Religious life

Join us for Shabbat services every Friday night at 6 pm, followed by a free Kosher dinner! Our services are student-led and are different each week. Services vary between Reform and Conservative and sometimes have a theme to liven the experience. Shabbat dinner includes freshly baked Challah and homemade dishes using local produce. We encourage students to get involved with leading services, giving a D’var Torah, or helping to cook dinner. Please contact our VP of Religion and Culture, Amanda Leventhal, to get involved!

Hillel offers all your service needs for Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur. We bring in a guest Rabbi to lead us in prayer. The services utilize a Conservative prayerbook with a Reform style to be inclusive towards students with a variety of backgrounds and comfort levels. We encourage student participation and leave the doors open for students to come in and out as their schedules allow. We also provide holiday meals, onegs, and a break fast!

Pesach is one of the busiest and most exciting times of the year at Hillel. We host a huge seder for the first night, and offer options for second night seder. We offer Kosher for Passover lunches and dinners throughout the week for students looking for an easy way to keep Passover. We also host a community wide Social Justice Seder co-sponsored by the Centers for Justice on campus. Please contact Jeanne for more info about Passover!

We celebrate every major Jewish holiday at Hillel, with a combination of services, food, and fun! Check out some examples of our holiday programming:

• Sukkot: We build a Sukkah in the parking lot, go to the Farmer’s Market, and host a potluck dinner in the Sukkah!
• Simchat Torah: Shabbat services with a student-led Simchat Torah band!
• Hanukkah: Big campus Hanukkah party with latkes, crafts, dreidel, & photo booth
• Tu Bishvat: Hike, discussion about the environment, seed planting
• Purim: Hamentaschen making and a costume party at a club downtown
• Holocaust Remembrance week: Reading of the names, documentary screening at Ragtag, Holocaust survivor speaker, Holocaust remembrance Shabbat
• Yom Ha’Atzmaut: Israel party with pop rocks chocolate ice cream! Israel Shabbat