What events and people in our lives make us the people that we are today? I think everyone would say that our parents play a huge role in shaping us as human beings. From even before we are born they care for us, and even after we leave their immediate care, they still care for us and about us. In fact, there is nothing that can truly stand between caring parents and their children. No amount of time, space, money, or anything else can come between the love and care that parents have for their children.
Today, I have the extreme honor and privilege of being able to say that this goes both ways.
When I left my parents’ house four years ago and drove with them to Texas, I was happy to get away. I figured that 1,600 miles was far enough away to get my folks off of my back. But it wasn’t. They would come down for football games, for Thanksgiving, for Passover, for NASCAR races, for Parents’ Weekend – whenever they could, they would find a way to get here. And over those four years, I grew closer to my parents despite the physical distance. Despite the miles that separated us, we grew stronger as a parent-child unit, and the things that are important to each of us grew more important to the other. And that is where the Chabad Jewish Center at Texas A&M enters the picture. I lived next door to Chabad for two years, but from the very moment I arrived on campus til today it has been my real home in Texas. My family instilled a Jewish education and a love for Judaism in me that my life would not be complete without, and having a Chabad house to help continue to nurture that has been invaluable, and my parents quickly realized that. Throughout my four years here they have come to view Chabad as a place where all Jewish students are welcome and loved for, and in their appreciation of this, my parents have donated of their time and money, time and again, to help grow this Chabad house. It is because of their continued and growing support and love for the Lazaroff family and all of the work that they do that I now have the utmost privilege of introducing my parents, Allison and David Nagelberg, as the Parents of the Year of the Texas A&M Chabad.