Formal (and informal) Jewish learning has continued to grow and expand this year on the Penn campus. Through the collaboration of students, staff, and community partners and scholars, Penn Hillel has expanded what it offers by providing an even wider variety of educational events and topics.
Led by Rabbi Mordy and Limor Friedman, the OCP (Orthodox Community at Penn) has continued to provide high level, meaningful, and intense learning opportunities. Sunday Night Learning (SNL) is the most popular learning program the OCP has to offer. Each week, over one hundred and thirty students gather for an hour of paired Torah study and dinner. The event draws students from both the graduate and undergraduate populations, welcoming students from all backgrounds and inspiring a feeling of community on a weekly basis.
This year's newest OCP initiative has been women's programming. The Beit Midrash for Women (BMW) attracts 35 women on a regular basis and is an open educational effort for the exploration of Jewish women's issues at the University of Pennsylvania. Coordinated by two student leaders, BMW serves as a safe forum to discuss sensitive women's issues in the Jewish community as well as to empower women to confront their concerns and issues with Judaism's view and treatment of women. Working in partnership with JOFA (the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance), BMW has access to speakers concentrating on issues pertaining to Jewish women. The program often begins with dinner which is followed by a lecture and lively discussion on contemporary trends and concerns.
Rabbi Janice Elster, Jewish Student Life Coordinator of the University of Pennsylvania, has been working with the Reform community on various learning opportunities. In conjunction with the Hillel education committee, the Refrom community sponsored a talk by Hebrew Union College Professor, Dr. Reuven Firestone, on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz from Hebrew Union College in New York also came to teach at Penn Hillel. As part of a new initiative to offer more informal learning opportunities, a new program, Totally Torah -a drop-in weekly Torah portion discussion group - will launch in the spring. Additionally, the Reform community will welcome President David Ellenson of Hebrew Union College to Penn Hillel to speak in March 2009.
The Conservative Jewish Community (CJC) at Penn has been inspired to create a new type of Jewish learning opportunity for students on campus. What began with an intimate group meeting with the new Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Arnold Eisen, at the end of the Spring 2008 semester has evolved into a number of different initiatives. Led by Rabbi Michael Uram, Associate Director, the CJC has created a series of learning opportunities called "Wednesday Night Learning" wherein students invite a well know Rabbi or educator to facilitate a Torah discussion over dinner. Presenters have included Rabbi Eli Kaunfer, founder of Yeshiva Hadar; Rabbi Mordy Schwartz, Associate Dean of the Rabbinical School at JTS; as well as many local Philadelphia rabbis. Additionally, CJC is planning a number of immersive experiences focusing on prayer and learning including a retreat to NYC and a student delegation to the Koach Kallah in Los Angeles.
Penn Hillel
215 S. 39th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
P: 215-898-7391 • F: 215-898-6393
Formal (and informal) Jewish learning has continued to grow and expand this year on the Penn campus. Through the collaboration of students, staff, and community partners and scholars, Penn Hillel has expanded what it offers by providing an even wider variety of educational events and topics. 