Shabbat and Holidays
Saturday Morning Minyan (SMM)
On Some Saturday mornings, there is an egalitarian service, also led entirely by students. Participants include undergraduates, graduated students, professors and community members. For more information, contact Natasha Freeman.
There is always lunch at 12:30 pm.
Many students stay around the building during the afternoon, reading, playing games or hanging out. Student leadership organizes the third meal and a beautiful Havdalah service weekly as well.
Holidays
Holidays are also celebrated in full at Hillel. There are Reform and Conservative High Holiday services every fall, as well as dinners, learning opportunities and a delicious break-fast after Yom Kippur. Students help put up a Sukkah as it gets a little colder, and the community enjoys gathering for meals and social events, including sleepovers! An annual Hanukkah Bash draws hundreds of students for latkes and entertainment, Purim brings Megillah readings and celebrations and when Passover falls on school days, there is kosher-for-passover food and unique seder opportunities available. Though it may not be Bubbie's, you will be sure to get a taste of classic Jewish food from Hamentaschen to latkes and a warm community with whom to share the holidays.
Check out our photo gallery to see pictures from various holiday events.
Shabbat
There is a special atmosphere on Shabbat at Brown-RISD Hillel. There are
four student-led service options every Friday night that attract
between 10-80 students each.
-
The Havurah Minyan encourages
all participants to pursue a meaningful connection with a greater
power, through whatever means they like--be it prayer, song, meditation,
or even dance--within a basic traditional egalitarian framework. The
Havurah minyan's services are song-filled, energetic and joyous. Begins
at 6:00pm. Contact: Solomon_Goldstein_Rose@brown.edu
- The Conservative Minyan: An egalitarian service in the Conservative tradition, that meets weekly for Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv. Begins at 6:30pm. Contact: Alex Kleiman
- The Orthodox Minyan's service is a traditional one, with a mechitza (partition) separating men and women during prayers. Begins at 6:30pm. Contact: Natasha_Freeman@brown.edu
On
weeks when Shabbat starts early, students often gather to play games or
have discussions before services and dinner. Students come dressed in
anything from jeans and sweatshirts with backpacks, to skirts and ties.
After services, the community gathers together in the lobby for Shalom
Aleichem, Kiddush and announcements. Hillel also serves a weekly
Shabbat dinner to approximately 75-200 students. All dinners are open to
anyone in the Brown and RISD student community. Many Shabbat dinners
are themed, featuring themes such as Israel Shabbat, the locally sourced
annual Sacred Foods Shabbat, and the Annual Rabbi Bernard Mandelbaum
Student-Faculty Shabbat Dinner.