I will be the #1 donor to Chabad at Hamilton because of how much it has enhanced my college experience.”
Jacob Shulman · Class of '26
Hannah Lipskar
“I built my own Jewish identity, and a second family.”
Hannah Lipskar · Class of '25
Grace Friedman
“Thank you for everything, truly. I am eternally grateful to have been a part of this community.”
Grace Friedman · Class of '23
A.J. Zuckerman
“Thank you for being part of what made Hamilton great. I really have loved Chabad being a part of my college life.”
A.J. Zuckerman · Class of '23
Josh Nadler
“Chabad is not just a home but a symbol of resilience, unity, and a proactive response to hatred.”
Josh Nadler · Class of '26
Eliana Good
“My four years at Hamilton would not have been nearly as meaningful without your support, love and generosity.”
Eliana Good · Class of '24
“Chabad of Clinton has given me a stronger sense of identity and has built a community for me and every student at Hamilton.”
Claire Cutler · Class of '24
Gabby Nakkab
“Chabad made Hamilton deeply meaningful.”
Gabby Nakkab · Class of '25
Greg Parizhsky
“It was such an amazing experience, one of my best nights at Hamilton.”
Greg Parizhsky · Class of '26
“It was such a special night, really magical! A night we'll remember forever.”
Sofia Bagdade & Chloe Lance · Class of '24
“Thank you for creating an environment where I was able to not feel out of place because of my religious background.”
Ethan Kalishman · Class of '24
“I will miss having a community of welcoming proud Jews so close by, always knowing I can come down for food, advice, or a hug.”
Julia Brous · Class of '24
“Chabad and the Waks Family provide what Hamilton College cannot provide: a stable, authentic, genuine, vibrant Jewish experience.”
Prof. Robert Kantrowitz · Class of '82
“Chabad was the first community to make me feel truly welcome at Hamilton.”
Jonas Eisman · Class of '28
“Thank you to the Waks family who have led and created a model for others to explore and to engage.”
Chris Card · Dean of Students
“Before coming to Hamilton, I was a little worried. But at Chabad I found the most wonderful, active Jewish community.”
Sabrina Grossman
“Chabad gave me both friendships and a strong sense of connection.”
Troy Pollock · Class of '25
“You come once, and you're hooked. It's such an authentic community. Kids running around, genuine camaraderie. I know people care about me there.”
Leo Gerst · Class of '26
“This is everything we dreamed of.”
Daniel Gliedman · Class of '20
“It's so important to build and support safe places for Jewish students.”
Marc Cooper · Solomon Partners CEO
“This house is symbolic of the pride of the Jewish community. We're here to stay.”
Luke Hayes · Class of '25
“I gained an amazing second family.”
Gaby Toppelberg · Class of '25

Chabad is only as real as the people who've lived it. If Chabad of Clinton was part of your Hamilton story, we would love to feature it here.

The best way to understand Chabad is to be there.

Come for Shabbat. Bring a friend. That is the whole pitch.

See what's coming up Support Jewish students