The past few weeks have been a very important time for the Jewish community, both at Harvard and around the world. The coinciding of the high holiday season—in which the community celebrates Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur among others—and the first anniversary of Oct. 7 provides a prime time to reflect on our campus community.
As a Reform Jew who didn’t participate much in my Jewish community outside of family events, I have taken this time as an opportunity to explore many of Harvard’s offerings, attending events and speaking to leaders and participants of campus groups such as Chabad and Hillel. What I discovered was a community centered around support, openness, religion, and love.
My first experience with Harvard’s Jewish community was Shabbat 1000, hosted in early September. I was surprised to see that so many people showed up. I found myself at a table where I was the only Jew, which initially surprised me, though I quickly came to realize this reflected the openness of Harvard’s Jewish community and the desire of many students to participate in and learn about traditions that are not their own. As a first-year student, this event proved to be a great way for me to make new friends and sparked my curiosity to discover more.
“I find it very invigorating,” Chabad Rabbi Berel Feldman stated when asked about his experience being a Rabbi in a college environment. “I feel like people are very open, surprisingly, very open to hearing ideas, hearing perhaps takes on our religion that they have encountered in the past, takes on God in the past and the ability to be part of a community, to learn and to grow, not just intellectually, but morally and ethically.”
Rabbi Berel reflected on how the events of Oct. 7 have impacted the Jewish community at Harvard. “I think the events of October 7 really exemplify, after everything that happened in Israel, [that] the Jewish community is a very small community, and everyone knew someone that was affected, and everyone had someone that was involved. And it really brought the Jewish community even closer together: to lean on each other, to support each other, to help each other, to really try to find comfort with the community that you have right here.”
The vigil hosted in honor of the victims of Oct. 7 and their families confirmed Rabbi Berel’s sentiments. By the time I arrived at Widener steps a few minutes before the start time, there was a large crowd, including students from the College, graduate schools, faculty, families, as well as University president Alan Garber. I recognized the faces of many friends, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Students and faculty made speeches and sang songs, while attendees held candles. It was incredibly moving to see the community come together with strength and compassion during a time of collective mourning.
A core message I was taught throughout my childhood while learning about my Jewish heritage is the importance of love. Rabbi Berel echoed this idea. “The most important thing is to love. To love your Judaism is to love who you are as a person. Just like you should love your first name, you should love your last name. The most important thing is to love your identity.”
At the end of our interview, Rabbi Berel encouraged me to come to Tuesday night Chinese dinner at the Chabad tent on Banks St. Upon arriving, I immediately understood why I had heard so many good things: a warm tent, good food—which was a nice break from Berg—and good company from those of all religions.
To gain a well-rounded perspective of the Jewish experience, I talked to Dani Kobrick ’27, a student member of Hillel. Recounting her first experience with Hillel during Visitas, she said, “It was casino day. Hillel Casino Day. And so I was like, ‘Hey, I love blackjack. Why don’t I show up, meet some people?’ Hopefully meet both students, prospective students, current students, and then maybe even Hillel staff. And so I went, had an awesome time. We were just there to have fun and talk and learn about each other’s experiences.”
Elaborating on specific programs in Hillel, Kobrick described her experience with Jewish Learning Fellowships (JLF). “It’s essentially encouraging Jewish students to learn more about their Judaism, learn more about themselves. And so there’s one specifically for freshmen,” Kobrick explained.
Kobrick described the structure of the program and its commitment to making first-year students feel connected. “Let’s say we have a theme for a week: we were talking about home. What does it mean to be away from home now that we’re in college?” she described. “We also read a little bit of text about, ‘What did the Jews say about it?’ It was just a wonderful way to talk to other freshmen about if you’re homesick, and other emotions that everyone has as a freshman.” Kobrick’s experience reflects the general feelings I have encountered from other students involved in Jewish spaces on campus—a strong sense of welcome and a safe community.
In recent years, I have found myself feeling disconnected from my Jewish identity. I am no longer required to go to synagogue services by my grandparents, holiday dinners have become harder to coordinate, and I have completely forgotten any Hebrew I learned in childhood. Despite wanting to, it can be hard to find the time to appreciate this part of my identity.
However, through my conversation with Rabbi Berel and attending organized events, I have reflected on my favorite parts about being Jewish—the prevalence of song in services and community gatherings and the emphasis on togetherness. As a first-year student in a new environment that encourages involvement, it feels like a fresh opportunity to reconnect with this part of myself.
Rabbi Berel left me with thought-provoking questions as I continue this exploration. “Do you have the goods that it takes to be a good Jewish leader?” he asked. “Are you maintaining your identity? Are you proud of who you are, and are you using your talents to find the way that you could lead this generation and forthcoming generations?”
Mia Wilcox ’28 (mwilcox@college.harvard.edu) is comping the Independent.