I remember the first time that I set foot inside Brown-RISD Hillel.

            It was actually the night before school officially began. I had to move in a day early due to my family’s religious observance of the Sabbath, and the Hillel offered a provisional meal for any students who wished to take advantage of this opportunity. I arrived at the building well-dressed in a pressed button-down shirt and, after maybe ten or so minutes of mingling, sat down with some of the other students as we got ready to begin Sabbath services. We shared our backgrounds and where we were from. Student responses ranged from Boston to Milwaukee to Chicago to San Francisco. We also covered a wide variety of religious backgrounds: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews were all represented. The group’s leader, a tall senior, turned to all of the students, new and old, and welcomed us into the building. He began to lead us in song.

            “And now, we will turn to page 1 of our books, and begin with the psalm Yedid Nefesh.”[1]

            Even though the book in my hands was a bit unfamiliar, the prayer was well-known to me. I opened to the page and waited for the service to begin. The first words were muttered by the returning students.

            “Yedid nefesh…av harachaman…”[2]

            The tune was completely familiar, something that had been driven into me for years as a part of the Jewish establishment. I hummed a little bit before starting to sing along, and as I looked around I saw the rest of the freshmen joining in, the melodies crescendoing with a wonderful chorus of oohs and ahhs. The rest of the service had similar phenomena occur, tunes that many of the new members knew, even without any prior prompting or rehearsal. It was quite amazing to experience, and from then on I knew that Brown-RISD Hillel could be a home for me on campus.

            Over time, as I continued to find myself within this community, I found my thoughts continually drifting back to that first night in the building. How had all of the people in that room, despite limited exposure to one another, been able to relate so well to the music that was sung? What aspects of institutionalized Jewish social groups had contributed to all of our formations, had led to this instance at the Brown-RISD Hillel where so many people were on the same wavelength? Were there people who did not feel this similar connection with the Hillel and the traditions that it espoused? And, most importantly, what would the Hillel’s role be in the future formation of students at Brown? This paper is an avenue to explore the concept of shared Jewish identity, and also a way to try and understand how the goals and mannerisms of Jewish institutions have shifted throughout the years.

            Brown-RISD Hillel will remain the main framing device of this piece, as it is the culmination of nineteen years of identity formation for many young Jews. However, there should also be some focus paid to the structures of Jewish youth group organizations and Jewish camps, as both play major roles in the development of Jews at the Hillel. The essential questions I want to answer delve into the concept of similarity and difference within Judaism, especially in regards to this new burgeoning population of young Jews: what is Judaism within the context of Brown-RISD Hillel, where have past identity formations created this sentiment, and how is Brown-RISD Hillel indicative of the future of observant Judaism? Through an analysis of key developmental nodes for young Jews, these questions can be answered, and a greater understanding can be had regarding the potentially surprising trail that will be blazed by this new, young generation of Jews.

Adolescence, Youth Groups, and Denominational Thinking

            Before getting too in depth about the youth groups themselves, it is important to understand the genesis of denominational thinking in Judaism. When the religion was first imported to the United States, while sects did exist, most Jews operated within a typical Orthodox belief system. Conservative and Reform Judaism were developed by the end of the 19th century, and all of these groups found themselves battling for congregants and, most importantly, families who could pass on tenets of their various traditions to the next generation. Eventually, in the early 1930s, these sects noticed the stellar progression made by the B’nai Brith Youth Organization, a nondenominational youth group that was founded in 1924, at engaging and connecting with young Jews. The Reform movement was the first to initiate a youth program with the inception of North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) in 1939, and the Conservative and Orthodox movements soon followed with organizations of their own, inventing United Synagogue Youth (USY) and the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), respectively. All of these groups ran in a similar manner and, by the late 1950s, had full complements of in-school and out-of-school programs for young high school age Jews.

            The denominational youth groups definitely encouraged the strengthening of certain beliefs, even in the face of societal pressures. However, there was some inconsistency when it came to enforcement of these rules in a larger level as opposed to the individual chapters of said groups. I personally grew up as a member of the United Synagogue Youth, and served on my chapter’s Executive Board for three years. As a senior, I was elected to my region’s Executive Board, and became subject to a dossier of extremely stringent rules, the violation of any could result in my removal from the board. Even posting prom photographs on my Facebook page resulted in a stern e-mail from my supervisor and a warning that such behavior would not be condoned in the future, because I had attended the event during the Sabbath. This desire to maintain Jewish values has been at the core of the inception of many youth groups, but in a rapidly modernizing society, have the lessons espoused by such groups actually had some relevance in the development of young Jews at Brown-RISD Hillel, especially given that, for many students, the strictures of these groups are more constrained than those of their personal households?

            The Hillel does try to encourage a level of respect for all forms of Jewish belief. According to the official rules of the Hillel, students are not allowed to work on computers in the main lobby on the Sabbath day, Saturday. Instead, they must be relegated to one of the closed off rooms at the top of the building. This is due to a level of respect that the Hillel attempts to condone for all types of students, regardless of denomination. This also begs the question of how students of less traditionally observant denominations deal with the ramping up of the rules in order to accommodate more traditional students.

            Melanie Fineman, a sophomore at Brown, had a limited youth group background as a member of NFTY when she arrived at College Hill in 2010. She came to Brown without any expectations regarding her observance, or even much experience with most of the holidays.

            “When I arrived, I didn’t know what any of the holidays were, didn’t know kashrut policy, didn’t know about Shabbat policy, et cetera,” she said. “The holidays thing was a slight problem when I was the Holidays Committee co-chair, but otherwise everything else was a learning experience.”

            Fineman, a bubbly, petite track athlete with a beaming smile and a naturally gregarious personality, was involved on a very basic level with her NFTY chapter and, therefore, definitely had to undergo a transition once she arrived at Brown and saw all of the other denominations so wholly represented.

            “The first time that Reform Minyan[3] was canceled and I went to (the nondenominational) Chavurah Minyan, I was very, very lost,” she said.

            Fineman’s experience is not unlike many new students who, when they enter Brown-RISD Hillel without youth group experience, feel overwhelmed by the ability of those incubated within the youth group infrastructure to have a grasp on the songs, programs, and general vibes of the Hillel community. According to a survey done in 2011 by the Hillel, 43 percent of Jewish students at Brown self-identified as alumni of a Jewish youth group. Since not all Jewish students at Brown necessarily spend time in the Hillel, it stands to reason that the percentage would rise for students who are involved with the Brown-RISD Hillel programming and leadership. For example, 75 percent of this year’s Brown-RISD Hillel Executive and Programming Boards took part in some sort of Jewish youth group going up. Participation in these high school programs definitely serves as some sort of indicator for future involvement in the Hillel, although that does not always hold true. For Fineman, a Programming Board alumnus, her lack of attachment to a Jewish youth group did not deter her from getting more involved. In fact, it only empowered her more to take part in the community.

            “The idea of meeting people, knowing people, and building connections has always been a thing for me,” she said. “Even though I did not necessarily know that much about the Jewish holidays when I became Holidays Co-Chair, the entire year became a great learning experience for me. I’m happy that I took part.”

            From this outsider’s perspective, it is intriguing to note the impact that the youth group culture has on the demographics of Brown-RISD Hillel. The youth group experience is just one way that young Jews can network, meet each other, and begin to build a unique subculture and identity in the community at-large. It also offers an intriguing answer to the question of whether denominational-based Judaism is pertinent in a modern context. Despite the denominational gaps between the likes of NCSY, USY, and NFTY, all of the organizations are structured similarly and attempt to espouse and teach young people identical values though tried and true methodologies. The encouragement of song sessions and melodic prayer services are two ways that all of these organizations are connected. By the time students arrive at Brown University, it is easy for the Hillel to be an interchange of all of these different ideas rather than cater to only one subset of values. Fineman agreed to an extent with this assessment, although from the outset she did note that she felt a bit uncomfortable with the arrangement.

            “The Hillel does a good job of appealing to someone who is more involved in Judaism, but if you’re more reform it can be a bit overwhelming,” she said. “I was able to adjust, but it was definitely a process.”

Not Always Welcoming: A Brown-RISD Hillel “Horror” Story

            Brown-RISD Hillel serves as a vehicle for less-affiliated students like Fineman to explore that process, even if they did not partake in youth groups growing up. However, it also is certainly a linkage institution for young Jews who already had that youth group experience. It is extremely intriguing to see how, in one space, tens of Jewish college students from differing backgrounds and thought processes are able to come together and learn from each other. Youth groups were the catalyst for this educational ethos and, across denominations, students who partook in this experience came to Brown-RISD Hillel with a baseline of similar ideals and knowledge. However, in some cases, Brown-RISD Hillel has proven to be imposing despite its non-denominational status.

            Madeline Sall, another Brown student who is a self-described Reform Jew, had a more difficult adjustment process to the Hillel. The current college junior was extremely involved in her chapter’s branch of NFTY, and came to Brown thinking that she would be pretty involved in Jewish life on campus. She even thought that, after Brown, she would go to rabbinical school and potentially become clerically trained. However, for Sall, the Hillel was not as welcoming as she expected it to be, and she has since changed her career plans.

            “I was surprised that as a new person, there weren’t more people to make me feel welcome,” she said. “I felt that it was sort of cliquey and just not especially welcoming to me.”

            Some of the reasoning behind Sall’s discomfort was echoed by Fineman’s earlier statement: the disconnect between the slightly more observant policies of the Hillel and the more liberal approach of the Reform movement. Despite her involvement in youth groups throughout her adolescence, as well as her knowledge of the prayers and melodies, Sall still felt isolated due to her lack of formal schooling in Judaism.

            “Denominationally, I did feel uncomfortable. I felt that I didn’t have the same level of knowledge as some of the people around me, which bothered me,” she said. “The culture was not what I was used to.”

            Sall’s experience is not unlike many Brown students who, despite being involved with some sort of youth organization, eschew the Hillel because of the intimidation factor of getting more involved. While denominational youth groups are a great way for young Jews to begin to build a bond with the religion, it does not always translate into recruitment success for non-denominational organizations. Whether it is because these organizations do not cater to the needs of given groups, or due to the intimidation that Sall felt, a bigger question could be the pertinence of denominational movements in general. Sall feels that they will, and should, remain relevant.

“I don’t think that it’s feasible to have one unifying organization governing over an entire Jewish population,” she said. “People are stubborn and the traditions between different observant groups are too polarized.”

Sall’s opinion trumpets the importance of having denominational youth groups: it offers young people a chance to understand how they can best observe Judaism, and figure out what sect appeals to them the most. However, this is not the only way that young Jews can be exposed to their counterparts in the outside world. Another crucial aspect for the development of young American Jews is what transpires during summer breaks. While family vacations are certainly an options for certain parts of the summer, many children instead pack their bags, kiss their parents goodbye, and head out to one of the many Jewish camps that dot the American landscape.

Summer Loving: Jewish Camping Culture And Its Pertinence

            When I was eleven years old, and had outgrown the typical family trips to Cape Cod and California that punctuated each of my summers, my parents informed me that they thought I could try and spend a summer at overnight camp. I was intrigued by the idea, as I felt that going to such a place could be a good deal of fun, not to mention the fact that I was at the stage in my life where too much exposure to my parents was starting to bother my still developing brain. After a couple of months of trawling advertisements, driving all over New England, and finding out what my friends had heard about these various encampments, I chose to attend Camp Tevya, a non-denominational Jewish camp in Brookline, New Hampshire. Being at a Jewish camp was one of the most developmentally enriching times in my young life, and for many Jews, their experiences are similar.

            Camping culture is extremely important for many Jewish families. According to the Jewish Camping Foundation, there are 110 not-for-profit Jewish overnight camps that serve approximately 50,000 young people throughout the United States of America and Canada. This does not even consider the presence of for-profit Jewish camps that are also operated, as well as the reappropriation of previously unaffiliated non-Jewish camps that serve a primarily Jewish clientele. This camping culture has also had a large impact on a number of students who attend Brown University. In the aforementioned survey of Jewish students at Brown, 43 percent of participants said that they attended a “Jewish” summer camp in their youth. This is an even larger amount than those who took part in a youth group. Jewish summer camp culture is something interesting to research because, in its own way, it also contributes a lot to the shared experiences and perceptions that many Jewish students have once they arrive at college.

            All of the Jewish denominations have certain Jewish summer camps that they fly under their banner. The most notable of these franchises are the Ramah camps, which have been affiliated with the Conservative movement since 1947. These different franchises of camps try to imbue their campers with the values of their given movements, and each approach Judaism in a different manner. However, a couple of aspects tend to stay constant from camp-to-camp, and even branches over into non-denominational Jewish camps: Friday night sing-a-longs and Sabbath services.

            Sara Miller, who currently works at Brown-RISD Hillel but just graduated from Brandeis University in 2011, distinctly remembers her experiences at the Capital Camp, a nondenominational Jewish summer camp in the Washington, D.C. region. Miller, a talkative blonde who has been mistaken for a student in the past, has always been involved with Jewish institutions. Whether during her four summers spent at the aforementioned campground, or her leadership as a member of the B’nai Brith Youth Organization, not to mention her eventual career path as a Jewish educator, the lessons learned from various youth groups and camps have been entrenched as a part of her upbringing. One memory that especially sticks out is the Shira, or song, session that capped off each week.

            “Singing sessions took place every Friday night in the dining hall, after Sabbath dinner,” she said. “One of the counselors got on the microphone, played his guitar, and led the entire group in various songs. It was awesome!”

            Miller also noted that many of the songs sung by the group were rehashed and redone in other various social circles in which she takes part.  It served as a key linkage institution for the substantiation and reinforcement of other relationships.

            “Music has always been a major part of my life, and singing is absolutely huge in Jewish culture, whether at camp or at Hillel,” she said. “I still hear old songs from my camp and youth group days now at Brown-RISD Hillel, and it brings back great memories.”

            Jewish camps also foster Sabbath observance on Saturdays by making wakeups later, having alternative scheduling options as opposed to the typical camp grind, and celebrating the beginning and the end of the Sabbath as a group with the Kabbalat Shabbat[4] and Havdalah[5] ceremonies. These customs do not vary from camp to camp, and are even carried over into Brown-RISD Hillel, where they are scheduled every week. This is yet another tradition that transcends denominational boundaries and seeks to unite all students and staff, regardless of their background, behind a common banner. Miller reminisces about her camp Havdalah ceremonies.

            “Havdalah was always special,” she said. “It’s a great way to get psyched for the week ahead. I first experienced this in my youth, and I’m thrilled that it happens weekly at Hillel.”

Kiss and Tell: Romance Culture in Jewish Institutions

            While Havdalah is a more benign aspect of Jewish linkage institutions that fosters a sense of community, there is a more famous, and illicit, aspect of these organizations: the fostering of a romantic culture that could potentially match young Jewish boys with Jewish girls. Camps, youth groups, and even Hillels have often been accused of manipulating certain situations and creating opportunities for Jews to meet, wed, and procreate. This is even considered to be a part of the institutional purpose, at least for Hillel.

            “Even at Hillel International meetings, it was openly acknowledged that Hillel was purposely oriented to set up Jews with each other, in order for them to make Jewish babies and Jewish families,” said Graham Hoffman, the current Associate Vice President of Hillel International, and a passionate longtime advocate for Hillel reform. “Times are definitely changing, and Hillel is attempting to amend its protocol, but that was definitely the modus operandi for a time.”

            This mentality has also spilled over to the mindset of students, who immediately associate Hillel with this heteronormative, matchmaking ideal. Sall, despite being part of a Jewish youth group, was under no illusions when she was asked about possible ulterior motives of such organizations.

            “It’s not even subtle that Jewish groups are designed to create Jewish couples,” she said with disdain in her voice. “That’s why they exist: to get Jews to marry each other.”

            It is difficult for me to personally complain about the Jewish institution matchmaking ideal. After all, my parents met at a Camp Ramah in Palmer, Massachusetts, and both were part of the Brown-RISD Hillel in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I am a product of the very familial structure that the camps attempted to foster. However, when I discussed the issue with my father, Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, he had a very different take on the subject.

            “I think that, yes, there was some reinforcement of the need for Jews to have relationships with each other, but that does not necessarily correlate directly to marriage,” he said. “It is important to remember that at that time, intrafaith marriage was basically an expectation, whereas nowadays it is less of a sure thing. While there was some aspect of relationship building there, I would argue that Jewish organizations are more determined now, as opposed to in the past, to serve as matchmakers for young Jews.”

            My father’s point is very valid, and is borne out by the statistics regarding intermarriage. By the end of the 1970s, only 28 percent of eligible Jews married out of the faith. However, in the year 2012, 47% of married Jews actually chose to leave the faith. This also has some sort of impact on the dating scene at Brown-RISD Hillel: when surveyed in 2011, 50 percent of Jewish students said that they were dating, or had already dated, outside of the Jewish faith, and 72 percent said that they had no qualms with having a non-Jewish significant other. This question came to a head recently, when someone posited a discussion point about intermarriage on the Hillel’s whiteboard, inviting responses from various eminent members of the community.

            “Intermarriage is the less important problem here,” wrote Lex Rofes, the current president of Brown RISD-Hillel and a BBYO and Jewish camp alumnus. “What is more important is that all of those Jews who decide to marry outside the faith still maintain some sort of connection to Judaism. That should be the more important goal.”

            On the other side of the ledger, those who stood in the anti-intermarriage camp cited studies and statistics to prove their point.

            “Intermarriage is a tough issue to discuss,” responded Leor Shtull-Leiber, a past Hillel president who comes from a Conservative background. “But all of the statistics tend to point to the simple fact that children raised in intermarried families do fall out of the faith quicker than those raised in fully Jewish families.”

            The debate over marriage has been a major vehicle of strife for a lot of Jewish groups, and Brown-RISD Hillel has attempted to toe the line between these two differing opinions, serving instead as a forum and interchange for all members of the community to engage around this idea. The best example of this took place last November, when the Hillel’s Social Committee organized a Speed Dating and Friend Finding event. Even though the event’s title invoked some sort of circumstance where participants would be able to find potential romantic partners, people of all faiths and backgrounds were welcomed inside the Hillel’s building and encouraged to meet, mingle, and potentially romantically interact with the rest of the young adults. Miller gave the perspective of someone who worked within the building regarding the event.

            “Hillel’s main goal is to make everyone feel comfortable,” she said. “While we definitely want to promote strong Jewish values and this is a contentious issue, we leave it up to the discretion of the students whether or not they romantically engage with someone of the same religion as them.”

            Hillel is sort of an evolution of the Jewish camping structure, a natural progression of the overall process. Summer camps implanted ideas that Jewish leaders hoped would serve as guiding principles that young Jewish students would be able to take to Hillel and utilize as building blocks for the future. However, there are also ways that Hillel stands apart from both of the self-contained situations of youth groups and camps, and this is where Brown-RISD Hillel truly thrives as a unifier of traditional Judaism and useful, secular ideas. The conversation over the issue of intermarriage is one example of this, but there is a more basic question that has to be answered: how does Brown-RISD Hillel serve its community as a Jewish linkage institution while also exposing it to the outside world?

Brown-RISD Hillel: Why It Matters and The Meaning of Pluralism at College

            The Hillel International Organization was founded in 1923 at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with the self-proclaimed mission to serve as a welcoming place for Jewish students attending universities. In that regard, Brown-RISD Hillel certainly has fulfilled its burden of proof. However, times have changed greatly since 1923, and the purposes of Hillels in that time frame are certainly not completely in-step with the modern day needs and wants of young Jews. How has Brown-RISD Hillel adapted to the needs of its constituents?

            The easiest place to glean information from is by looking at Brown-RISD Hillel’s own constitution, which starts off with the Hillel’s mission statement. It reads, “The mission of Hillel is to contribute to the larger community by creating a vibrant Jewish community in which all of the Jewish students at Brown and RISD can explore and express their Jewish identity in a way that is meaningful to them.” The second part of the sentence perfectly captures the atmosphere in the Hillel: students are encouraged to take pluralistic approaches to connecting with students outside of the typical circle of the Hillel community. Some members of the student group have joined despite not being involved with Judaism to such an extent in the past: one of the Executive Board members, for example, grew up as a Unitarian and now wishes to pursue a career as a rabbi in the reform movement. However, this also begs the question: is there a balance between traditional observance and pluralism? And when does one cross that line?

            Rabbi Mordechai Rackover, the school’s chaplain, comes from a Modern Orthodox background and often has to deal with a secular, reform group of parishoners. In a sermon that he gave in September 2011, he laid down his thoughts on what constituted a fulfilled Brown-RISD Hillel Jew, at least in his eyes.

            “There are some of you out there who are more social Jews, more secular Jews,” he said to a large crowd on the first night of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. “That’s great. We’re fine with that. But it’s on you to want to do more, to learn about our culture, to become more enriched regarding Judaism. And that is what this Hillel is here to do.”

             The Brown-RISD Hillel certainly has its share of programming, on both a cultural level and a secular level. Over 20 organizations and committees are run under the umbrella of the Hillel’s student Executive Board, and they run the gamut from the Jewish Cooking Club, a group that helps to cater various events in the building, to the Learning Committee, which organizes special sessions dedicated to educating students about aspects of Jewish law and traditions. The building also makes itself available for other secular groups to use the space for their own purposes. Yoga classes take place throughout the week, a market share program peddles its wholly organic wares out from within the space, and there are even random art exhibits that dot the walls. Students of all religions are invited to study or meet up within the building. It is a narrow tightrope that the Hillel walks, but this position is upheld by all of the student leaders.

            “The Hillel building is definitely sort of a catch-all, a place where everyone should feel comfortable, regardless of denomination or religion,” said President Rofes, who has sought to initiate reforms regarding openness since he began serving in the role in January. “While core Hillel programming is definitely geared toward the Jews of Brown, the building and the committees are separate. We have all of this space: it would be selfish to hog it.”

            It almost seems that the purveyors of Brown-RISD Hillel wish to regulate the Jews that enter the building more than the non-Jews. As previously stated, much ado is made about making everyone feel comfortable throughout the building, yet there is a push and pull on both sides of the aisle that is part of the tension of trying to pitch such a wide tent. Brown-RISD Hillel students such as Fineman and Sahl have felt like their more reform backgrounds contrasted with the level of Jewish knowledge and observance expected of them when they first arrived at Brown-RISD Hillel. On the other hand, the Hillel also has a lot of secular programming, and runs events out of the building that have no affiliation to anything Jewish. Is there middle ground between these two polarizing opinions?

            Perhaps that is the biggest question that surrounds the Brown-RISD Hillel and, in a way, also the Jewish people as a whole. Young Jews are increasingly moving away from the past strictures that bound the faith, opting for intermarriages, nondenominational synagogues, and other alternative measures rather than the prescribed path that Jews traveled upon for decades, if not centuries. The shifting sands of opinion are pervasive down to the youth group and camp level, but culminate in college, when the young Jews that have been monitored for years are finally let off leash, left to decide whether or not to embrace the religion of their birth, the culture of their ancestors. What will they choose to do? The answer depends on each person, but Brown-RISD Hillel certainly gives students the latitude to explore all options before making a final decision.

Conclusion

            Brown-RISD Hillel really is the perfect example of how Jewish adolescent networking is facing an interesting crossroads. This is the first generation that has grown up at a time where, for once, denominational thinking and typically accepted Jewish strictures are starting to be questioned and may even be falling by the wayside to a certain extent. The networks built up through high school youth groups and traditionally Jewish camps might not be as effective in the near future. If Brown-RISD Hillel is any indicator, then the dynamics for self-identifying Jewish young adults could be shifting before our very eyes, and it will be an interesting phenomenon to watch in the future.

                                                            Works Cited

-                    Baer, Max F. Dealing in Futures: The Story of a Jewish Youth Movement.       Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith International, 1983. Print.

-                      Brown-RISD Hillel Constitution. Revised 25 December 2011. < http://www.brownrisd.hillel.org/home/about/constitution.aspx>

-                      Eleff, Zev. Living from Convention to Convention: A History of the NCSY, 1954-1980. Jersey City, NJ: Ktav Pub. House, 2009. Print.

-                     InterfaithFamily.com. “Jewish Intermarriage Statistics.“ <http://www.interfaithfamily.com/news_and_opinion/synagogues_and_the jewish_community/Jewish_Intermarriage_Statistics.shtml>

-                      Kotler-Berkowitz, Lawrence. “Brown-RISD Hillel 2011 Survey.” Published by Brown-RISD Hillel, 2011.

-                   Sales, Amy L., and Leonard Saxe. Limud by the Lake: Fulfilling the   Educational Potential of Jewish Summer Camps. New York, NY: Avi Chai, 2002. Print.