Jewish Life at Duke

Mission:
The mission of Jewish Life at Duke is to empower Jewish students to learn and grow intellectually and spiritually; to inspire and nurture personal paths to Jewish identity; and to cultivate community and friendship.

 Vision:
A Duke Jewish experience where every student finds meaning, connection, and joy, and therefore makes an enduring commitment to Jewish life. 

Challah for Hunger
Challah for Hunger at Duke holds monthly baking sessions across campus. Students bake a variety of challahs which they then sell on the Bryan Center Plaza on West campus. All of the proceeds go to various hunger charities. The club members strive to educate Duke’s campus about hunger as well as donate to combat the problem.  All proceeds go to various hunger charities, including Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

For more information, contact challahforhungerduke@gmail.com. To follow our monthly bakes and other events find us on Facebook or DukeGroups.

Duke Friends of Israel (DFI)
Duke Friends of Israel is a nonpartisan student organization that offers a safe space to discuss, understand, and learn about Israel. This group provides a breadth of programming designed to increase appreciation for all aspects of Israel throughout the Duke community.

For more information or to join our list serve, please email dfi-info@duke.edu or find us on DukeGroups.

The Duke Jewish Student Union (JSU)

Duke’s Jewish Student Union (JSU), is an undergraduate organization on campus which strives to build an inclusive Jewish Community through fun, diverse, and engaging programming. We host events such as Latkapalooza, cookie bakes, lox and lemurs. Student leaders work with Jewish Life at Duke to hold the annual B’nai Mitzvah and JFAM. To learn more or sign up for our weekly newsletter, please like the JSU Facebook page, follow our Instagram, or find us on DukeGroups.

The Coalition for Preserving Memory
The Coalition for Preserving Memory is a non-religious organization dedicated to memorializing genocide victims from the 20th and 21st centuries in a way that will be relevant and meaningful to future generations. Be sure to ‘like’ our page on Facebook and visit the CPM website. Watch the 2015 CPM promo video and learn more about our group from this video. 

Duke Israel Public Affairs Committee (DIPAC)
As a non-partisan organization, DIPAC works closely with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), America’s pro-Israel lobby, to achieve peace and strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. We provide Duke students the opportunity to attend national conferences focusing on Israeli politics. On campus, students have the opportunity to get involved in writing op-eds for the Duke Chronicle, attending events that provide skills on how to be an advocate for Israel, educate student leaders and policymakers about the issues and much more. We thank Ari Ackerman and donors of the Israel Program Fund for their support of DIPAC.  
For more information, follow us on Instagram @duke_aipac or find us on DukeGroups.

TAMID at Duke
TAMID is an areligious, apolitical, non profit organization that gives an experiential business education through the lens of the Israeli economy. TAMID currently has 40+ chapters across the globe, and is growing every year. Members go through an in-depth education curriculum, and go on to do investing and consulting for real Israeli start-up companies. Furthermore, TAMID offers a summer fellowship in Tel Aviv for certain qualifying members, in which an internship and fully funded living is provided. Founded just last year, TAMID at Duke is excited to grow its member base and continue to breed extremely bright, young business minds. To learn more, contact TAMID by emailing duketamid@gmail.com or visiting our website.

The Jewish Business Association

The Jewish Business Association aims to create a cultural and professional community for its members. In addition, JBA’s goal is to provide Jewish students at the Fuqua School of Business a platform to practice their traditions and culture and share these with their non-Jewish classmates. The club also strives to preserve its relationships with members after graduation by connecting current members with alumni through programming. Throughout the year, JBA organizes a wide range of professional, social, and traditional events such as Passover Dinner, the Innovation Conference, and Lunch & Learns. 
To learn more, visit the JBA website and follow JBA on Instagram.

Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA)

The Jewish Law Student Association is a student-run group which exists as a resource to the Jewish community at the Duke University School of Law. JLSA seeks to create spaces for anyone who identifies or associates with Judaism as a means to celebrate their Jewishness their way. We strive to create and maintain a vibrant, fun and supportive Jewish community through Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, mixers, academic lectures and other events.

To learn more, please find us on Instagram and learn more here.

Students often find themselves locked into the “college bubble,” but for those looking to engage with the larger Jewish community at hand, there are a multitude of organizations to get involved with. The Durham area is fortunate to have a large, supportive, and active Jewish community for students to participate in, from working as Hebrew/Religious School teachers to participating in holidays and events.

Jews have a long and rich history of life in the south. For a comprehensive history we highly recommend Leonard Rogoff’s book, Homelands: Southern Jewish Identity in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. An excellent abridgment of his book can be found here.

 Local Synagogues

• Beth El Congregation
• Durham Orthodox Kehillah
• Congregation Etz Chayim
• Judea Reform Congregation
• Kehillah Synagogue
• Kol Haskalah
• Triangle Family Shule

 Community Organizations

• Durham Eruv
• Durhamish
• Levin JCC
• Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill
• Chabad at Duke Undergraduates
• Triangle Jewish Chorale
• Triangle Moishe House
• Sicha
• Jewish Sparks

 Duke University

• Center for Jewish Studies
• Hebrew Language and Culture

If you’re interested in visiting Jewish Life at Duke, we'd love to show you around!

Freeman Center Tour and Student Conversation

Our office is open on Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.

We have student interns available throughout most of the day to give you a tour of our building and discuss Jewish Life at Duke. Please email us at jewishlife@duke.edu to let us know the date and time you plan to visit so that we can schedule an intern to meet you for a tour and answer questions.

[Please note that in observance of Duke’s Spring Break on March 7-11, our hours of operation will be Mon-Fri 10am-2pm for self-guided tours only.]

Drop-By and Self-Guided Tours

You are also welcome to drop by during our hours of operation for a self-guided tour, walk around inside the building, or enjoy a meal or snack at the Freeman Center Café (open Mon-Thurs 12pm-7:30pm, Friday 12pm-2pm).

Visiting on a Friday? Join us for Shabbat!

If you happen to be in town on Friday evening, we would love to have you and your family join us for weekly Shabbat observance with Jewish Life at Duke. Every Friday while classes are in session, we start with a Shabbat song session at 5:30pm, Kabbalat Shabbat service from 6:00-7:00pm, and kosher Shabbat dinner from 7:00-8:00pm. If you plan to join for dinner, please email us at jewishlife@duke.edu to let us know in advance if possible; include the date, number of people in your party, and any dietary restrictions (all food is kosher).

 Weekend Visits

If you are visiting outside of our standard office hours, we’d be happy to connect you with a current Jewish student via email or Zoom to meet and answer any questions virtually. Please email us at jewishlife@duke.edu and include any specific interests you might have (intended major, Jewish involvement, extracurricular interests, hometown, etc.).

 Parking Information

The Freeman Center for Jewish Life, home of Jewish Life at Duke and the Rubenstein-Silvers Hillel, is located at 1415 Faber St, Durham, NC 27708. We are located on the C-1 Bus Route at the corner of Campus Dr. and Swift Ave.

Free city street parking is available on Faber Street, Hull Street, and Powe Avenue.

The Freeman Center for Jewish Life parking lot requires a permit on weekdays before 5:00pm; if you park in this lot, please be sure to ask the front desk for a free visitor’s parking permit to display in your windshield.

Prospective and Incoming Student Resources

We encourage you to visit our Prospective Student page on our website for recordings of our College Fair panel featuring our Campus Rabbi, current Jewish students, and a Duke Undergraduate Admissions Officer.