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n a recent Sunday morn- services has increased in recent
ing, 10 sleeply-eyed stu- years to some 50 people. The Con-
dents sit around a brown servative minyan — a 12-year-
folding table in the base- old group that for many years
ment of the University of Michi- had trouble attracting members
gan's Hine' building. It's early for — now brings anywhere between
college students to be awake on 120 and 150 for Friday night ser-
a Sunday, but they're here to vices. Conservative services have
study Torah.
been added on Saturday morn-
Two of the students divide the ing to accommodate increased
others into
small groups to
study a few sec-
tions of Lech
Lecha,
the
week's Torah
portion. The
sounds of He-
brew echo in the
room.
Ten minutes
later, the stu-
dents recon-
vene. After each
group makes a
brief presenta-
tion, the two
leaders facilitate
a spirited half-
hour discussion
of the portion, Students meet at U-M to discuss the Torah portion.
arguing over the
meaning of God's commandment student interest.
Michael Brooks, director of the
to Abraham to leave his home.
This group of students is the U-M Hillel, believes social rea-
core of Hakvutsa, a new, student- sons account for part of the in-
initiated group on campus dedi- crease. "It's a social event as
cated to increasing Jewish much as a religious event," Mr.
learning among all denomina- Brooks says.
But this is only one explana-
tions. Its members say Hakvutsa
represents a unique example of tion for the growth in religious
cross-denomination cooperation. expression, Mr. Brooks explains.
"It's one of the nice things about The U-M's admissions office, he
this campus," says Jonathan adds, tells him that an increas-
ing number of students are writ-
Berger, a sophomore.
Hakvutsa's existence is also ing on their applications that
one of several indicators that Jewish life on campus is a fac-
Jewish students at the U-M — tor in their desire to apply. "The
one of the nation's largest and University of Michigan has a na-
most active Jewish student com- tional reputation as a place for
m-unities — are turning to an an- Jewish students to be," he says.
Another factor may be the
cient source for their identity:
Middle East peace process. Ac-
religion.
The number of kosher dinners cording to a recent Wall Street
served at Hillel each week has Journal article, the peace process
been increased from five to six, has created an identity crisis for
and attendance at the dinners American Jews. Now that Israel
has more than doubled — from appears to be on the road to peace
less than 10 to 20-25 and some- with its neighbors, some Ameri-
times more. Despite the fact that can Jews, while not abandoning
the High Holidays fell right their support for Israel, are cast-
around the beginning of the ing about for other forms of iden-
school year, attendance at Con- tification.
The crisis is particularly acute,
servative Kol Nidre services
reached an all-time high of 1,500. the article says, among younger
Growth also has been notice- Jews, who have lived their entire
able among the student min- lives with the existence of a State
yanim. Attendance at the of Israel and who have grown up
Orthodox minyan's Friday night after the 1967 war, when Israel's
survival does not appear to be as
perilous as in its early years.
Peter Ephross is a writer in Ann
This is not to say that support
Arbor.
■1
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for Israel on campus is waning.
While some Israel groups report
steady or slightly declining mem-
bership, this year's turnout for
the first campus meeting of
IMPAC, the student pro-Israel
lobbying group, reached an all-
time high.
But some young Jews, like
David Glickman, a senior and
one of the
founders of
Hakvutsa, are
turning away
from Israel and
toward Ju-
daism as an
answer to their
Jewish needs.
Mr. Glickman
belonged to IM-
PAC in his
sophomore
year. After
studying Torah
with a tutor
last year while
he attended the
Hebrew Uni-
versity in
Jerusalem, he
realized that
continued involvement with an
Israel-oriented group would not
fulfill his Jewish needs.
"When it comes down to it,
that's not going to give you spir-
itual fulfillment," he says.
After returning to Ann Arbor,
Mr. Glickman decided to continue
his study of Torah. He found a
number of other like-minded stu-
dents in the Orthodox minyan
and formed Hakvutsa. Nor does
Some students are
turning from Israel
and toward Judaism.
he plan to stop there. Mr. Glick-
man and other Hakvutsa mem-
bers want to expand the Hillel
library to include more books that
focus on Jewish learning in gen-
eral and interpreting the Torah
in particular.
Still, Hillel's Mr. Brooks notes
that even the vastly increased
number of students attending
Friday night services is 3 percent
of the total Jewish student pop-
ulation at the U-M.
The turnout for Hakvutsa met
Mr. Glickman's expectations, per-
haps due to the fact that Hakvut-
sa is new — it formed so recently
that it didn't even get on the Sep-
tember-October Hillel calendar.