Jewish Student Associations

The Jewish Students in Arts and Sciences (JSAS) serves the Jewish community of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Please contact getzel@hillel.harvard.edu for more information!

The Jewish Student Association at the Business School serves as a resource to develop, inform, support, and enrich the Jewish community on campus. Our goals are to encourage student participation in Jewish events, build stronger ties among Jewish students and nearby Jewish organizations, and foster a sense of community.

More information, including contacts, can be found here.

The HDS Jewish Caucus brings together Jewish students from diverse religious backgrounds to enjoy each other’s company, explore issues of interest to the Jewish community, celebrate Jewish festivals, and learn from one another's experiences. Through events like weekly Torah study lunches, scholarly presentations from faculty or Visiting Scholars, and potluck Shabbat dinners, we help foster a sense of community and learning. Any students interested are welcomed to our meetings and events.

The Graduate School of Design Jewish Student Association hosted the first CHAI Sukkah design contest in 2001.  In the past, GSD students have held Seders in students' homes, lit Hanukkah candles at the GSD, and observed other occasions together.

The Jewish and Israel Caucuses at the Harvard Kennedy School are an active and integral part of the school’s diverse community. The Jewish Caucus seeks to create a forum for Jewish students to meet each other and enjoy their culture and traditions. Additionally, the Caucus strives to enhance understanding of Jewish life through religious, cultural, educational, and social functions. The Israel Caucus hopes to celebrate the country's culture and history while fostering conversations about politics and policy in the Middle East. In the past, the groups have sponsored a Chanukah Quorum Call (happy hour), Break-the-Fast after Yom Kippur, a celebration of Israel’s 50th birthday, and many potluck Shabbat dinners. The Caucus has also co-sponsored several inter-graduate school Shabbat dinners at Hillel and works to increase communication and cooperation with the other Jewish student groups at Harvard and in the Boston area.

Contact: Polina Kempinsky
 

The Harvard Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) is a cultural, social, educational, and religious organization that reflects the varied interests of the Jewish student community of Harvard Law School. The organization consists of more than 300 HLS students, Boston-area graduate school students, and others who are interested in Jewish legal affairs or the affairs of the Jewish community at Harvard Law School. Over the past year our events have included a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream social, Sukkah building at the law school, a student-faculty Chanukah party, a trip to the Boston Jewish Film Festival, a pan-graduate school Shabbat dinner, a Purim brunch and Megillah reading, the Black-Jewish Dialogue, and our annual Wine and Cheese Spring Soiree. In addition, we have hosted countless speakers, both from the Harvard community and well beyond, and we co-sponsor a graduate student Shabbat Dinner with the Chabad House at Harvard.

The Maimonides Society is the Harvard Medical School and School of Dental Medicine Jewish Student Association, and its events are open to the entire community. Our goal is to provide a comfortable, welcoming environment for Jewish students to make bonds and express their spirituality. Social events are organized around Jewish holidays, Shabbatot, community service, Israeli affairs, and educational seminars. We also coordinate some events with CHAI—the Harvard Jewish Graduate Student Association—and the greater Boston community. Members of Maimonides can help you figure out what synagogues and havurot are around, where to buy a mezuzah or kosher Chinese food, or who has the best bagels. We look forward to meeting you, and we welcome your involvement, ideas, and enthusiasm.

Co-Presidents: Sam Doernberg
Anabel Starosta
Leela Breitman
David Kornmehl