Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical students are visiting correctional centers and prisons across the United States. Under the auspices of Chabad's Aleph Institute, based in Surfside, Fla., students are spending the next six weeks counseling and reaching out to Jewish inmates in 450 prisons in 45 states. They will be visiting the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, the largest prison in the United States and the Stafford Creek Correctional Center, a relatively small jail in Washington State where there are only a handful of Jews.

Aleph's operating premise is that correctional institutions can and should be much more than warehouses for criminals; simply locking up offenders removes the symptom of lawlessness without treating its causes. According to Aleph, which for 25 years has been running a prison visitation program, successful rehabilitation results only from compelling positive change in an inmate's personal life.

Aleph encourages inmates to seek understanding about righting their wrongs. The visiting students this summer will offer hope and inspiration for those behind bars – often forgotten by the rest of society – to realize that their lives can be turned around for good.