Yavneh at Columbia University

Encyclopedia : Y : YA : YAV : Yavneh at Columbia University

Yavneh, the orthodox group of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, offers one of the strongest independent communities of observant Jewish students on any college campus. Located in the heart of New York City, it utilizes resources coming not only from within its own constituents, but from the greater Hillel, based in the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, and from outside the college as well. We offer two minyanim for Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv every day. All other programs originate from within our own board and committees, as well as from the various social, Israel, and religious groups of the general Jewish campus community. The extensive foundation of the Yavneh community can be seen primarily in the respective categories of Religious life and Torah learning, Social programming, Shabbat on campus, and Chesed opportunities. While the assessment below is a very brief description and overview, we hope it will shed light on the exceptional things that go on here.

Contents

0.1 Shiurim and Torah learning
0.2 Social life
0.3 Shabbat
0.4 Chessed

1 Yavneh Board
2 See also

Shiurim and Torah learning

The Beit Midrash Committee, a Hillel group, actively engages Columbia and Barnard students in traditional Jewish learning. The BMC brings guest speakers to the Kraft Center for Jewish Student life on a regular basis. These speakers hail from institutions as close as Yeshiva University (only a few blocks uptown) and Stern College for Women, and as far as various Yeshivot and Seminaries in Israel. The topics of these shiurim are usually focused on important/controversial topics of the Modern Orthodox world. Oftentimes, these speakers publicize important post-graduate learning opportunities, such as the Stern graduate program in Talmudic studies, and the year round learning program of Yeshivat Hamivtar in Jerusalem. Many of our members continue learning in these programs after their graduation.

The Beit Midrash Committee also provides classes that continue over the course of the entire semester, and which usually meet at least once a week. Whether through a student led “Nach Yomi” learning session which takes place every day after mincha, or in weekly shiurim in classical study of gemarah, there is ample opportunity for Yavneh members to remain involved in consistent and constant torah study throughout their college careers.

Wednesday Night Learning Program (WNLP), which meets every Wednesday night, offers an opportunity for Yavneh members to learn in a more relaxed atmosphere, one which also incorporates the greater Hillel community. Torah learning can often become a burden for students engaged in the rigors of a college program, and is sometimes viewed as a time-consuming responsibility rather than an opportunity for growth. WNLP helps to reverse this trend, making torah learning a unique community event not to be missed.

Social life

Being that social interaction is the most basic need of any community of young adults, Yavneh provides a unique setting for Modern Orthodox students. Our events include a picnic in central park, a trip to a Monster Truck Rally, a Purim concert/chagiga, a basketball game against NYU’s orthodox organization, and countless other social programs which the city of New York offers us. Through these programs the community becomes a true home for its members. Our belief on the importance of social programming comes from the most basic assumption that general happiness, besides being a glorious end in itself, also leads to greater involvement. When members feel that Yavneh is doing its best to give them a good, frum, and fun time, the entire community reaps the benefits of the subsequently warm and relaxed atmosphere.

Our social programs have been appreciated by other Orthodox college communities such as NYU’s Shalhevet, as well as by men and women from Stern College and Yeshiva University.

Shabbat

Shabbat in Columbia University has always been popular, not only for students who go here, but also for their friends in other universities. Students and members of Yeshiva university, Stern College, Yachad, Bnei Akiva, and many others consistently choose Yavneh as a destination for the weekend. Because of our location in New York City, some of our members travel home for the weekends. Nonetheless, approximately 300 students show up at Friday night for the Carlebach style services on an average Shabbat. The dvar torah every Friday night is given by a Columbia or Barnard student on the Torah portion of that week. Meals are offered at the Hewitt Dining Hall, and this option has recently been attracting increasing numbers of first-year students. Upperclassmen, most of whom live in residences with kitchens, make meals in their suites with friends and guests. On any given Friday night, one can find many traditional Shabbat meals going on all over campus. Three times each semester, Yavneh offers a community-wide Friday night “tisch” at the Kraft center, with singing, chulent, and divrei torah from students. The most recent Yavneh tisch attracted approximately 200 students. Special shiurim and programs are offered on Shabbat, as well. There is a parsha class given by the Orthdodox Hillel rabbi on several weekends during the semester. A half an hour before mincha, “Shiurs by your Peers” takes place, in which a student presents a lecture in a certain area of Halachic/Jewish philosophical interest. Bikur Cholim, a program which visits the sick of nearby St. Luke’s Hospital, departs from the Columbia gates about an hour before mincha on Shabbat as well. Exactly how many people have met their spouses while engaged in this great mitzvah, we will never really know.

Seuda Shlishit Committee, composed of members from all the different religious groups of the Hillel, leads slow singing before maariv and communal havdalah. For many, this is a highlight of the week, a chance for the entire Hillel Jewish community to get together as one group and to sing as one.

Chessed

The Yavneh Chesed Committee works throughout the academic year to participate in and raise money for various charities and organizations. Last year, over 2,000 dollars were raised through Chesed’s participation in the annual MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Walk in central park. Matanot L’evyonim, charity for the poor, is collected every year around the Purim holiday. Visits to a nearby Nursing Home are organized every Friday morning. Perhaps most importantly, Yavneh Chesed commits itself to a major fundraising project every year. By the end of the 2005 spring semester, we will have raised over 9,000 dollars to purchase an emergency response motorcycle for Hatzolah in Israel. “Mission Motorcycle” as it is now called, collects funds through Chagigas, raffles (including our newest intiative “Jet to Jerusalem” which raffles off an El Al ticket to Israel to the winner), and auctions.

Yavneh Board