Student Life: Jewish Life, 1964-2023 | Oberlin College Archives

The Jewish Life collection documents various aspects of Jewish student life at Oberlin. The majority of the materials are from various Jewish student groups and publications, Kosher Halal Cooperative (founded originally as Kosher Cooperative), the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies (JNES) Department, and Hebrew House. There are also smaller amounts of religious materials, materials concerning interfaith/intergroup work and the role of non-profit organizations, and discourse surrounding antisemitism and Zionism. The materials are organized into subgroups based on their provenance.

Subgroup I (1964-2015) consists of materials accumulated and stored in a file cabinet belonging to the Jewish student group Oberlin Hillel and Cleveland Hillel staff. Subgroup II (2016-2023) consists of materials collected and curated by Elliot Diaz ‘23 in his capacity as a board member of Oberlin Hillel, member of Kosher Halal Co-op, and advocate for the preservation of Kosher Halal Co-op. Subgroup III (1987-2021) consists of the materials left behind by Kosher Halal Co-op in Talcott Hall. Subgroup IV consists of materials donated from alumni related to Jewish student life and Kosher Halal Co-op.

Subgroup I is divided into alphabetical series by topic and into folders by type of material. There are instances in which a folder contains multiple types of materials due to the paucity of certain materials. The dates of materials range from 1964 to 2015, but the majority of the records are from 1974 up through the 1990s. These materials speak to the interconnected nature of Jewish life at Oberlin College through records primarily assembled (and often written) by the Advisor to Jewish Students. The majority of the records were compiled by two Advisors during their tenure: Neil Kauffman (1974-1977) and Rabbi Shimon Brand (1977-2015). The subgroup also contains some religious materials compiled by Rabbi Megan Doherty (2017-2022). Kauffman and Brand’s role as Advisors both shapes this subgroup’s provenance and documents the variety of groups and issues pertinent to their role.

The materials that the Advisor and Oberlin Hillel collected are inclusive of smaller organizations that either fell under Hillel’s purview, Hillel members or staff helped to organize, and/or broke away from Oberlin Hillel. These groups include the Jewish Women’s Group, Hoshen (a Jewish men’s group), Kadima (a reform/progressive Jewish group), a Soviet Jewry group, the Oberlin Zionists, the Progressive Zionist caucus, Tiferet/Zehut, and Kosher Halal Co-op (formerly Kosher Co-op). Many of these organizations have their own series or are otherwise included under the series ‘Jewish Life.’ The series ‘Jewish Life’ consists of materials that relate to multiple organizations, speak to the experiences of multiple aspects of Jewish life on Oberlin’s campus, or materials related to Jewish life that necessitate an item-level description. Further descriptions of the contents of the series can be found in the Jewish Life case file. Overall, one of this subgroup’s strengths is its documentation that captures the complex nature of Jewish life on Oberlin’s campus. However, there are gaps within the collection due to missing pages, lack of dates, or unclear authorship.

Subgroup II consists of materials collected and curated by Elliot Diaz ’23. This subgroup contains two series: Series 1. Oberlin Hillel and Series 2. Kosher Halal Co-Op. Materials in Series 1 include materials from Diaz’s time on the board of Oberlin Hillel and materials found on Oberlin Hillel’s social media accounts and Google Drive. The contents pertain to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oberlin Hillel leadership and events, the departure of the Director of Oberlin Jewish Life, Rabbi Megan Doherty (2022), and materials used during Oberlin Hillel religious events. Materials in Series 2 document Diaz’s time as a member of Kosher Halal Co-op (KHC), his time as an advocate for KHC and students with religious dietary restrictions, the khcoberlin@gmail.com email and Google Drive, and the posts of @kosherhalaalcoop account on Instagram. For more detail on the curation of this subgroup, see the curation note contained within the case file.

Subgroup III contains materials that were in the physical possession of Kosher Halal Co-op in 2020. Many of the materials found in this subgroup supplement materials in the previous subgroups by providing more examples of religious materials used in partnership with Oberlin Hillel. There are materials unique to this subgroup, including student art, a selection of pertinent co-op financial records, recipes, memorials to students, photographs, and save plate labels (see series description).

Subgroup IV contains alumni materials related to Jewish Life and Kosher Halal Co-op. As of 2023, this subgroup contains materials from alumni Michael Appel ’83 and Josh Shuman ’86.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subgroup I. Oberlin Hillel, 1964-2015, n.d. (1.0 l.f.)

This subgroup is arranged in fifteen series, and it documents various groups, themes, and individuals affiliated with campus Jewish life, with a focus on the 1970s-90s.

            Series 1. Antisemitism 1990-91, c. 1994, n.d. (0.02 l.f.)

            This series contains defaced materials (such as posters) and correspondence that document antisemitic incidents on Oberlin’s campus See also Series 10 for documentation related to Kwame Ture’s 1989 and 1996 speeches at Oberlin.

            Series 2. Campus Ministry (later the Office of Religious Life), 1969-97                                     (0.06 l.f.)

            The materials in this series. likely compiled by Neil Kauffman and Rabbi Shimon Brand, contain records of the Office’s mission and activities, the duties of specific team members associated with different religious traditions, and correspondence about the Office’s future. The series includes correspondence from supporters of the Campus Ministry Office. See also Series 13 for the materials of the Religious Interest Committee.

            Series 3. Hebrew House, 1969-80, n.d. (0.08 l.f.)

This series documents Hebrew House’s early history, including calendars of early Winter Term events, fliers for events held at Hebrew House (later Johnson House), and correspondence about the house’s affiliation, as well as other materials that document its early history. Materials in this series also document how Hebrew House’s relationship with the JNES (Jewish and Near Eastern Studies) department and the position of the Advisor to Jewish Students varied over time.

            Series 4. Intergroup Dialogues, 1987, n.d. (0.02 l.f.)

            The materials within this series document discussions between white Jews and Black non-Jews. The materials include correspondence, a project proposal for the Oberlin Church Rebuilding Project–an effort Oberlin Jews organized to help rebuild historically Black churches in the South, an untitled reflection on “Black and Jewish dialogues,” and a Winter Term project called “Narratives of the other: Blacks & Jews.” See also Series 10 for materials related to Kwame Toure’s 1989 and 1996 speeches at Oberlin.

            Series 5. Jewish Life, 1964-2005, n.d. (0.1 l.f.)

            The Jewish Life series contains materials related to multiple, separate organizations, singular issues of Oberlin publications that are Jewish or relate to Jewish life on campus, the Experimental College (ExCo), and miscellaneous materials. The calendars include Neil Kauffman’s newsletter/calendar “Jewish Life at Oberlin,” relevant copies of the Oberlin College Newscope, the Jewish Student Union calendar, the Oberlin College Jewscope, and the schedule of a Jewish film series. The calendars mention topics such as Jewish ExCos, Kosher Co-op, the celebration of religious holidays, Israel, and Zionism. The folder entitled ExCos contains correspondence, filers for Jewish ExCos, ExCo course catalogs and syllabi, and a letter from the Radical Judaism ExCo. The publications in this series include an issue of the Wilder Voice that discusses Zionism, What: News about Oberlin Jewish Life, and the JAGazine (Jewish Advocacy Group).

The two folders within this series entitled “General” contain materials related to Yiddish at Oberlin, materials concerning the protest of classes on High Holidays, reflections on the nature of Jewish life on campus, surveys of Jewish students, brochures about Jewish life, and reports and abstracts of Jewish events not clearly affiliated with a particular organization. The General materials additionally include materials on Jewish women, anonymous poetry, a letter from the Oberlin College Alumni Association to the General Faculty Council outlining problems for Jewish students on campus, and materials related to the 1995 Ad Hoc Committee on Jewish Chaplaincy. An item-level inventory of materials in the General folders can be found in the case file.

            Series 6. Jewish Socialist Community, 1981-c.1990, n.d. (0.02 l.f.)

            Founded in 1978 by Daniel Soyer ’79, Stuart Schear ‘79, and Flo (Feygl) Jacobs ’80, the Jewish Socialist Community, in the words of co-founded Daniel Soyer ’79, was “committed to the idea that Jewishness should be linked with a progressive political outlook.”^{^[1]} The administrative and correspondence folder contains the organization’s statement of purpose, charter, and an unaddressed letter or unsigned reflection entitled “Jewish Socialist Community/Oberlin Zionist community” which describes the organization’s discussions on renaming itself. The Publications folder contains two issues of the group’s periodical, Nimrod, and a leaflet condemning Meir Kahana. See also Series 12, as the Progressive Zionist Caucus’s Statement of Purpose writes that they were formerly known as the “Jewish Socialist Committee” and see Subgroup IV. Series 2. for the Jewish Socialist Community’s Haggadah.

            Series 7. Jewish Studies Department, 1970-96 (0.06 l.f.)  

Renamed the Jewish Studies Department (JWST) in 1998, the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies Program (JNES) was founded in 1971. The administrative and correspondence materials in this series documents Rabbi Shimon Brand’s role in relation to the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies Department (JNES), requests for an addition to permanent staff, and a 1987 outside evaluation of the department. The publications include printed materials, published by Oberlin College, promoting the department itself and a 1980 Jewish Studies Winter Term. The series also includes curricula materials: the syllabus of a JNES course taught by Rabbi Shimon Brand, scans of JNES course offerings in 1979-80, 1984-85, and 1989-89, and a coursebook for a 1985 class in Hasidism. See also Series 3 and fliers throughout the collection, as events were often co-sponsored by JNES/JWST.

            Series 8. Kadima, 1979-90, n.d. (0.01 l.f.)

            This series includes information about Kadima’s role as a progressive Jewish student organization inspired by the Reform movement, its 1989-90 budget, and fliers advertising its meetings.

            Series 9. Kosher Halal Cooperative, 1972-98 (0.06 l.f.)

            Originally named Kosher Co-op, this series documents Kosher Halal Co-op’s founding, policies, relationship with the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA), the role of Rabbi Shimon Brand as the co-op’s advisor, and major turning points in the co-op’s history, such as the 1987 petition for Kosher to be allowed to stay in Talcott Hall. The correspondence in this series documents: the proposed changes to the location of Kosher Co-op, renovations, Hillel’s 1993 William Haber award for “Reaching the Granola Kids: The Oberlin Kosher Cooperative,” student perspectives on the state of the co-op and the role of Rabbi Shimon Brand, the relationship between Rabbi Shimon Brand as the co-op’s advisor and OSCA presidents, the co-op’s name change from Kosher Co-op to Kosher Halal Co-op, and Kosher Co-op’s finances and food service license. Financial materials include 1994 financial comparisons between KHC and other OSCA co-ops, documenting membership and cost comparisons, as well as a bill for Hillel for the co-op’s preparation of Shabbat dinners, which includes the number of non-KHC members who attended these dinners. The fliers included in the series encourage people to join the co-op and advertise events held at Kosher Co-op in Talcott Hall. Additional fliers that mention the co-op can also be found in Series 11, as events held at Kosher Co-op were often sponsored or co-sponsored by Oberlin Hillel. These events include Friday Shabbat services and dinners, Hanukkah candle-lightings, text studies, and study groups. Materials in the Miscellaneous folder include a piece of writing about the William Haber award and materials related to the 1987 movement for Kosher Co-op to remain in Talcott Hall. The membership materials include a list of members and a contract for upholding the laws of kashrut, Jewish religious dietary laws, in the co-op. The board minutes and policies of the Oberlin Student Co-operative Association (OSCA) related to KHC are also included in this series, including the 1987 merger.

            Series 10. Kwame Ture, 1989, 1996 (0.03 l.f.)

            This series includes materials related to two speeches Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael) gave at Oberlin in 1989 and 1996. Jewish students protested these speeches due to previous statements given by Ture and the official positions of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP), which Ture worked full-time as an organizer. The materials document how his speeches sparked a campus dialogue about the meaning of antisemitism, Zionism, and free speech on campus. Some of the materials include letters to the editor of the Oberlin Review, personal correspondence, A-APRP material, and leaflets objecting to Ture and the A-APRP.

            Series 11. Oberlin Hillel: Student Group, 1964-65, c.1970s-2015 (0.3 l.f.)

            This series contains a calendar, correspondence, fliers, programming reports, minutes, resolutions, and religious materials. The calendar provides information about Hillel’s cultural events for the year 1964-5. The correspondence included concerns about transportation to High Holiday services for students in the 1960s, Hillel meetings, requests for the 1984 Women’s Haggadah, and the 1992 William Haber Award. The fliers advertise general Hillel meetings, a meeting to discuss the cancellation of classes on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, various types of Shabbat services, Lox and Bagel brunches, Israel round tables, a redecoration of Hillel’s room in Wilder Hall, Hoshen (a Jewish men’s group), as well as a flier signed by Hillel (in addition to other organizations) that indicates it was distributed at commencement in 1987. The minutes and resolutions in this series are limited to one Hillel meeting in 1976 and resolutions regarding the Jewish student publication Tiferet. Hillel’s programming reports include one report on campus Jewish life under Neil Kauffman (c.1974-77) with the rest from Rabbi Shimon Brand. The reports include numbers of attendees, descriptions of events (such as the annual beginning of the year cookout), summaries of different Shabbat services, mentions of prominent speakers such as Edward Said’s visit, collaborations with and events held by other Jewish student groups, including the Progressive Zionist Caucus/Oberlin Zionists, Hebrew House, Kosher Co-op, a Reform study group, a Jewish women’s group, and Tiferet. This series also includes a report on a seminar in “Jewish and Christian views of the self and other.”

            The religious materials in this series are texts compiled for and used in Oberlin Hillel’s Jewish religious services. These include songs, prayers, and textual or meditative supplements to siddurim, machorzim (used during the High Holidays), and haggadot (used during Passover). The language of the materials varies, containing English, Hebrew, Aramaic, and often contain transliteration from Hebrew script to Roman script. There are a variety of themed haggadot including LGBT, feminist, and women’s haggadot and supplements.

            Series 12. Oberlin Zionists/Progressive Zionist Caucus, 1989, 1996 (0.01 l.f.)

            This series documents the Statement of Purpose and Goals of the student group the Progressive Zionist caucus, its renaming as the Oberlin Zionists, and the events and speakers the organization hosted in 1989 and 1996. See also Series 11 for mentions of Oberlin Zionists and Progressive Zionist Caucus in programming reports.

            Series 13. Religious Interest Committee (RIC), 1984-85, 1992 (0.02 l.f.)

            This series documents the Religious Interest Committee’s (RIC) evaluation of Oberlin’s Campus Ministry and recommendations about its future. Composed of faculty, staff, and students (with campus ministry staff as non-voting members), the RIC’s final study documents changes in the position of the Advisor to Jewish Students, subsequently redesignated as the Jewish Chaplin. Materials include a flier advertising an open hearing for students sponsored by the RIC, the committee’s final report, a summary of that report, RIC minutes, and correspondence concerning the history of Campus Ministry and RIC’s collaboration with long-range planning committees. See also Series 2 for correspondence regarding the future of Campus Ministry.

Series 14. Tiferet, 1990-92, n.d. (0.01 l.f.)

            The materials in this series document the progressive Jewish student publication Tiferet, as well as students prominently involved in the publication and their relationship with Oberlin Hillel. Included are the group’s charter, the December 1990 issue, correspondence from the group about subscriptions, a letter about the group from a former co-chair of Hillel, and a letter to Tiferet from a Hillel staff person. See also Series 15.

            Series 15. Zehut, c. 1990 (0.01 l.f.)

            This series contains a draft of a letter to the editor about Zehut and part of an unnamed reflection or letter about the publication. These materials document Zehut’s history and name change to Tiferet, along with its relationship to Oberlin Hillel. See also Series 14.

Subgroup II. Materials Collected and Curated by Elliot Diaz, 2015-23 (0.4 l.f)

The materials in this subgroup consist entirely of printouts of digital files. Divided into two series, this subgroup documents Jewish student life during the COVID-19 pandemic, the student organization Oberlin Hillel during and after the tenure of Rabbi Megan Doherty as the Jewish Chaplin and Director of Jewish Life, Kosher Halal Co-op after the departure of Rabbi Shimon Brand, and students’ efforts to save Kosher Halal Co-op.

            Series 1. Oberlin Hillel: Student Group, 2016-23 (0.08 l.f.)

            The materials in this series document speakers brought in by Oberlin Hillel, events Oberlin Hillel hosted, Hillel’s social media presence, the celebration of Jewish holidays, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on programming. A detailed curation note about these materials can be found in the case file.

            Series 2. Kosher Halal Co-operative (KHC), 2015-23 (0.32 l.f.)

            This series documents the internal records and external correspondence of Kosher Halal Co-op from 2015 until it became defunct in 2020, as well as student advocacy to maintain Kosher Halal Co-op. The collected materials document the operations and life around the co-op. Emails include daily operations of the co-op (e.g. members sending out the menu of a meal or asking members of the co-op to come to their event), bi-annual or annual operations (e.g. information at the beginning of the semester, holiday celebration information), and other notable events (e.g. parties or co-op events, discussion of the Academic and Administrative Program Review’s (AARP) 2019 recommendations, and the deaths of two co-op members). After KHC became defunct in 2020, external correspondence with administrators and alumni document students’ efforts to revive and preserve the co-op, primarily Paige Reinstein ‘21, Ilana McNamara ‘24, and Elliot Diaz ’23. As part of this activism, this series includes a 2021 petition. Materials in the Historic folder include print out from the co-op’s defunct Google Site, correspondence and document with a 2018 plan entitled “What To Do If The College Tries To Screw Us Over,” and a data report presented to Oberlin College by students in 2021. The photographs in this series document the last meal of the co-op on March 12, 2020, as well as the state of the Talcott kitchens on this day documenting how KHC kept separate spaces for kosher dairy, kosher meat, and halal meal preparation and the co-op’s assets in terms of dairy kitchen supplies. Also included are materials from social media and outreach materials, i.e., further education and activism done by McNamara ’24 and Diaz ’23 on religious dietary restrictions. This includes the 2023 Passover Co-op, an informal group of students cooking Kosher for Passover food during 2023 with KHC’s Passover dishes and cookware.

Subgroup III. Kosher Halal Co-op: Talcott, 1984, 1987-90, 1991, 1994-95,

2000-01, 2005, 2014-16, 2018-19, n.d. (5.58 l.f.)

Subgroup III is arranged in two series. The religious materials and William Haber award in the subgroup document the collaboration between the overlapping, but not synonymous, groups of Oberlin Hillel and Kosher Halal Co-op. Encompassing religious materials, decorations, memorials, student-made art, recipes, dishes, an instrument, satire, event fliers, information about Heritage Kosher Kitchen, and KHC records, this subgroup documents a variety of artifacts and materials related to Kosher Halal Co-op.

            Series 1. Kosher Halal Co-op Materials, 1984, 1987-91, 2000-01, 2005,

2014-16, 2018-19, n.d. (0.2 l.f)

            The materials in this series document religious practice and holidays in the co-op, its finances, co-op recipes, the use of the (what was called) the Coexistence Space for art, co-op photographs, and miscellaneous materials. These materials largely document the operation of the co-op before the co-op relied heavily on email (for instance, for recipes). The selection of extant financial records documents the co-op’s relationship with the Oberlin Student Co-operative Association (OSCA) and Cleveland Hillel. Included in the series are a number of recipes used in the co-op, which appear to have been three-hole punched to form a co-op cookbook in a binder or provide records of meals. The religious materials document Jewish religious life at Oberlin and Oberlin Hillel’s relationship to the co-op, as Passover seders and weekly Shabbat services took place in KHC. There are twelve haggadot from various years and two supplements. The student art was made in the Coexistence Space, a small room with art supplies that Kosher Halal Co-op members would hang out in and create art together. “Save plate” labels were used by the co-op to label plates of food for members who could not attend a meal at the time it was served. These particular labels differ from the information usually put on a label in OSCA, in which plates are labeled with the name of the person, the date, the meal (lunch or dinner), and any dietary restrictions (such as allergies). These KHC labels specify D, F, and P, which stand for dairy, fleischig (meat), and pareve, different statuses of meals according to Jewish dietary laws. There are sixty-six photographs, for more detail, see also an attached list of the photographs in the case file.

            Series 2. Artifacts, 1994, 2016, 2018, n.d. (5.38 l.f.)

            The artifacts include a co-op appreciation box, fabric banners, dishes, a dreidel piñata, memorials for Sam Price and Ammar Abo-El-Naga, a tambourine, and award plaque.

Subgroup IV. Alumni Materials, 1979-83, c. 1980s (0.2 l.f.)

This subgroup includes both printed and original materials donated by alumni.

            Series 1. Michael Appel ’83, 1979-83 (0.19 l.f.)

            These materials document Appel’s individual major in Modern Jewish Thought, religious material (a haggadah) made by the Jewish Socialist Community, and materials from his student advocacy concerning the Jewish and Near Eastern Studies program.

            Series 2. Other Individuals, c. 1986 (0.01 l.f.)

            This series currently includes undated photographs of Kosher Co-op and co-op members from Joshua (Josh) Shuman ’86.

<br clear="all" /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> [1] Daniel Soyer, Roger Kohn Papers, Folder: Materials from OC Alums, Oberlin College Archives.