Student-led services are offered through Brandeis Hillel. 

•  The Brandeis Orthodox Minyan meets three times daily, for morning (Shacharit), afternoon (Mincha) and evening (Maariv) services. 
• Shira Chadasha, a "partnership minyan" that maximizes women’s involvement under halachic (Jewish law) parameters, meets twice monthly, once for Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday night) and once for Shabbat (Saturday) afternoon. While there is a mechitza, the traditional partition separating the men's and women's sections of an Orthodox prayer service, women can lead services such as Kabbalat Shabbat and Hallel and read from the Torah. Find out about what our students say about Shira Chadasha.
• Masorti (Conservative) services are held every week for Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday evening), Shabbat Shacharit (Saturday morning) and Havdalah (Saturday night). Masorti also has a weekday morning (Shacharit) service once a month.  
• Baruch prayer services (Reform) are held every Friday night. 
  
  Brandeis Hillel maintains the calendar and schedule for Jewish religious services. 
  The Center for Spiritual Life maintains a complete guide to religious observances on campus.

   

In the fall, there are no classes on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and the first and last day of Sukkot, the eight-day harvest holiday.

Brandeis' spring break falls during the eight days of Passover. 

The Center for Spiritual Life maintains a full list of religious holidays. 

Residence halls remain open during holidays.
Read about Brandeis' policy on academic coursework and religious observance.

The university is committed to creating and maintaining a community that is respectful of the various religious beliefs of its students, staff and faculty. 

• Student-athletes are entitled to reasonable accommodations when a religious belief or practice is in conflict with athletic obligations. 
• Coaches and administrators can work with student-athletes to identify reasonable accommodations that will allow for absences from practices and competitions as necessary for religious observances or holidays; will endeavor to ensure that practices and competitions, as much as reasonably possible, are not scheduled in conflict with known religious observances or holidays; and that coaches provide ample opportunities for students to make up any missed activities due to religious observances or holidays without penalty. 
• Students are required to let coaches or administrators know of any religious observance or holidays that may conflict with their obligations as an athlete, and to request a reasonable accommodation for the conflict. 

The university's complete policy on student-athletes and religious observances is maintained by Brandeis Athletics. 

From sundown on Friday through the lighting of the havdalah candle ceremony on Saturday night, Shabbat brings the wider Jewish community together in a warm, welcoming and fun atmosphere. Students can meet new people at Hillel's Shabbat dinner and attend one of Hillel's many services.

"It's an opportunity for students to take a break from all the academic coursework and to be with other students who care about Judaism," says Seth Winberg, Hillel's executive director and the university's senior chaplain.

Hillel puts up a large sukkah next to the Sherman dining hall for the entire campus to enjoy. Hillel hosts communal meals on the first and last days of the week-long holiday. During the intermediate days, Hillel groups organize concerts, group learning sessions, meals and other social events in the sukkah.

When Hanukkah falls during the semester, students light candles together in the Shapiro Campus Center and the dining halls. They also enjoy latkes in the dining hall or make them with friends and join in other community-wide celebrations. 

This past year, Hillel hosted "I Made It Out of Clay," a dreidel-making party complete with snacks and a screening of "A Rugrats Chanukah" that was also a chance for de-stressing amid exams.

Read about 2021's celebration, "A Very Hillel Hanukkah."

Costumes, music, dancing, food and more! The Brandeis Breakfast Club, as the Hillel-sponsored event is known, draws hundreds of students. Last year's party featured breakfast burritos, a waffle bar and, of course, hamentaschen, the holiday's traditional triangular pastries filled with jelly. There was also a student klezmer band, yoga and making mishloach manot (Purim baskets) for friends.

Read "Hillel's Purim Party: The Brandeis Breakfast Club."