Jewish life at the University found a renewed identity April 10, when the Brody Jewish Center building - Hillel's 10,000 square-foot addition to its existing space at 1824 University Circle - officially opened.
"There's now this glorious space to be Jewish in together and to invite others in to experience what Jewish life is like," said Vanessa Ochs, associate professor of religious studies and member of the Jewish studies program. "The big difference is to have a glorious and capacious and welcoming space that doesn't feel like a grandma's attic, because that's what it used to feel like."
The new building, made possible by more than $2.4 million in private funding, including gifts from lead donors Dan (Class of 1973) and Nad Brody, features study spaces, student lounges, new offices and a dining room that can comfortably seat 180 students.
"We haven't before had a space where you could comfortably fit 100, 150 students for services, high holidays," said Rabbi Jake Rubin, executive director of the new center.
He said the University takes seriously the charge of creating facilities for students "to learn and to work."
"Up until this point, Jewish students haven't really had that at U.Va.," Rubin said.
He added Jewish students felt "a sense of pride" in having a new facility to call their own.
"You can see on the faces of students when they walk into that building - they're blown away," Rubin said.
In terms of the University's history, however, vibrant Jewish life is a relatively recent development, explained Phyllis Leffler, a professor in the history department.
"It's very hard for us to say that there were active quotas or that there was active discrimination," Leffler said. "But I do think it's fair to say that the University was never perceived, until the mid-20th century, as a place where Jewish students felt particularly welcomed or comfortable."
Few Jewish students attended the University during the 19th century, something Leffler chalks up to immigration patterns and the small number of Jews in the South, among other factors.
"In the 19th century, there was probably less of a view that higher education was even possible because so many people had come from immigrant families and entered into businesses," Leffler said.\nThe early 20th century, however, saw a rise in the number of Jewish applicants.
"There was a belief, of course, and there always has been, that education was absolutely critical," Leffler said. "By the early 20th century, there was a whole different group of people that were now looking to education as a way to achieve economic mobility."
Formally or informally excluded from joining existing fraternities, students organized two chapters of Jewish fraternities in 1915: Zeta Beta Tau and Phi Epsilon Pi.
Leffler said these fraternities "created a sort of comfort zone" for Jewish men at the University amid growing national anti-Semitism.
"There was an upsurge of [anti-Semitism] in the immediate aftermath of World War I," Leffler said. "Jews came with odd traditions, or so it appeared, and they became more of a scapegoat."
In years following, she said, "there was a watchful eye over the number of applicants believed to be Jewish."
Leffler said Ivey Lewis, appointed dean of the University in 1934, organized applicants into three categories: Virginians, non-Virginians and Hebrews.
Diverse applicants posed a threat to the sense the University had of itself as "a place for aristocratic Virginia gentlemen," Leffler said.
But as Jewish faculty came in larger numbers in the 1960s, the tone of the University began to change.
"For every group of people, having role models that students can somehow see themselves in ... is terribly important in terms of creating diversity at an institution," Leffler said.
Jewish faculty members at the University also have made possible what Ochs described as "one of the finest Jewish studies programs in the country."
"At many universities, Hillel might be the only place where a student can learn informally about Judaism," Ochs said. But here, she said, students can explore their Jewish identities through "intensive academic study, which is often much more satisfying than the kind of Jewish study they might have done when they were children and forced to go to Hebrew school."
Ochs said about 500 students a semester enroll in Jewish studies courses, working under 25 professors from various departments.
Rubin, in fact, graduated from the University in 2002 with a degree in religious studies. As an undergraduate at the University during the late 1990s, he became involved with Hillel after spending a semester in Israel.
In 2009, when Rubin returned to the University as the executive director of the Brody Jewish Center, he observed how Hillel had grown by means of a more open structure.
"There are now microcommunities at U.Va. within Jewish life," Rubin said. "We have multiple student groups that create avenues of entry for Jewish students no matter what their interests are. I think that's expanded Hillel's reach tremendously."
Third-year Commerce student Daniel Novick, incoming president of the Jewish Leadership Council, said he wants to expand Hillel's reach further.
"We can do a better job co-sponsoring events, and we're looking forward to doing that with other organizations," Novick said.
He also said he'd like to increase the number of interfaith dialogues Hillel sponsors.
Today, students at the University are "more open about being Jewish," Rubin said. "I think more Jewish students affiliate with some piece of Jewish life at U.Va."
Accordingly, Rubin said he thought the new building would positively affect prospective students for whom religion is a factor in college decisions.
"In the past, if someone cared a lot about Jewish life ... they might not have chosen U.Va.," Rubin said. "Today, I think there are a lot of students who choose the University because there's strong Jewish life here. Students who are serious about exploring their Jewish identity can choose U.Va. and feel like they're going to be supported."
Reflecting on the ways in which Jewish life has developed at the University, Rubin said he expected that growth to continue.
"I think today the University of Virginia is a great place to be a Jewish student," he said. "There's a growing Hillel, a first-rate Jewish studies program and it's a great school"
Read More
Collyn Clark reflects on Space Workforce 2030, building an inclusive space industry
By Carly Stender | 1 hours agoClark said programs such as the SWF 2030 internship can serve as launch pads for a career in the aerospace industry.
The White Spot: an iconic diner etched in student nightlife
By Alexa Graham | YesterdayThe White Spot is a timeless diner for Charlottesville residents and students looking for a greasy spoon infused with University spirit.
Dreaming of drunken noodles at Thai Cuisine and Noodle House
By Lizzy Goldstein | 4 days agoI was amazed by how the tamarind sauce and variety of spices created a cohesive link among all the dishes, tying the dinner together and leaving everyone feeling satiated.
