“Thinking About the Jewish Component in Your Child’s Choice of College”

  We know how the seminaries of our various movements have created programs for others than their rabbinic and cantorial students. Pardon the mixed metaphor but it’s the mountain going to Mohammad in order to pique the interest of potential students and, of course, raise a bit of money for their institutions. And in this time of virtual learning there are many programs being made available for just about anybody. But I just received the catalogue of the Jewish Studies Program of Indiana University in Bloomington (Breaking Away and Hoosiers, two great movies about the city and the university), and I am so impressed by their offerings. I’m sharing this with you, especially parents of middle- and high school students who are beginning to think about where to attend college. It’s good for our kids to find a college that has something attracting Jewish students; IU certainly does.

  I’m mentioning these programs just for you to get an idea of the breadth of topics, some of which I surely wouldn’t have thought of. They reflect a very diverse faculty and the realization that what attracted one generation of our students might not attract this generation.

“The Jew Who Would Be King: One Man’s Quest for a Crown in Africa”

“We Renounce Hymns: Form and Voice in American Yiddish Holocaust Poetry”

“Sex, Segregation and Women’s Exclusion: Israel’s New Civil Rights Frontier”

“Jews and the American South: Race, Religion, Region”

  For ten years IU has had a research program, “The Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism,” the only one of its kind in the United States. 

  IU has a modern Hebrew language program, a very extensive list of publications focusing on Jewish subjects, and an active alumni organization made up of graduates who have gone on to become cantors and rabbis, educators and communal workers in the Jewish world.

  I have absolutely no connection with Indiana University; I just happened to have received this catalogue. Again, my purpose is to encourage thought about choosing a college/university that, in addition to its academic excellence, has Jewish programming, even a Hillel organization. Our kids - especially from a small community such as ours – need a place where they can feel comfortable, learn more about their faith and culture, and, yes, perhaps meet a future mate.