Naming opportunities are still available for donors who wish to dedicate a special space in the Cohn Jewish Student Center.
Spaces still available include the chapel, the living room, the billiards room, the staff work area, the dining hall, the library, the kitchen, the student laundry room and many other spaces. Also available are individual
mezzuzot for each room, the pillars outside our building, and library book shelves.
Help add Jewish Elements to our home
Students have been enjoying our beautiful new state-of-the-art home, the
Cohn Jewish Student Center, for nearly three years, but support is still needed to help us include several vital Jewish elements that we have not yet been able to acquire.
The Ark
While a temporary Ark has been in use since the opening of the building, we hope to have a custom-built, permanent Ark for our chapel. Hillel has commissioned Canton, Ohio, furniture designer John Strauss of John Strauss Furniture Design Ltd. to design the
Aron HaKodesh, Holy Ark, to house Hillel’s two Torahs. The design will include 36 steel rings made from recycled pipe. Based on Hebrew numerology, the letters
lamed and
vav equal 36. These 36 rings represent Hillel’s diverse student community and the “
lamed vavniks” – the 36 righteous people who, according to Jewish mystical tradition, sustain the world. This reminds us that without each unique individual, our world would not exist, and that each human spirit is to be valued equally. Hillel is based on this notion and takes pride in being a place of pluralism made up of unique and individual students who each bring their own voices, talents and traditions to our community. Hillel students will be able to assist John in various stages of construction.
The
Ner Tamid
At the top of the Ark will be the
Ner Tamid, the Eternal Light, constructed out of 12 recycled steel rings to represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
Chapel windows
Hillel hopes to have 20 custom-made sculpted glass windows in the second floor chapel/multi-purpose room. Each window will be made to represent a significant Jewish theme. Hillel students will be included in inspiring the designs by researching and selecting these themes, and their importance in Jewish life. Individual donors can choose to name a single window or a set of five.
Torah
While Hillel currently has two Torah scrolls that were donated to us, it has always been our dream to have a Torah written especially for Hillel at Kent State, to give students the opportunity of witnessing this significant ritual in Jewish life, and to participate in it.
For more information about how you can name a space in the Cohn Jewish Student Center or help us acquire one of the vital Jewish elements listed above, please contact:
Jennifer Chestnut
Executive Director
jchestnu@kent.edu
330-678-0397, ext. 109