Jewish Program and Resources

Currently, about 17 percent of the undergraduates at Union College currently identify themselves as Jewish. The plentiful resources for Jewish students at Union include several academic courses of Jewish interest, activities sponsored by Hillel, AEPi, the Multifaith Council and educational and cultural events in the Capital Region's dynamic Jewish community. The Schenectady Jewish community is home to Reform, Conservative and Orthodox synagogues as well as a beautiful Jewish Community Center. Chapters of many national Jewish organizations also can be found in Schenectady. The headquarters of the United Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY, whose region extends from the tri-city area north to Saratoga and Glens Falls, is located in Albany.

Hillel is the official organization of the Jewish students on campus. In the spring of 2009, Union's Hillel was selected by Hillel International to take part in the "Small and Mighty Campuses of Excellence II," a pilot program to enhance Jewish life on small campuses. Organized and funded by the Soref Initiative for Emerging Campuses, the program offers new opportunities for alternative break trips, grants and priority for Taglit, an organization that provides educational trips to Israel for young Jewish adults.

Like the other religious organizations on campus, it depends entirely on outside sources to sustain itself. Donations from alumni, parents and friends relieve the staff and students of spending their time fund-raising and enable them to concentrate on bringing meaningful Jewish programming to the Union College campus.

In recent years Hillel has undertaken a commitment to provide more comprehensively for students' religious needs while away from home. Rabbis have been hired to conduct Rosh Hashana and/or Yom Kippur services on campus. A large sukkah embraces visitors in Jackson's Garden in the fall. The campus Passover seder has become a popular event, and the Kosher Kitchen provides kosher-for-Passover dinners for the entire week of Pesach.  Friday afternoon finds a group of students in the kitchen preparing for Shabbat dinner.  Shabbat services attract new faces and are followed by an opportunity to socialize at Shabbat dinner in the Kosher Kitchen.