Eli Zimble

Hillel Nadler

Orthodox Life at Harvard University

Sustained by small and intimate 50-person community, Orthodox life at Harvard works hand-in-hand with academics at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. With daily minyanim and incredible programming to boot, Harvard is a great place to be an Orthodox Jew!

Kosher Dining at Harvard

The Kosher Dining Hall is located within Harvard Hillel and is operated by Harvard University Dining Services. The dining hall serves a hot meat buffet dinner every night and Shabbat and holiday dinners and lunches. There is no additional charge to eat in the kosher dining hall as it is part of all undergraduate meal plans.

For breakfast and lunch throughout the week there are “kosher corners” in every residential house dining hall that are stocked with frozen foods, yogurts, breads and bagels and other miscellaneous foods. In addition, they have a microwave and some may also have a waffle maker.

Lastly, many of the pre-packaged cold food items put out throughout the residential dining halls have kosher supervision.

Shabbat at Harvard

After Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma'ariv, approximately 150 students who come to Shabbat dinner in the kosher dining hall. Students often host onegs in their rooms after dinner and JLIC also hosts onegs in Hillel throughout the year.

About 50 students eat at Hillel for Shabbat lunch, which is accompanied by lively zemirot. In the afternoon there is a weekly Shabbat afternoon shiur on various topics.

The Orthodox Student Minyan organizes a Seudah Shlishit every week with lots of food, drinks, zemirot and divrei Torah. Members of the entire community, including non-Orthodox students, come to Seudah Shlishit.

There is a 25-mile eruv that encompasses much of Cambridge and parts of neighboring Somerville. The eruv extends to the Memorial Drive but does not cross over to the grassy area around the Charles River.

OSM and the Harvard Hillel Orthodox Minyan: The Orthodox Community at Harvard

The Orthodox Minyan at Harvard Hillel is an inter-generational community of about 250 people, representing undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty and community members. The Minyan is governed by a board that has representation of all the constituents of the community. There is great effort to make sure that the Chair of the Minyan is an undergraduate. Additionally, the Minyan oversees a number of subcommittees for affairs such as education, tzedakah, and hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests).

Additionally, there is the Orthodox Student Minyan (OSM) which is entirely composed of undergraduates. Despite its name, OSM does not have a minyan but rather functions to provide events, both social and learning, for the undergraduate Orthodox population. OSM has a budget from Hillel and has a leadership structure that is elected every year.

For more information on the community, its various listservs, and operations, contact [ ], current OSM president.

Housing at Harvard

All freshmen live in Harvard Yard and all upperclassmen live in assigned houses after their freshman year. There are several freshmen dorms and upperclassman houses that have non-electronic key access and one can request to live in one of them by indicating such on one's housing application.

About Harvard Hillel

Harvard Hillel is the catalyst for Jewish life at Harvard, serving the cultural, religious, educational, social, and political needs of all segments of the undergraduate and graduate Jewish student communities.

Run as an independent, student-run community center, Harvard Hillel boasts a beautiful Moshe Safdie designed building, ample space for events, a student lounge and place to study and hang out throughout the day. Harvard Hillel has an undergraduate student steering committee that makes many important decisions on the programmatic calendar for Hillel and involves other students in creating events and social opportunities. There are six members of the steering committee and they are elected in the spring semester and serve a term of two semesters.

Find out more at hillel.harvard.edu!