JLIC Program Grows Orthodox Jewish Life at UMass Amherst

JLIC program grows Orthodox Jewish life at UMass Amherst
By Rachel L. Axelbank - Thursday November 15 2007

UMass KHHCampus initiative looks to make state school attractive to observant students

Due largely to a fledgling initiative from the Orthodox Union, Jewish life at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is on the rise and is even starting to resemble that at some of Massachusetts’ more reputably Jewish institutions.

     “For many years there really was not much of an Orthodox Jewish student population here,” said Rabbi Saul Perlmutter, executive director of Hillel House at UMass, which he has helped to grow since 1974. “Then, about six years ago, one of the Orthodox students approached me and said that they would like to have Orthodox services at Hillel.”
Around that same time, there emerged Kehillat Hillel Ha’azinu (KHH), a student-run organization dedicated to creating a strong Jewish foundation and increasing Orthodox enrollment at UMass.

“It’s been difficult to do that,” said Jay Berkovitz, UMass professor of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies and KHH’s faculty advisor. “It requires a critical mass of students to attract more … There was nothing really in place to appeal to students who needed intensive Jewish life.” And while Perlmutter was – in his words – “delighted” to accommodate the students’ request, Hillel did not have any Orthodox staff members.

In an effort to better fulfill Hillel’s pluralistic mission, Perlmutter turned to the Orthodox Union’s Heshe and Harriet Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) program, now in its eighth year, which collaborates with Hillel and the Torah Mitzion organization to place young Orthodox rabbis and their wives on college campuses.

“We said that there are a growing number of Orthodox students who are turning to Hillel, and we want to be better able to meet their religious needs,” Perlmutter said. “Also, we felt – and I still feel – that there’s great potential for much further growth in the Orthodox Jewish life on campus. With the cost of private school tuitions going through the roof, UMass becomes a very attractive option for Jewish students. I think they knew we had a really good case.”
Perlmutter’s application to JLIC was the only one to be accepted last year. And last fall, Rabbi David and Ariella Ruderman became the newest members of the UMass Hillel staff.

Since the Rudermans’ arrival in Amherst not yet three semesters ago, they have instituted a bet midrash learning program, through which students may earn university credit. Orthodox students now meet for morning services on Mondays and Thursdays, in addition to Shabbat services, and are hoping to soon begin meeting daily. The kosher dining facility has been moved from a secluded location to be integrated with the main dining common, where it is now open six days a week and where the number of meals served weekly is up 400 percent. And during Sukkot, students had a choice of four ceremonial huts.

Elsewhere in the Bay State, JLIC has been in place at Brandeis University for a few years now and arrived at Boston University this fall. BU is the 15th campus nationwide to implement JLIC and the third in Massachusetts, bringing the Commonwealth alongside New York as a leader in JLIC placement. “Boston is one of the two most important university hubs in the country,” said Rabbi Menachem Schrader, the Israel-based founder of JLIC.

But while the OU recognizes Brandeis as having “the largest observant student population in the United States” and BU ranked second on Hillel’s 2006 list of 10 private universities with the highest Jewish enrollment, UMass-Amherst has historically not been viewed as a top destination for college-bound religious Jews.

But all that is changing now, according to Berkovitz, Perlmutter and Ruderman. “As the infrastructure has been developed, word has gotten around, and more and more Orthodox students are coming to Amherst,” said Ruderman, citing the Springfield Orthodox community in particular.

Ruderman and Berkovitz are currently planning a tailored information session at which they, a few student volunteers and a university admissions officer will address prospective students at Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton on Dec. 2. “Of all the areas within Massachusetts, [the Greater Boston Area has] the largest concentration of Orthodox families,” said Berkovitz. “This is prime territory for getting the word out.”

A student who worked in the admissions office prior to graduating in 2006 reported a noticeable increase in applications from students at Jewish day schools, Perlmutter said. And Orthodox students have come to UMass from Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Rhode Island, according to Ruderman. “Making UMass very Jewish-friendly means changing the options for Massachusetts’ Jewish families,” said Ruderman. “They can feel good about sending their kids to the flagship state school knowing they’ll get all they need on a Jewish level.”