November 2007

Dear Visitor to Hillel at The College of Wooster’s Website,

Martin Indyk from The Saban Center for Middle East Policy at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a lecture at Wooster, which was sponsored by Hillel. Read more about the lecture.

My name is Peter Pozefsky. I am an Associate Professor at the College and chair of The Department of History. I am writing, however, in another capacity, as a faculty advisor to Hillel, to answer some frequently asked questions about our organization and the character of Jewish life at Wooster.

For obvious legal reasons it is impossible to ask all incoming students direct questions about their religious affiliation; however, my estimate (a conservative one), based on the number of students in my classes, the number of students who participate in Hillel and who have enrolled in our Hillel e-mail list-serve, that about 5 percent of our student body is Jewish.  It is approximately the same for the faculty.

If you asked non-Jewish members of the community, they would probably guess that the number is much higher. Why? Hillel has a very high profile on campus. We sponsor quite a few events that are well-attended by Jewish and non-Jewish members of the community alike. Moreover, our Jewish students and faculty are well integrated into all aspects of student life, from academics, student government and athletics to community service, and the arts. In short, this is a welcoming environment for Jewish students. It’s been my sense that the interest of Jewish students in Wooster is growing because they find its values familiar and because they like what the institution stands for and offers – most notably its opportunities for highly individualized instruction and independent study; its efforts to foster student creativity and self-expression; its attempt to provide a well-rounded education that balances academics with co-curricular activities and encourages students to take classes in a variety of subjects; and, last but not least, its beautiful setting and proud history of social idealism.

Hillel at The College of Wooster serves the functions of most college and university Hillel organizations. We provide opportunities for Jewish students to gather together, to learn about their history and culture, and to practice their religion. We also serve the vitally important function of educating non-Jewish members of the college community and the town about Judaism. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of our Hillel is that although the Jewish student body is not unusually large, we have our own Rabbi, Joan Friedman, a woman of exceptional talent and commitment. Joan is not only an ordained Rabbi. She has a PhD from Columbia University in Jewish history and teaches courses in both the Department of History and the Department of Religious Studies. Much of her time is spent as director of our Hillel. This includes holding regular meetings with the Hillel student board, leading weekly meetings open to all Hillel students on a variety of Jewish topics, and efforts to turn Jewish students into community leaders by helping them to organize things for themselves (community service activities, Shabbat dinners and more).

Thanks to a generous endowment from Lottie Kornfeld, College of Wooster class of 1945, an alumna whose family fled Vienna in the late 1930s, we are able to organize larger events as well, typically 3-4 a semester -- events such as a Chanukah party, a Seder and a variety of culture activities. Cultural events already planned for the 2007-2008 academic year  include a visiting speaker (a historian and Director of Jewish Studies at Kent State University) who will talk about the latest approaches that historians have taken to understanding the Holocaust, a visitor from Melitz, (an agency comprised of liberal Zionist educators from Israel), who will meet with students and address the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations, a speaker on contemporary Israeli Film, and a Klezmer dance concert with the Cleveland group Yiddishe Cup. We also have as a resource a local synagogue, Temple Kenneseth Israel, a Reconstructionist congregation within walking distance of The College which welcomes our students to its services.

In addition to running Hillel, Joan and I like to think of ourselves as a resource for our students, their parents and the larger Wooster community, and welcome communication with you. If you have questions about Hillel, Jewish life at The College of Wooster or, more generally, the educational program at The College, please don’t hesitate to contact either one of us. We are available by phone, by e-mail and in person.

Thank you for your interest in Hillel, the Jewish Students’ Organization at The College of Wooster!

Peter Pozefsky

Sincerely,

Peter C. Pozefsky

Faculty Advisor to Hillel and chair, The Department of History
ppozefsky@wooster.edu and (w) 330-263-2395

You may contact Rabbi Joan Friedman at jfriedman@wooster.edu or 330-263-2448