Every Friday evening, Mendel and Henya Matusof open up their home on West Gilman Street to students of diverse religious backgrounds to relax, share discussion and enjoy a homemade Shabbat meal.

The Matusofs are co-directors of the UW-Madison chapter of Chabad, the largest international Jewish outreach movement dedicated to supporting Jewish life and observance.

’Chabad is a warm and friendly Jewish environment where students are always welcome,’ said Henya Matusof, originally from Crown Heights, N.Y., who moved to Madison to start up Chabad. ’In many ways, it is a home away from home.’

The international organization first appeared at UW-Madison in 1972, serving both students and the Madison community. However, in the early ’80s, Chabad’s presence on campus fizzled when it opened up a preschool and moved to Regent Street.

’Campus started slowing down in the mid ’80s and the community picked up’so that became the main priority,’ said Mendel Matusof, originally from Madison.

This year, the program’s focus is shifting back toward students with the help of the International Chabad Committee, which gave Madison’s chapter seed money to refocus its outreach on campus.

The organization is still in its beginning stages, but since September it has grown from having a few students attend Friday-night dinners to over 30.

Chabad also offers diverse classes and social events and has plans to co-sponsor events with Hilel in the future.

Mendel Matusof said the goal is not to inundate students with religion, but to provide insights into Jewish tradition.

’It’s to educate and teach people by a living example that Judaism has meaning in today’s day and age,’ he said. ’We have more of an attraction for the completely unaffiliated. Those that know nothing find Chabad very open, all-inclusive and teaching.’

Henya Matusof agrees, saying that when students get involved in Chabad, ’they come to realize that being proud of being Jewish and acting that way is not as scary as many of them thought it to be.’

UW-Madison sophomore Adam Poster, who is active in Chabad, said it is a great escape from everyday student life.

’A lot of kids, you know, they don’t want to be religious,’ Poster said. ’I think it’s a great way to keep the traditions and keep the culture, and obviously the religious part is there. There’s a whole array of things you can get from it.’