Hava Nedaber Writ: College And The Jewish Dilemma
y and a Jewish educational institu-
ion.
Check the college catalog for
ourse listings and degrees offered in
Jewish Studies, make certain that
.
1'4 -edit transfers are possible, and
nquire about transportation between
>chools.
Worship
/\'
On campus, you may find a variety
Df forms of religious services, some
familiar to you, others which are new.
Some of the large Hillel Foundations
sponsor denominational groups and
offer services for Shabbat and holi-
.
.
..,ays in the styles of the various
ovements. Smaller foundations
s eek to serve the range of student
terests without specific attention to
hether they are Reform, Conser-
ative, Orthodox, Recontructionist, or
naffiliated.
Students on campuses with small
Jewish populations often join the
local community in celebration of reli-
gious holidays. Will it matter to you if
you do not find services "just like
home"?
Anticipate Some Challenges
The college schedule and require-
ments, and the mix of campus popu-
lations, each with its own agenda,
ften present challenges to Jewish
students. Would you go to class on
Shabbat or the Jewish holidays?
(Students are almost never forced to
do so, but some feel pressure not to
fall behind.) Are you informed enough
about Jewish history and society to
ace the certainty of cult members
and missionaries? Can you explain
Jewish culture to people who have
never met a Jew, or who are merely
uninformed about Jews and
Judaism? Are you informed enough
>about Israel to deal with hostile pro-
paganda? Do you have a long-term
position on interdating and intermar-
riage? Do you know where to get
answers?
Living Home
It was not proclaimed at Mount
Sinai that you must go away to col-
lege. Many of the issues discussed
here may be resolved by going to
school in your own hometown.
The decision to attend a commuter
or residential college is a personal
one, based on individual need and
interests, with each option offering .
different advantages. Whatever your
\ _decision your college years will be
exciting, a time of growth and explo-
ration. It is special opportunity to
, grow Jewishly, also: Good luck!
/-
From : Jewish Life On Campus.
B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation, 1991-
1992.
By NI RA LEV
Hitragshut and simcha filled the
home of Levin family when their
Ronen, their ben, left home to go to
college. For a long time before
Ronen left for the University of
Michigan, he and his horim talked to
chaverim, morim, krovim and, of
course, the yo'etz at beit—ha'sefer
and at the university to find out all
they could about the new chayim
and new reality that Ronen was
embarking on.
As Israelis who came to Artzot
Habrit as adults, the college experi-
ence was as new to the horim as it
was to Ronen.
When Ronen started his chayim
chadashim at me'onot ha'studen-
tim on the University of Michigan
campus, he did not expect any
haf'ta'ot. He got used to his cheder
at the me'onot, he liked his kitot and
even most of his martzim, and he
told his horim not to expect him
home for a long time.
The first hafta'ah was the unex-
pected hargasha shel b'didut that
cam upon him on Erev Shabbat,
when the other students went to a
mesiba and pti'om he was over-
whelmed with a desire to be home
with his mishpacha, enjoying the
special avirah of Shabbat, the nerot
and the arucha as well as the heated
discussions of the latest me'oraot in
Yisrael.
Another unpleasant hafta'ah was
the shelet with anti-Israeli propagan-
da that he saw as he walking past
the Diag. He was shocked to read
what the shelet said, and was even
more shocked later to see the large
numbers of studentim who came to
demonstrate aginst Israel. As time
went on, Ronen, ben shel Yisraelim
who always took his Jewishness for
granted, realized that maintaining his
zehut Yehudit on campus not kal
and pashut as it was ba'bayit.
On the surface it seemed that rov
ha'studentim on campus have a lot
in common. Dat, tzevah, min, le'om
did not seem to matter in the
chevrah p'tucha of the Ann Arbor
campus. In reality, however, Ronen
soon found out that it was not so. He
was filled with ka'as and ach'zavah
to discover how prevalent anti-Israeli
sentiments were. Lif'amim he even
felt pachad to see how even some of
his chaverim krovim were influ-
enced by the Arabic ta'amula and
how they related to him when he
proudly revealed his zehut Yisraelit.
Dating also became a be'aya. On
campus it was hard to know who was
Jewish and who was not, and nosaf
la'ze, Ronen had to admit to himself,
being rachok from the hashpa'ah of
his horim, made it kasheh to avoid
going out with ne'arot that he liked
just because he was not sure they
were Jewish.
The avirah at the me'onot, in the
hartzaot, on the campus grounds,
made Ronen feet he was "immersed"
in the big kvutzah of college stu-
dents and he felt it was more conve-
nient not be "shoneh".
It was a heated veehuach at the
me'onot with some of his chaverim
krovim who shocked him with the
hateful things they said about Israel
that "saved" Ronen from what he dis-
cribes as "hitbolelut". After that
event he decided to join Hillel, Irgun
Ha'studentim Ha'yehudim, and he
became pa'eel in Jewish activities on
campus.
Ronen's neesayon is shared by
other studentim yehudim.
Unfortunately, not all of them find the
way to Hillel or to other Jewish
groups and many lose their zehut
Yehudit.
Meelon (Dictonary)
great excitement
hitragshut
joy, happiness
simcha
son
ben
parents
horim
friends
chaverim
teachers
morim
relatives
krovim
counselor
yo'etz
the school
yo'etz beit ha'sefer
counselor
life
chayim
The
United
States
Arotzot Ha'brit
of America
a new life
chayim chadashim
the students'
ne'onot ha'studentim
dormitory
a surprise
haf'ta'ah
a room
cheder
me'onot
kitah
martzeh
hargasha shel b'didut
Erev Shabbat
mesiba
pit'om
avirah
nerot
arucha
me'oraot
shelet
kal
pashut
be'bayit
rov
dat
tzevah
min
le'om
chevrah p'tucha
ka'as
ach'zavah
lif'amim
pachad
chaverim krovim
ta'amula
zehut
be'aya
rachok
hash'pa'ah
kasheh
ne'arot
hartza'ot
kvutzah
shoneh
veehuach
hit'bolelut
irgun
pa'eel
neesayon
zehut
dormitory
class
lecturer
a feeling
of loneliness
Friday Evening
party
suddenly
environment
candles
meal
events
a sign
easy
simple
at home
most of
religion
color
gender
nation
an open society
anger
disappointment
sometimes
fear
close friends
propaganda
identity
a problem
far away
influence
hard
young women
lectures
group
different
argument
assimilation
organization
active
experience
identity
CO
'NJ
CC
CC
Nira Lev is associate professor of
Hebrew language and literature at
the Midrasha College of Jewish
Studies.
w
U-