Photo highlights from Saturday and Sunday

From panel discussions and networking opportunities to film screenings, faculty seminars and Funk Nite, Saturday and Sunday of the three-day 130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown celebration were as exciting as day one. Photo highlights follow courtesy of photographers Peter Goldberg and Peter Schwaller.

An evening to remember: Curtain Raiser Gala

Saturday’s festivities culminated in a sold-out gala at Brown’s Lindemann Performing Arts Center, where President Christina H. Paxson marveled at the dedication of the volunteers who organized 130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown and brought so many Brunonians together.

“The fact that so many of you enthusiastically came together for this weekend speaks volumes to the fact that the history of Jewish life at Brown resonates across generations,” Paxson said. “In elevating this history we are enriching the diverse intellectual and cultural landscape at Brown.”

At the gala, more than 400 guests enjoyed a reception catered by the Sharpe Refectory’s kosher kitchen and a special tribute to legendary playwright Alfred Uhry, a Class of 1958 Brown graduate and the Tony-, Oscar- and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of classics like “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Parade.”

The tribute included a pre-recorded video conversation between Uhry and Class of 2006 alum Steven Levenson, the Tony Award-winning playwright of “Dear Evan Hansen” acclaim, during which Uhry shared reflections from his time at Brown and his journey as an artist. Guests were then treated to a live performance of a scene from Uhry’s play “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” featuring alumni Richard Topol (Class of 1984), Rebecca Gibel, who earned an MFA in 2010, Jaime Rosenstein (2010), Ellie Leibner (2024), Carys Douglas (2025), and current Brown senior Sam Merkle. 

A lively cabaret performance by alumni and students served as the grand finale, including the Alef Beats, a Jewish-themed a cappella group with students from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design.

Celebrating careers of impact in public service

On Saturday afternoon, four concurrent panels featured distinguished alumni who discussed their high-impact careers across a range of fields, including a panel dedicated to careers in public service. 

In a lively conversation moderated by Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, panelists reflected on how both their Brown education and Jewish values influenced their career paths. Class of 1983 graduate David N. Cicilline, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, shared the profound personal impact of Brown’s commitment to advancing knowledge that betters the nation and the world.

“I really have come to conclude that so much of what Brown gave me was an expression of Jewish values,” said Cicilline, a former U.S. Representative from Rhode Island and a trustee of the Corporation of Brown University. “This commitment to community, this commitment to learning, this Tikkun Olam — repairing the world. It really did inform the way I thought about all of my work.”

Panelist Tara Isa Koslov, a member of the Class of 1991 who served as deputy director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission, spoke to how her Jewish family raised her to value getting an education and engaging in public service, and how she strengthened those values at Brown. 

“Brown is an institution that really does focus on our individual strengths,” Koslov said. “I translated that into, ‘How am I personally going to find a path where I can do something to repair the word, given the limited amount of power that I have?’”

Other panelists included retired U.S. Ambassador Norman Eisen (Class of 1985), a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; Tara Levine (Class of 1992), chief partnership officer at the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate; and Matthew Meyer (Class of 1994), the governor of Delaware.

“To think that Jewish life has been growing, changing, and thriving here in this place for 13 decades is really an extraordinary accomplishment,” Meyer said.

Other “Jewish Alumni and Their Careers” panels featured alumni leading careers in journalism, theater, entertainment, philanthropy and leadership in Jewish organizations, religious institutions and community initiatives.

Intergenerational conversations: Tracing Jewish life on campus over the years 

An alumni-led panel on Saturday morning, called “From Generation to Generation,” explored the experiences of Jewish students at Brown and Pembroke College across the decades, from the 1950s to the present. 

Moderated by James Hirschfeld, a Class of 1991 graduate, the panel featured alumni from each decade, including three generations of the Hirschfeld family: Hirschfeld’s father Neil Hirschfeld (Class of 1959) and his daughter Elizabeth Hirschfeld (Class of 2025). They were joined by Ellen Shaffer Meyer (Class of 1961), Stuart Himmelfarb (Class of 1974), Abram Kirschenbaum (Class of 1982) and Aidan R. Berman (Class of 2025).

Neil Hirschfeld recalled that during his time on campus, chapel attendance was mandatory and Jewish students were not welcomed into fraternities, but he said that feelings of exclusion did not define his Brown experience. 

“I grew up in the ’50s, and I had experienced feelings of exclusion and not feeling at home, and I also felt those feelings from time to time at Brown,” he said. “But those feelings did not define my time here. Entering Brown changed my life, with its world class professional teachers and its flexible curriculum. I felt challenged by Brown, I felt encouraged by Brown, and Brown prepared me for the journey of my life.” 

Elizabeth Hirschfeld and Berman, both of whom just graduated in May 2025, spoke about Jewish life at Brown today. Both discussed finding a strong community on campus, especially through Brown RISD Hillel and Chabad House. 

“I think it’s somewhat of a rarity to find two spaces that are so actively dedicated to not only celebrating Jewish life, but actively embracing it too,” said Berman. “From my very first day, I felt supported being a Jewish student at Brown. My Jewish experience was definitely one of joy and community.”

Photo highlights from Friday

Opening day of the weekend-long 130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown celebration came packed with events both festive and reflective — from challah baking at Brown RISD Hillel to kindling the Shabbat lights at sundown to an interactive Hebrew music sing-along.  

At an evening event titled Shabbat Under the Stars, Brown President Christina H. Paxson moderated a discussion featuring Robert Kraft, chairman of the Kraft Group, owner of the New England Patriots and founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate; and Brown University Chancellor Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America. In her introductory remarks, she said the fact that more than one thousand attendees took the time to attend the weekend celebration speaks volumes to the vibrancy of the Jewish community at Brown and the pride and dedication alumni have as Brunonians.

“It's so special that so many generations of alumni have come home to College Hill for this event — and that you’re joined by current faculty, staff and students…” Paxson said. “This Jewish community is integral to the vibrant and diverse academic environment at Brown that enables students and scholars to build knowledge and understanding in the pursuit of academic excellence.”

Friday photo highlights follow courtesy of photographers Peter Goldberg, Peter Schwaller and Nick Dentamaro. 

Exploring Jewish life and history through Brown Library collections

Library materials related to Jewish life and history at Brown and in Rhode Island — from the first-known book in the Brown Library holdings to a selection of mid-20th century student publications — were available for attendees to view on Friday and Saturday during scheduled talks and drop-in hours at the John Hay and John Carter Brown libraries on campus.

At the John Hay Library, Director Jennifer Betts shared details on some of the collection’s highlights, including Valentin Schindler’s 1612 “Lexicon Pentaglotton: Hebraicum, Chaldicum, Syriacum, Talmudico-Rabbinicum, et Arabicum,” which was given to the University by its first president, James Manning, in 1767. A groundbreaking work in early Hebrew studies, the multi-lingual lexicon significantly advanced scholarship, Betts said, as it used an innovative methodology that involved comparing Hebrew terms with cognate words from related Semitic languages, including Chaldaic, Syriac and Arabic. 

“By highlighting these linguistic connections, the text provided a deeper framework for understanding Hebrew,” Betts said.

Among other items, Betts discussed the Dr. Steven Ungerleider Collection of Haggadot — donated to Brown in 2018 by Ungerleider in honor of his father, Brown Class of 1939 graduate Samuel Ungerleider Jr. The Haggadot in the collection — Haggadot is the plural of Haggadah, the text recited on the first two nights of the Passover Seder — from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and the Near East covers more than 400 years of Jewish culture. Betts described it as “remarkable for its geographic, linguistic and temporal diversity.” 

Meanwhile, the John Carter Brown Library displayed a small collection of rare books that illustrate the important role of religious freedom in Rhode Island, how Roger Williams thought about religious freedom in Rhode Island, as well as Jews and Judaism in early America, according to Karin Wulf, the library’s director and a Brown professor of history. 

“Rhode Island is rightly proud of its reputation for having been a haven for religious diversity,” Wulf said ahead of the weekend celebration. “That wasn’t always straightforward or simple, but the idea itself and its expression has been critically important to the United States.”

Challah bake braids Jewish tradition, community 

The scent of freshly baked bread filled Brown RISD Hillel on Friday as students, alumni and families assembled, glazed and sprinkled loaves of challah, each one a warm expression of community on a chilly afternoon. 

Hosted by the University’s chapter of Challah for Hunger, the baking event convened more than 130 community members around the tradition of baking challah — a braided bread in Jewish cuisine usually eaten on Shabbat, holidays or ceremonial occasions. 

Participants contributed a suggested donation of $18, a symbolic number in Judaism that represents life and luck, with all proceeds benefitting the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Mazon, the group’s national parent organization. 

“I like to think of challah as a metaphor for Jewish life,” said Brown junior Talia Lang, who serves as Challah for Hunger’s co-president alongside sophomore Gianna Mendelson. “As the pieces are braided, it’s a symbol of unity, of bringing everyone together.” 

That’s exactly what drew Class of 1982 alumna Sara Stavis Altman, also a parent of a Class of 2013 alumnus, and her family to the bake. She said her matzo-making talents are solid, but she hadn’t made challah. The event gave Stavis Altman an opportunity to try her hand, surrounded by a community she still treasures, more than 40 years after her own graduation. 

“This is my first time ever making it, but I do eat a lot of it,” she said with a laugh. 

As dough rose and conversations flowed, the bake became less about bread and more about the connections it helped create.

“The secret to a perfect loaf is the people you make it with,” Mendelson said. “A challah is a challah, but if you’re having fun making it, it’s always a better time.”

The evolution of Jewish life at Brown

During a panel conversation dedicated to key moments in Brown and Rhode Island Jewish life, three speakers shared historical anecdotes and information with attendees gathered in in Alumnae Hall on Friday afternoon.

They recalled memorable milestones in Jewish life on campus, from a publication called Hillel on the Hill that was in print from 1947 to 1953, to the first Jewish a cappella group on campus, to the establishment of a kosher meal plan. 

Rabbi Alan Flam, who worked at Brown from 1982 to 2016 and previously led Brown RISD Hillel, reflected on the welcoming environment for Jewish students during his tenure. 

“In the ’80s and the ’90s, Jewish life on campus was so integrated into the larger university life,” Flam said. “It was bound together, so Hillel was not a Jewish oasis for students to be gathered apart from the rest of campus… The Jewish community was integrated into the intellectual life of the University, and religious studies, Judaic studies, became a real powerful force of shaping students’ experience.” 

Jewish students were also well represented at Brown in the 1920s, said Amy Sohn, a member of Brown’s Class of 1995. Wearing her grandmother’s Pembroke College ring, Sohn shared how her Jewish grandmother enrolled in the all-women’s college (which merged with the men’s college of Brown in 1971) in 1925, after she emigrated from Russia to Providence as a child. 

“She went on about how much she loved Pembroke College, and then she said, ‘of course they had Jewish quotas, that’s just the way the Ivies were,’” said Sohn, an author and a screenwriter, describing a discussion she had with her grandmother. 

In the latter part of the 1920s, steps were taken to limit the number of Jewish students at Brown and other colleges, according to Sohn’s research. But things started improving around the 1940s, said Hannah Stoch, a member of Brown’s Class of 2026, who served as a Brown University history fellow and conducted extensive research on Jewish history at Brown’s John Hay Library. 

“The overall thing that I found out about Jewish life in the mid-20th century at Brown and at Pembroke is a rising amount of institutional support — formal support — for Jewish students,” Stoch said. “This started in 1947 with the establishment of Hillel.”

More than a meal: Jewish food, family and a sense of home

When it comes to food from the Jewish tradition, few dishes carry as much affection — or purported healing power — as chicken soup. But is “Jewish penicillin” really medicine?

That question opened a lively conversation at a Friday afternoon faculty seminar titled “Jews Talking About Food,” for which nearly 200 alumni, students and employees gathered in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.

The discussion featured food entrepreneur and cookbook author Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Rachel Herz, an adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown. Moderated by Class of 1993 alumna Susan Ferber, the panel explored the historical and cultural roots of Jewish food, including how Jewish emigration from Europe to the United States and industrialization have shaped traditions.

Herz said the comfort of chicken soup may have less to do with biology and more to do with psychology, citing research that shows people feel happier and more connected after eating, or simply imagining, a bowl of soup.

“The reason for this really has to do with nostalgia,” Herz said. “Whether it’s from being Jewish and growing up with chicken soup, or from having Campbell’s chicken soup as a child, it’s become iconographic of that childhood experience. Foods our loved ones fed us are the ones we turn to when we’re older, when we’re sad, or when we want to literally feel like a warm hug from the bowl.”

Yoskowitz reflected on time he spent in Poland and Israel — experiences that, along with his work as an organic farmer and pickler, deepened his understanding of Jewish culinary traditions.

“Ashkenazi food, or food with shtetl roots, is deeply emotional,” he said. “It’s tied to memory, history and a connection with the land that, for many Jews, was severed.”

A New York native, Yoskowitz said a search for reconnection led him to Eastern Europe.

“Going to a Polish food hall or farmers market and seeing all the ingredients for chicken soup — bundled together and ready to buy — made me feel connected to this place I was told I no longer had ties to,” he said. “Food became my way of searching for where I’m from. And of all the foods, chicken soup is the one that feels most like home.”

Panelists discuss Brown’s role in establishing Judaic studies across American higher education

During a weekend packed with activities celebrating Jewish life at Brown, a panel of current and former faculty members and students led a discussion on the foundational role Brown has played in propelling the field of Judaic studies at universities across the U.S. 

“I think many people don’t know how significant Brown University has been in the intellectual and academic investigation of the Jewish past and present,” said moderator Maud Mandel, a former history and Judaic studies professor at Brown who is now president of Williams College. “It’s a part of history that I think Brown should be very proud of.”

Alan Avery-Peck, a professor of Judaic studies at College of the Holy Cross who earned his Ph.D. from Brown in 1981, said the academic study of Jewish life is a relatively new field.

“As recently as half a century ago, there was no such thing as the study of Judaism in American colleges and universities,” Avery-Peck said. “And the point I want to make today is that what dramatically changed that picture was Brown University’s decision to bring here Jacob Neusner in 1968.”

It was Neusner, Avery-Peck said, who helped turn Judaic studies into a mainstream academic pursuit at Brown and elsewhere, setting the stage for the widespread formation of Judaic studies departments and programs across the U.S. That expansion has not only enriched the experience of Jewish students and scholars, but has shaped learning opportunities for students from all backgrounds.

“We have always felt that Judaic studies wasn’t just for the Jews,” said panelist Saul Olyan, a professor of Judaic studies and religious studies at Brown. “I have many students from many different backgrounds… and I’m delighted that they’re interested in studying the field that I teach.”

A family celebration across generations

Weekend check-in on Pembroke Field served as a meeting place for family and friends to connect and plan.

“Being Jewish is all about celebration and finding an excuse to get together, and now more than ever is a time for the community to come together and celebrate being Jewish at Brown,” said current senior Zoe Kass.

Kass, a Judaic studies concentrator, was scheduled as a panelist in a Friday discussion about how Brown has shaped the field of Judaic studies. Zoe’s mother, Sarah Lavine-Kass, from Houston, had a scholarly as well as a personal interest in the panel, since she, like Zoe, concentrated in Judaic studies at Brown. 

Both mother and daughter were also looking forward to meeting up with Ruth Adler Ben Yehuda, a Brown teaching professor of Judaic studies from whom they both had the pleasuring of learning.

“It’s so nice to share this whole experience,” said Lavine-Kass, a member of the Class of 1991.

Jayne Gerson, who graduated from Brown in 1992, was sharing the experience with her daughter, Arenal Haut, a Class of 2024 graduate. Both had come to Providence from Baltimore for the occasion.

“I love Brown, so I was happy to have another reason to come back here,” Gerson said. “And quite honestly, in the current climate, I felt it was really important to support Jewish life, and especially, Hillel.”

Gerson said that Brown RISD Hillel had been extremely supportive and welcoming for her daughter when she started her Brown education in 2020. In addition to attending panels, seminars and conversations together, the pair was looking forward to celebrating Jewish life at Brown through music: Arenal would be joining former and current members of the Alef Beats a cappella group. 

“It’s more ‘Jew-ish’ than Jewish — they sing pop, too,” Gerson said. “It’s for everyone.”

Connecting with history, community and classmates 

As alumni and other community members visited the weekend’s check-in tent on Pembroke Field, they were greeted by a larger-than-life timeline highlighting significant milestones in Jewish life at Brown. More than just a photo backdrop, the timeline offered an opportunity for guests to locate themselves in Jewish history at Brown.

Elizabeth Feroe Bakst, who graduated in 1967, pointed to a 1959 event when an observant neighbor named Miriam Smith was reported to have cooked kosher meals for Brown and Pembroke College students out of her home near campus, noting that this was the mother of her friend and classmate, Meryl Raskin Smith, who was also attending this weekend’s events. Bakst’s husband, Class of 1966 graduate M. Charles Bakst, pointed to a newspaper article from 1926 about colleges addressing charges of bias, and mentioned that his mother, Anna Horvitz, started at Brown in 1927.

The issues of the day when they matriculated, the Baksts said, were the Vietnam War and civil rights. 

“I started at Brown not long after Martin Luther King’s famous March on Washington, so that was very top of mind,” Elizabeth Bakst said. “You could argue that Jewish students were certainly attuned to that, because Jews were very much a part of the Civil Rights Movement.” 

Bakst said she appreciates the University’s efforts to recognize its own role in American history, citing the Slavery and Justice Report and the weekend-long celebration of 125 Years of Women at Brown, both of which the local Rhode Islander had engaged with.

“I was excited to hear about the University’s efforts to recognize 130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown,” she said. “That makes me proud to be a Brown alum.”

Charles Bakst, who as a student was a editor-in-chief of the Brown Daily Herald and spent four decades as a reporter and columnist at the Providence Journal, said that the student newspaper was the center of his Jewish experience at Brown because it was the center of his University experience, in general. Bakst was scheduled to participate in a panel on Saturday in which Jewish alumni were speaking about their journalism careers.

“I'm interested in the different eras of Jewish life here and hearing about other people’s experiences, comparing them with mine, and doing some networking — and just absorbing it all,” he said.

Honoring traditions, strengthening connections, creating community

Like braided challah, a traditional Jewish bread, the three-day 130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown event will weave together many generations of Brunonians, renewing connections and forming news ones.

From social events and meals to a panel of Brown alumnae who have gone on to positions of leadership in Judaism, a rich array of programming will celebrate the accomplishments, resilience and connections that have bound Jewish community members to one another and to Brown across time. That’s according to organizer Abby Doft, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 1991 and a master’s degree in 1992 from Brown.

“The idea of coming together in celebration of the history of Jewish life at Brown has really resonated tremendously with the community,” Doft said. “It’s a great affirmation of the Jewish experience at Brown over the years, and the fact that the current Jewish community of Brown is as strong as it is.”

The celebrations will include a Friday night dinner, Shabbat services, a gala and tribute to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Alfred Uhry, a member of Brown’s Class of 1958 and author of “Driving Miss Daisy,” and much more. There will also be student-alumni networking and mentorship opportunities.

“We have eight decades of alumni coming back, which is pretty amazing,” Doft said. “We hope that one takeaway for the current students will be to inspire them to be back on campus eight decades from now.”

The event organizers are also celebrating the legacy of Brown’s 1764 charter, which declared “no religious tests” and ensured that “youth of all religious denominations shall and may be freely admitted to the equal advantages” — principles of religious tolerance and the value of a community whose members represent a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that endures today. The commemoration of tradition and history will be embedded throughout the weekend, not just in live programming, but through a comprehensive timeline installation at Brown RISD Hillel with pop-up locations in different spots during the weekend, along with a digital archive.

“We’ve managed to put together what I think is the most comprehensive history ever of Jews at Brown,” said organizer Noel Rubinton, a Class of 1977 graduate who concentrated in history. 

As the organizers conceived of the initial idea for 130 Years of Jewish Life at Brown, they drew inspiration from other historic, alumni-led celebrations that have celebrated communities at Brown and their histories. The weekend will be brought to life by a groundswell of volunteer engagement, integral support from Brown RISD Hillel and Chabad of College Hill, and coordination from campus partners at Brown.

“This really speaks of an institution that cares deeply about the whole, but also about the groups that are part of it,” Rubinton said. “It’s about a university that celebrates its constituent parts, and I hope other groups will be inspired to do things like this.”

For organizer Sophia Kremer, who just graduated in May 2025, the weekend presents a landmark opportunity to expand and deepen connections.

“People will be forming connections and bonding over the same experiences — not only on campus, but also through their lives, values and cultures,” Kremer said. “People are here to celebrate, to acknowledge what happened in the past, and then to think about what’s going to happen in the future.”