In their first week at the University of Florida, Rav Shimon and Laura Vinger bought a lot of groceries. They needed every bag.
JLIC opened at UF this August with the Vingers as founding Co-Directors. Observant students have chosen UF for years, and more arrive every fall. Now they have a home base, and they keep showing up.
The first two weeks
It started with a freshman barbecue. More than 30 students showed up, and within days the campus WhatsApp group had passed 60 members.
Week two came in bigger. Seudat Shlishit grew from one Shabbat to the next, and pizza night turned into a full house of 35, with a junior standing up to share a vort on Bikkurim. Students found their way to the Vinger table for Shabbat meals too.
The Vingers summed it up in three words: “The thirst continues.”
Tishrei in Gainesville
The chagim brought the biggest crowds yet. More than 50 students spent Yom Kippur together. They started with a pre-fast meal in a garden and ended the day at the break fast.
On Sukkot, 15 to 20 students squeezed in for every meal at the Vinger home, most of them freshmen. On Simchat Torah, 30 students chose a night of Torah trivia and celebration over the party down the street.
Between the chagim, the Vingers kept up their weekly one-on-one learning with students, along with plenty of coffee dates and Wednesday night dinners at home.
Kosher kitchens and campus doughnuts
The Vingers are also helping students set up their apartments so they can get in and out on Shabbat, and they met with UF’s VP of Housing about dorm access for Shomer Shabbat students.
Along the way, they learned that one UF dorm has a kosher kitchen nobody has used in 15 years. It still looks almost new.
They’re pushing for more kosher options at local grocery stores and campus eateries. They even applied to make the doughnut shop on campus kosher. Yes, doughnuts.
Next year’s freshmen are already in the chat
The Vingers aren’t waiting for fall 2027 to meet the next class. They set up a WhatsApp group for incoming freshmen spending this year in Israel, and they plan to meet them in person in December. They also held a successful meeting with parents and students in Boca.
Florida families pushed for years to bring JLIC to UF. The students have been showing up since the first barbecue.
Know a student at UF?
If you know a student at the University of Florida, or one headed there next year, connect them with Rav Shimon and Laura Vinger.
The Vingers will take it from there.
Reach out to any of our Directors to learn more about JLIC and to support our programming.