Tufts Hillel

Chanukah Candle Lighting
2025-12-15 05:00 - 17:30, 2025-12-16 17:00 - 17:30, 2025-12-17 17:00 - 17:30, 2025-12-18 17:00 - 17:30 (America/New_York) | Tufts Hillel Building, 220 Packard Ave, Medford, MA, 02155
Still on campus for Chanukah during finals? Join us for lighting candles throughout Chanukah at Tufts Hillel! We will have candles and Chanukiyot to light together as a community. Looking forward to celebrating with you!

Schedule for candle lightings:

Sunday 12/14 – 7pm

Monday 12/15 – 5pm

Tuesday 12/16 – 5pm

Wednesday 12/17 – 5pm

Thursday 12/18 – 5pm

Friday 12/19 – Sunday 12/21 – Hillel closed for Winter Break

Texts and Values: A Weekly Jewish Study Circle
2025-12-16 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-23 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-12-30 16:30 - 17:30, 2026-01-06 16:30 - 17:30, 2026-01-13 16:30 - 17:30, 2026-01-20 16:30 - 17:30 | Tufts Hillel Building, 220 Packard Ave, Medford, MA, 02155
Join Rabbi Naftali Brawer for a weekly exploration of Jewish values and ethical teachings embedded in ancient Jewish texts. No prior knowledge is required, just curiosity and an open mind.

Community Dinner
2025-12-16 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-12-23 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-12-30 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-01-06 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-01-13 17:30 - 18:30, 2026-01-20 17:30 - 18:30 | MA
Join us for a free mid-week Kosher catered dinner! Come for the food, stay for the people! Check the instagram on Tuesday morning for what’s being served.

Food. People. Comfort.

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

instagram.com/tuftshillel

facebook.com/tuftshillel

Talmud Chaburah
2025-12-19 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-12-26 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-02 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-09 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-16 10:00 - 11:00 | Tufts Hillel Building, 220 Packard Ave, Medford, MA, 02155
Want to take sharpen your Talmud skills? Join a weekly, text-based study group where you’ll work through the Hebrew/Aramaic of the Gemara together, sharpening both reading skills and analytical thinking. Guided by Rabbi Brawer, this chaburah offers a collaborative space for deep learning and thoughtful discussion.

Prerequisite: Participants should be comfortable reading Talmud in the original Hebrew/Aramaic.

Shabbat at Tufts Hillel
2026-01-02 18:00 - 2026-01-03 17:00, 2026-01-09 18:00 - 2026-01-10 17:00, 2026-01-16 18:00 - 2026-01-17 17:00 | MA
Shabbat at Tufts Hillel

Shabbat is an opportunity to unplug from the week and plug into rest of all kinds as a community. On Shabbat, we invite you to step away from school, technology, and other stressors of the week, and step into holy rest and celebration at Tufts Hillel! We’re so happy you’re spending Shabbat with us.

Friday Nights:

Candle Lighting: Every Friday, join us in the Hillel lobby as we transition into Shabbat with a communal candle lighting and intention-setting. Candles will also be available to light on your own time as you arrive at the Hillel building. In the winter, feel free to come by earlier to light candles as the sun sets.Services: After candle lighting, welcome Shabbat with prayer in our Reform or Traditional Egalitarian services. Services are student led, with song, dvar torahs, intention setting, and a way to begin the weekly holiday with joy as a community.

Interested in leading a part of the service? Want to bring a melody you love, or a poem you want to share? Looking to learn some of the prayers? Looking to start (or re-start) a new minyan or service during Shabbat? Contact our staff or Tufts Hillel minyan chairs!

Shabbat Dinner: There is always a place for you around our Shabbat table! All students are welcome – bring your friends or come make new ones at Hillel every week for our delicious kosher Shabbat dinners. Each week is facilitated by a cohort of Shabbat Fellows, who are there to welcome you, facilitate the evenings, and ensure everyone who attends feels at home.Dinner concludes with Birkat Hamazon (the blessing after meals), dessert, and board games – we would love to see you for any or all parts of Friday night you can make it for!Registration for Shabbat dinner is strongly encouraged. To Sign up for weekly Shabbat dinners and to receive information about Shabbat each week, sign up for our text bot system:

Text the word ‘Dinner’ to 617 420 7411

click here to see upcoming Shabbats

Saturdays:

Shabbat at Tufts Hillel continues on Saturday mornings, with bi-weekly Saturday morning Conservative services. All students are welcome!

Following Shabbat morning services, join us for Shabbat lunch upstairs at Hillel. To register for Shabbat lunch, text the word ‘lunch” to 617 429 7411.

Shabbat at Tufts Hillel concludes on Saturday afternoons and evenings, with bi-weekly mincha and maariv services, dinner, singing, and Havdalah! Join us for any or all parts of the evenings as we conclude the day of rest as a community

All are welcome! We look forward to celebrating with you.

For questions please email hillel-center@tufts.edu

Spring 2026 Student Board Applications
2026-01-18 17:00 | MA
Interested in building Jewish community on campus? Join Hillel board! This is a great opportunity to help shape what Jewish life looks like at Tufts, and it is also a really fun and exciting way to get more involved with Hillel yourself! The entire Hillel student board meets weekly from 12:00-1:15 pm on Mondays, but applicants must also be available for additional meetings and/or programming. The Junior rep will serve on the Community Branch, and the holidays co-chairs will work on the Religious & Spiritual Branch.

PLEASE SUBMIT THIS APPLICATION FORM BY SUNDAY JANUARY 18, 2026 AT 5PM EST: https://forms.gle/tuw5QhU7m7TR39Gu5

Holidays Co-Chairs: The Holidays co-chairs are responsible for coordinating programming related to the Jewish holidays, including but not limited to Sukkot, Chanukah, and Purim. The Holidays Co-Chairs are responsible for planning and executing larger holiday celebrations, such as for Chanukah and Purim, as well smaller events relating to Jewish holidays, such as T”u BiShvat, Rosh Chodesh, Passover, the High Holidays, and more. For holidays that include prayer services, they will work together with the Reform/Conservative Minyan coordinators to plan programming. If you have any questions, please reach out to Sarah Grand or Eli Fraiman at sarah.grand@tufts.edu or elijah.fraiman@tufts.edu

Junior Representative: The community branch is responsible for cultivating the larger Tufts Hillel community and keeping students engaged in Jewish life after their first year. This may include, but is not limited to, social programming open to the entire Tufts community, social programming tailored specifically to each class year, and/or longer campaigns that foster community and increase social interactions with others through Hillel. Note: One must be in/of junior standing in order to apply for this position. If you have any questions, please reach out to Sydney Cohen or Eli Fraiman at sydney.cohen@tufts.edu or elijah.fraiman@tufts.edu

Note: In accordance with the TCU and TCUJ bylaws for student organizations, All members of the Tufts community paying the undergraduate student activity fee may run for and hold any General Board elected office.
