The Commentator

Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Features

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Noam Weisman (YC '08) is one of only three students who attended Beth Tfiloh Community School in Baltimore to choose to attend Yeshiva University in his pursuit of higher education. In contrast, almost half of Weisman's seventy person 2003 graduating class attend or have already graduated from the University of Maryland. This growing trend has Mr. Weisman and others wondering whether YU can compete with Maryland in attracting the sizable Orthodox populations in the Baltimore and Silver Spring-Potomac communities. According to Mr. Weisman, the majority of his graduating class came from non-Orthodox homes, perhaps placing these students outside the sphere of Yeshiva's recruiting scheme. However, he asserts that even in his Orthodox hometown community, students consider Maryland to be a top college choice as opposed to Yeshiva.

At Maryland, the numbers indicate a tremendous upsurge in various aspects of Orthodox Jewish life on its campus. When current Hillel Director and RIETS graduate Rabbi Ari Israel first came to the University of Maryland, there was only one Orthodox minyan for Friday eve services. The minyan attracted less than 100 students. Now, seven years later, there are two Orthodox minyanim on campus, a Carlebach-style minyan attracting between 300 and 350 students each week and a more traditional Orthodox service that attracts approximately 50 students weekly.

While Rabbi Israel admits that certainly not all of those who attend these minyanim would necessarily identify themselves as Orthodox, the Hillel's ability to attract large numbers of students certainly speaks to the vibrancy of the University's Orthodox community.

Moreover, according to Rabbi Israel, in that same seven-year time span, the number of students on the kosher meal plan has risen from 174 to 246. The discrepancy between the rise in students on the kosher meal plan and the rise in Orthodox minyan attendance is understandable. Rabbi Israel explained that the number of students on the meal plan does not necessarily correlate to the number of Orthodox students on campus. "Not all the students on the meal plan are necessarily Orthodox," explained Rabbi Israel. "On the other hand, not all Orthodox students are on the meal plan. During that time span, they [the University of Maryland] opened up new housing that took a large number of students out of the dorm and off the meal plan."

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