Emek Jewish Student Center Vision

Emek (Valley) Jewish Students Center cultivates and supports inclusive, egalitarian Jewish community, primarily at colleges in Western Massachusetts.

We support Jewish life and practice through leadership and skill development, ritual and holiday celebration, exploration of Jewish cultures, and the facilitation of Jewish learning opportunities.

College students practice academic inquiry through curiosity and reflection, and we approach the Jewish past and present with the same values. All sincere questions are relevant and valuable.

We welcome people of all or no religious backgrounds who are interested in spiritual exploration and cultivating radiant Jewish life.

Our Judaism centers the humanity of all people whether or not they are Jewish (and however they define or orient their Jewish identities),  Israelis and Palestinians, and people of all racial backgrounds and gender presentations. Accordingly, we are committed to resisting antisemitism and its weaponization as well as racism in all its forms, especially anti-Black and anti-Palestinian racism as they show up in American Jewish communities.

Our primary focus is serving undergraduate students, but Jewish community and identity are stronger with intergenerational connection. There are opportunities for professors, graduate students, and staff members to engage here as well.

Emek is currently working with students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst College, Smith College, and Westfield State University.