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-