<p>Grinnell seems like it would be a good fit for my d, but the Hillel site has no info on the number of Jewish kids there; a decent number is one of her criteria.</p>
<p>Can anyone shed light on the number and, equally important, the quality of Jewish life at Grinnell?</p>
<p>There is no nearby Jewish community, so Grinnell is unable to have a Hillel. There are a reasonable number of Jewish students, and an active Chalutzim (sp?) group who hold weekly Shabbat. They went for a while without a rabbi, but recently welcomed a new rabbi on campus who seems really nice.</p>
<p>AndIt, are you a student at Grinnell? If you are, do you have a feel for the quality of community among Jewish students?</p>
<p>D is first year–has only been there a week, but is having a great time with others who like to study but have a good time as well. Jewish thing is not real big with D, but Dad was happy when he met the Chalutzim group at admitted students weekend—a really nice group of students who are very welcoming of everyone regardless of religious affiliation.</p>
<p>My son is a Junior (how can that be!) and has been active in Chalutzim since day 1 at Grinnell. He either cooks, cleans or leads services every Friday night, has made vats of matzoh balls and written sermons. He has a very atypical upbringing from a religious perspective and finds that the group welcomes and learns from the entire spectrum of those of the faith. He is thrilled to have a new Rabbi- last year they had visiting Rabbis for the holidays but the students filled in as needed as well. There is a reasonably large # of Jewish students and I have no idea what % are involved in Chalutzim, but it is definitely a presence…</p>