I want to interrupt dinner for just a second to speak about the incredible partnership of AEPi and Chabad at Texas. While I don’t want this to turn into a D’var, I think this week’s parshah speaks very well to the relationship of these two great organization that have completely shaped my time here at Texas. As y’all know we just left parshah Yitro and are moving into this week’s parshah of Mishpatim. Both of this readings begin to detail Hashem’s revelations to Israelites via Moses atop Mount Sinai. One question that has always pestered me about this story is ‘Why Mount Sinai?’. What made this place holy enough to be the site of one of the most crucial and impactful moments of the entire Torah. In fact, I learned that Sinai is not even one Mountain but rather a collection of many mountains situation on top of one another. From a distance the Israelites looked up at the Mountain and saw one unified mass but the further up Sinai they went, it became clear to them that this impressive mountain would be nothing if each peak stoop independently.
In many ways, this embodies the Jewish life here at Texas. Without the many Jewish organizations working together we could not stand unified as the strong Jewish community that we are. Through these incredible partnerships like that of Texas AEPi and Chabad on campus, we would be nothing worthy of the great potential we hold as a full community.
So I’d like to have a L’chaim to one of the 12 Alpha Epsilon Pi International partners, and a long standing ally of Texas Gamma Deuteron, Chabad at Texas.
Asher Intebi is the president of AEPi fraternity.
(Taken from his Shabbos speech.)