Tufts Hillel

Beat Midrash: A live performance and open conversation
2025-02-27 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Tufts Hillel Building, 220 Packard Ave, Medford, MA, 02155
Join us at Hillel for “Beat Midrash,” a live performance and open conversation, followed by a dessert reception. With Neta Weiner and Stav Marin, explore how creative language shapes community and drives social change. Blending music, text, and movement, the performance weaves English, Hebrew, Arabic, and Yiddish to reflect diverse cultural roots.

It tells the story of System Ali, a multilingual Jewish-Palestinian arts collective. The performance connects the audience (Kahal) and the community (Kehila) to examine art’s role in dialogue and conflict. Straddling the line between hip-hop and Klezmer, it offers a lens into the diverse city of Jaffa’s complexities while envisioning a brighter future.

Community Dinner
2025-02-25 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-02-18 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-02-11 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-02-04 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-01-28 17:30 - 18:30 | MA
Find community, make connections with your peers, and eat dinner at Hillel. Join us for a kosher meat dinner with a vegetarian option.

Food. People. Comfort.

For the most up to date info please see our social media

instagram.com/tuftshillel

facebook.com/tuftshillel

Visualizing the Divine
2025-02-24 19:00 - 20:30 | MA
Join Professor Chajes for an eye-opening exploration of ilanot, the ancient visual maps of Kabbalah. These intricate parchment scrolls, dating back to the 14th century, were used by Jewish mystics to map out the divine, blending spiritual insight with stunning imagery. Almost forgotten today, these “tree diagrams” offer a fresh perspective on how Kabbalists viewed the world, absorbed different cultural traditions, and connected with the divine. Whether you’re a history buff, a visual learner, or just curious about the intersection of religion and art, this talk will change the way you think about knowledge, spirituality, and creativity.

Background: J. H. (Yossi) Chajes (Ph.D., Yale University 1999) is the Sir Isaac Wolfson Professor of Jewish Thought in the Department of Jewish History at the University of Haifa. Chajes directs the “Ilanot Project”—an ambitious and unprecedented attempt to research kabbalistic cosmological diagrams. His pioneering work has been awarded five Israel Science Foundation (ISF) research grants, the Friedenberg Prize for the outstanding ISF-funded project in the humanities, and two Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony/Volkswagen Foundation grants to develop the digital humanities project “Maps of God – The Visual Kabbalah Portal” (ilanot.org)

Shabbat Board Games
2025-02-22 12:30 - 15:00 | MA
Stuck in a Saturday slump and craving some chai-energy and fierce board-game action? On Friday, February 22 from 12:30 to 3:00, recharge at Hillel’s conservative Minyan! Come for the services and stay for the delicious lunch, great vibes, and friendly board-game competition. You won’t want to miss it!

Shabbat Lunch at Hillel
2025-02-22 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-02-15 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-02-08 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-02-01 12:00 - 13:30, 2025-01-25 12:00 - 13:30 | MA
Join Tufts Hillel on Saturday for Shabbat lunch! No need to pre-register – just show up! All are welcome, we hope to see you there!

Saturday Morning Services
2025-02-22 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-02-08 10:00 - 12:00 | MA
Join Tufts Hillel for Saturday morning Conservative services throughout the semester. Services will take place at Hillel then followed by lunch.

Pride Shabbat
2025-02-21 18:00 - 20:30 | MA
Join Tufts Hillel for Pride Shabbat! Everyone of all backgrounds and expressions are welcome and wanted. It will be a meaningful night of community and fun – come as you are! To help us accommodate you for dinner please sign via sms/text: Text HILLEL TO 617 420 7411

Shabbat dinner is provided compliments of Hillel. If you are on an unlimited meal plan, or have the resources to do so, please allow us to subsidize your meal by using a meal swipe.

Schedule

6:00pm Community Candle Lighting and Services

7:00pm Dinner

8:00pm Special Affinity Group Discussion and Dessert

Israeli Dancing
2025-02-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Tufts Hillel Building, 220 Packard Ave, Medford, MA, 02155
Get ready to dance! Join Hillel and the Israeli Culture Club for an unforgettable Israeli Dancing Session. No experience is needed! The fabulous Katie Hamelburg will be teaching us some fun, energetic moves. So bring your friends, wear your dancing shoes, and get ready for a dance party! All are welcome!

Challah for Hunger – Challah Sale
2025-02-21 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-07 10:00 - 13:00 | MA
Are you hungry? If so, stop by the Campus center to buy delicious Challahs! The current flavors are Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Sugar, Everything Bagel, and Plain. 100% of the proceeds go to Family Table, one of the largest Jewish Food banks in the Greater Boston Area.

Challah For Hunger
2025-02-20 15:00 - 21:00, 2025-02-06 15:00 - 21:00 | MA
Challah for Hunger is a group dedicated to doing Tzedakah (charity) through baking and selling Challahs! The current flavors are Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Sugar, Everything Bagel, and Plain. 100% of the proceeds go to Family Table, one of the largest Jewish Food banks in the Greater Boston Area.

Dough 3-4PM

Braiding 5-6PM

Baking 7-9PM

Join us to bake, make new friends, and make a difference.

Sign Up!

Queer Qrafts: Prepping for Pride Shabbat
2025-02-18 18:30 - 19:30 | MA
Join us in making decorations for pride shabbat, featuring a special love-related sweet treat! We’ll have craft supplies available to celebrate queer love!

Mingle Mania Shabbat
2025-02-14 18:00 - 20:30 | MA
Join Tufts Hillel for Mingle Mania Shabbat! Everyone is welcome – bring friends, partners, or come to meet new people. It will be a night of new friends, community, and fun. We can’t wait to see you there! To help us accommodate you for dinner please sign up via sms/text: Text HILLEL TO 617 420 7411

Shabbat dinner is provided compliments of Hillel. If you are on an unlimited meal plan, or have the resources to do so, please allow us to subsidize your meal by using a meal swipe.

Schedule

6:00pm Candle Lighting & Services

7:00pm Kosher Dinner Vegetarian and meat options

First-Year Karaoke Night
2025-02-13 20:00 - 21:30 | MA
Come sing, dance, and have a blast at our karaoke night with all your first-year friends! Enjoy great food, refreshing drinks, and a lively karaoke set-up as we reunite the Class of ’28 after our retreat and warmly welcome new first-years to the community. We can’t wait to see you there!

Seder and Succulents: Tu Bishvat
2025-02-12 18:30 - 19:30 | MA
Join us for a Tu Bishvat celebration for a celebration of the trees! We’ll have an evening of discussion, community, food, plant potting and decorating, and celebrating the earth. Everyone is welcome – we can’t wait to see you there!

Broadway Shabbat
2025-02-07 17:30 - 20:30 | MA
Wicked, Hamilton, Hairspray, and more – get ready to step into the magic of Broadway with Tufts Hillel’s Broadway-themed Shabbat! Join us for a night of food, friends, and fun, along with some special surprises. We can’t wait to see you there!

Please sign up via sms/text: Text HILLEL TO 617 420 7411

Shabbat dinner is provided compliments of Hillel. If you are on an unlimited meal plan, or have the resources to do so, please allow us to subsidize your meal by using a meal swipe.

Schedule

5:30pm Candle Lighting & Services

6:30pm Mocktails and Appetizers

7:00pm Broadway Kosher Dinner Vegetarian and meat options

8:00pm Dessert

Read By The River Kickoff Paint Party
2025-02-02 01:00 - 16:00 | MA
Come paint some decorations for Read by the River, a children’s literacy carnival for the local community. Everyone is welcome regardless of artistic ability. See you there!

Campfire Shabbat
2025-01-31 17:30 - 20:30 | MA
Join Tufts Hillel for a “Shabbat around the Campfire,” with Campfire Shabbat! We will have a Pre-Shabbat: Campfire Sing-Along followed by Hot chocolate and smores after dinner.

To help us accommodate you for dinner please sign up by Wednesday at 10:00am via sms/text: Text HILLEL TO 617 420 7411

Shabbat dinner is provided compliments of Hillel. If you are on an unlimited meal plan, or have the resources to do so, please allow us to subsidize your meal by using a meal swipe.

Schedule

5:30pm Campfire Sing-Along

6:00pm Candle Lighting & Services

7:00pm Kosher Dinner Vegetarian and meat options

8:00pm Hot chocolate and smores

Cozy Dessert Crawl
2025-01-25 19:00 - 20:00 | MA
Join us for an evening of warmth, connection, and reflection! We’ll gather in front of Hillel before embarking on a cozy walking tour, stopping at various houses to enjoy delicious treats and sip on hot apple cider.

This is a chance to share stories about how your holidays went, reflect on what being Jewish means to you, and enjoy meaningful conversations with friends and community members. Whether you’re looking to connect, or simply feast on some sweets, this event promises to be a memorable way to spend an evening.

First Year Retreat
2025-01-25 18:00 - 2025-01-26 17:00 | MA
First Year Retreat offers a fantastic opportunity for first-year students to connect with their peers, make new friends, and engage with Hillel for the first time. Join a great group of of fellow students for a memorable and meaningful experience!

Sign Up!
