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YAEL EICHHORN EDITORIAL INTERN
Jews in the D
A
s someone who has
had many different
Jewish experiences, it
is always reassuring to find a
sense of community wherever
I am. The Jewish
Studies minor at
Michigan State
University has
given me the
opportunity to
find that and more, making
such a big campus easier to
navigate.
I have gotten to know the
staff and program while work-
ing as an assistant in the office
at the Serling Institute for Jewish
Studies and Modern Israel,
which oversees the minor. There
is no one way to be a Jewish
Studies minor; the program is
personalized for each student
depending on their interests.
Students choose 20 credits
from 39 classes that count
toward the minor, with eligi-
ble classes going beyond the
humanities to include other
subject areas like business and
entrepreneurship, making the
program quite versatile.
The minor started as early
as the 1980s with classes on
anti-Semitism and gradually
evolved into a full-fledged
minor in the ’
90s. Donations
from Michael and Elaine Serling
over the years have helped MSU
grow the Jewish Studies minor
and become the sixth univer-
sity in the country to have an
endowed chair in Israel studies.
My own Jewish background
is a unique one. I have lived
in three countries and several
states and have been part of
a small Jewish community
in Idaho, as well as a Jewish
majority in Israel. Therefore, my
Jewish identity has been built
and borrowed from many dif-
ferent cultures and practices.
I didn’
t know that MSU even
had a Jewish Studies minor
when I first started school, but
I happened to take a Jewish
Studies class as an elective and
had such a positive experience
that I decided to add the minor.
The Institute has helped me
shape my own Jewish identity
by showing me how many dif-
ferent aspects of Judaism there
are, and that there is always
going to be a Jewish topic I find
interesting.
I’
m not alone in feeling
this way. “Minoring in Jewish
Studies has enhanced my expe-
rience at MSU,
” said Hannah
Margolis, a Jewish Studies
minor who is highly involved
in the campus Hillel. “Whether
it’
s the small classes, interesting
courses or passionate professors,
I have gained new perspectives
on Judaism in my own life and
MSU students pose for a selfie
with a Bedouin guide on a
study abroad trip to Israel.
“I have gained new perspectives
on Judaism in my own life and
the world.”
— HANNAH MARGOLIS
Finding My Jewish
Identity at MSU
The Serling Institute
for Jewish Studies and
its unique minor allow
students like me to
explore our own paths.
COURTESY OF MSU
Yael
Eichhorn