The Jewish Student Organization at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA provides programming, activities and educational opportunities for all of Berklee's Jewish students as well as their friends and allies in the community. I had the honor of serving as the JSO's founding Staff Advisor and helped to shape its early development. (Kathy Zerlin in the Film Scoring Department serves as the current Staff Advisor). The JSO is sponsored by The Department of Student Activities with a tremendous amount of support from The Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Rabbi Shmuel Posner of Chabad of Kenmore Square serves as rabbinical advisor. Many JSO events, especially around Shabbat and holidays, are spent at Chabad at Kenmore. The JSO is not affiliated to any particular Jewish sect and serves the needs of all Jews at Berklee, regardless of affiliation or level of observance.
I caught up with the current JSO Co-President, Eli Cohen (pictured below wearing Tefilin) for an email interview!
Tell me about some events and projects the JSO at Berklee is up to these days!
We are currently in the process of adding two members to our board to become coordinators and also in order to continue a strong club for the future. Rebecca Fisher and I, we will be graduates of the school as of Spring 2018. I also changed our email recently and have recently updated the form for sending our Newsletters out. We also have an Information Table once a week on campus.
What are some activities that the JSO participates in and offers students?
In some of our semesters we have weekly meetings, and this semester we have had planned events. For this particular semester, our strongest event so far has been for Sukkot. We were able to be inside a portable Sukkah, our school owns, and also stores for us. There was a populated area on campus where we had our set-up during a school day, with Kosher foods, such as pita, bissli, juice, and cookies. As Berklee College of Music is surrounded by downtown buildings and busy people, we're fortunate to find a place for us on our school property, and also to have public meet up locations for Jews!
How has the JSO benefited you?
The JSO has given myself, and as a current Co-President of the club, a chance to be a hub, a pluralistic connection for Jews and Israelis in our school. It has made me feel a part of something I'm pursuing lifelong, and that I would feel missing, had I not found or started something Jewish in my school. I was raised with sephardic orthodox influence in Seattle, Washington, and everything I got from my parents and family, and Jewish summer camps, and organizations were just more reasons to be a leader, or be a part of what I'm continuing. For my time in JSO, we have been trying and wanting to engage more of the students here, who are Jewish. It is difficult to bring many of the students in, but putting ourselves out there is more than half of the work. I must also mention the Chabad, and specifically the Chabad on Commonwealth Ave in Boston; Rabbi Posner is at all of our meetings, bringing Tefelin, Kosher snacks when we don't have them, and so much more. He also helps us coordinate, and pushes us to plan better, he uses social media, and also as a neighbor to our school, hosts students for weekly Shabbat Dinners, all of the Holidays, and also Summer BBQ's. JSO will be a benefit to me when I make more improvements with the club, before I graduate and move away.
What do you have planned for this school year?
We have one more event for this semester, and one of our school's Ensemble is performing for us as they did last year, as well! We have a Pre-Chanukah Party the week before this current Fall 2016 semester ends, and students go on winter break for a month. We're excited to have the Berklee Klezmer band perform!
If you could have one dream JSO event, what would it be?
Something big, which is also simple, such as a holiday event which brings WAY more people than we have ever seen, who come together, carrying a message to everyone to want to be more involved and make time in everyone's busy schedule to anticipate future JSO events, and become even stronger as a club!
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