Orthodox Life

Orthodox Life

The Orthodox community at Johns Hopkins is friendly, diverse, and vibrant, and is made up of Jews from all walks of life. Our shiurim, minyanim, and events are attended by people from all across the Jewish spectrum. We come from public schools, Jewish day schools, Yeshivot, and everything in between.

What sets Hopkins’ Orthodox community apart from many other campuses in America is our integration with the greater University community. We have the best of both worlds! We live amongst fellow classmates, eat in the main dining hall, and many of us are active in a variety of campus organizations. We also live committed Jewish lives. At Hopkins, you can have a great college experience alongside a full host of resources that make Orthodox life easy and fun:

Religious Life:

  • Student-run “Blue Jay Minyan”
  • Certified full Kosher meal plan in the Hopkins freshman dining hall
  • A selection of learning opportunities including weekly classes and chavrutot with the Rabbi
  • A fully stocked, always accessible, Beit Midrash, containing both Hebrew and English volumes for personal or group study
  • Our entire campus and surrounding area are enclosed by the Hopkins Eruv, which is maintained weekly by the Rabbi and students

The Pikesville Community:

  • Our campus is only 15 minutes from Pikesville, MD, one of the largest Jewish communities in the country
  • Easy access to Seven Mile Market (the largest all-kosher grocery store in the United States!)
  • Access to dozens of kosher restaurants, butchers, bakeries, bookstores, synagogues, and mikvahs
  • Need hospitality for a Shabbat or Chag when the University is not in session? Don’t worry! The Pikesville community always graciously hosts Hopkins students.

Shabbat at Hopkins:

  • Full, “heimish” Shabbat and Holiday meals at Hillel
  • Student-run, community attended minyanim
  • Shabbat Onegs, Kiddishes, and Divrei Torah
  • Day-long games, discussions, activities, learning or many other ways to enjoy your Shabbat

Rabbis at JHU:

  • Rabbi Don Cantor serves as the Rabbi for the Orthodox community. He and his wife, Leora, serve as the Torah Educators for our community through the Orthodox Union’s JLIC Program.
  • In addition, Hopkins Chabad, run by Rabbi Zev Gopin, is located right off campus.