Jewish Life: Celebrate holidays and Shabbat with Hillel and learn Jewish traditions from challah braiding to Mimouna celebrations.

Shabbat: Each week, visit KU Hillel for unique Shabbat experiences whether it’s Shabbat dinner, services, bagel brunch or a Midnight Oneg.

Weekly Series: Our Beren NextGen Leadership series is an active exploration of Jewish issues, experience, and ideas, while our Freshman Connect series is an engaging opportunity for new students to get to know each other and their community. We also offer a variety of learning series including the Jewish Learning Fellowship, Makloket Matters, Mussar, Cafe Ivrit and more. Learn more about the learning and leadership opportunities we have coming up.

Sports: Spend Friday afternoons playing pick-up basketball with Jewball. All skill levels are welcome! Watch a Jayhawk win with Bagels & Basketball, our annual watch party!

On Campus: Watch for KU Hillel on campus. We often have free food (Falafel on the Hill), coffee (Café Hillel), and we always have smiles!

Community Service: Hillel registers students to vote through our MitzVote program, and you can get involved in our local community through Goods Deeds Day. Want to get involved? Contact us!

Israel: By celebrating Israeli holidays and culture (with our annual Formal and many Middle Eastern food events), we will help you learn more about Israel. 

Wellness: Join us for Wellness Wednesdays, a time to take a break with lunch, or seek out time to get zen with yoga. Learn more about our wellness programs.

Wellness

It’s important to prioritize your mental health! We provide programs and services for students to help.

Free private therapy sessions with our licensed therapist. Provided in partnership with Jewish Family Services, students can sign up for hour-long sessions with our therapist in the comfort of KU Hillel.

Wellness Wednesdays are a way to take a break from your week and enjoy good food together. We encourage you to stop by between classes for a bite to eat and hang out. 

Throughout the year, we offer a variety of programs focused on wellness, from yoga and meditation to painting and handling stress.

Shabbat & Holidays

Shabbat: KU Hillel offers a variety of unique Shabbat experiences — whether it’s a traditional Shabbat dinner, Kabbalat Shabbat services, Shabbat brunch or a Midnight Oneg — so there’s always an opportunity to celebrate. Check out our Calendar to see what’s coming up.

In addition to our regular Shabbat programs, Shabbat Around KU is a partnership between students and KU Hillel to host Shabbat dinners of their very own in their apartments. If you don’t have candlesticks, pick some out from our Candlestick Adoption Program.

Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur: Celebrate the Jewish New Year with lively services and delicious meals. Observe Yom Kippur with KU Hillel! We provide services, learning, and pre/post fast meals.

Sukkot: A week of fun programming inside and out of KU Hillel to enjoy Sukkot. Don’t miss out on shaking the lulav!

Hanukkah: Celebrate Hanukkah with dreidels, latkes and candles with KU Hillel, on and off campus!

Purim: Bake hamantaschen and hear the megillah — let’s celebrate Purim!

Passover: Pull up a seat at our table for a family-style Seder and plenty of Kosher-for-Passover eats.

Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron & Yom Ha’atzamut: Remember the Holocaust, honor the fallen and celebrate Israel’s accomplishments with these meaningful holidays. Stay tuned for programs and learning opportunities for these days.

KU’s Religious Exemption Policy

KU policy and practice is to be very accommodating of students’ religious practices. If any of your classes has a conflict with holiday observance, it is typically quite easy to make a reasonable arrangement with the instructor - you can access the Absence Request for Religious Observance form here, and we’re always happy to answer any questions!

KU policy calls for these requests to be made within the first 20 days of the semester. Additional resources and formal requests of absence can be found here. For a list of Jewish Holidays, check out this calendar.

Travel Opportunities

We encourage KU Hillel students to explore beyond Lawrence and provide opportunities for students to learn more about international Jewish life. 

Birthright: A free 10-day trip to Israel with all of your KU Hillel friends? Count yourself in. Contact us to get signed up!

Leadership Trips: Yearly trips to Europe and Israel to learn more about Jewish history and culture.

KU Perspectives: An educational trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories open to all undergraduate students at KU. The purpose of this trip is to educate 20 undergraduates about the region's history and current events, offer students an experience to shape their own opinions through travel and encounters, and intentionally explore the region's complexities.

Study Abroad: KU offers students the ability to study abroad in Israel. Check in with Hillel staff or at the Study Abroad office.

Leadership

KU Hillel develops strong leaders to further our Jewish community. Through our leadership development program, our students learn skills and take on internships that make a difference. 

Jewish Learning & Leadership: A weekly series on Jewish thought that provides students with leadership development.

Internships: Semester-long programs in development, engagement, programming, marketing and more.