<p>Any info out there on what Jewish life is like at Amherst? The Hillel advisor/Rabbi appears to be shared with Smith, and he actually lives at Smith, not Amherst. Smith appears to have a more active Jewish life, including kosher dining, but alas is still an all girls school. So my question - can an observant Jew be happy/successful at Amherst?</p>
<p>I was browsing the Amherst web site and was checking out this summer's new student orientation program. It looks really great! One of the programs was entitled "schmooze with Jews". It was a program being put on by campus Hillel. I am sure you can e-mail Hillel at Amherst and get the info you seek. However if by observant you mean Orthodox I can't imagine many Orthodox at Amherst. Probably more Reform and Conservative.</p>
<p>A good number of my friends at Amherst are Jewish. Every Friday Hillel does Shabbat (sp? sorry) with dinner afterwards. Amherst doesn't keep kosher all year, but during Passover you can sign up for special meals and there's so much matzoh (again with the spelling.) It's pretty active as far as I can tell; but there aren't too many Orthodox Jews, so I don't think that the lifestyle is strictly observant.</p>
<p>im pretty sure that you can actually request kosher preparation of your meals at val, if youre into that sort of thing</p>