Havurat Shalom records

Collection

Identifier: 11-MWalB02734

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of one linear feet of records relating to the first years Havurat Shalom. The majority of the materials are administrative records and correspondence created between 1968 and 1976. The administrative documents include minutes, reports, planning materials, and proposals for the structure of the community. There are also financial and real estate papers, tax documents, and insurance materials. The correspondence, principally to and from Rabbi Art Green, includes fundraising and sponsorship requests, as well as communications with prospective students, including decisions and selective service information for students. A small number of records relate to religious services and study.

Dates

1968-1984, bulk 1968-1976

Creator

Havurat Shalom (Somerville, Mass.) (Organization)
Havurat Shalom (Somerville, Mass.) (Donor, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Access to the collection is in accordance with the policies of the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University. Please contact the department for form information.

The collection contains applications to the Havurat Shalom seminary, circa 1968. Some of these folders contained grade transcripts, which were separated and restricted until 2038.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests to reproduce or publish material from the collection should be directed to the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University.

Historical Note

Havurat Shalom was established in 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a combined Jewish seminary and experiment in communal living, an attempt to reinvigorate Jewish spiritual life by more intensely connecting it with values of the counterculture. Havurat Shalom physically moved to neighboring Somerville, and institutionally moved away from a mission as a formal educational institution towards one centered around an experience of Jewish spirituality based in social community and the concerns of the contemporary world. It rapidly gained prominence, and inspired other similar Havurah around the country, both serving younger Jews’ desire for a more open and contemporary religious experience, while also influencing Jewish religious practices on a wider scale. Many of its early members and founders were Brandeis University graduates who went on to prominent roles in both theology and Jewish studies.

Sources: Sarna, Jonathan. American Judaism: A History. New Haven: Yale, 2004.

Extent

1.25 Linear Feet (2 manuscript boxes, 2 half manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder )

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Acquisitions Note

The collection was donated by Havurat Shalom in January 2019.

Related Materials

Materials related to Havurat Shalom can be found in the Arthur Green papers at Brandeis University. The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), Boston also houses a collection of Arthur Green papers that contains Havurat Shalom materials.

Processing information

This collection was processed to a basic level. The archivist put the materials in new folders and boxes and the order in which the material was received was retained. A small group of materials, including business cards, an expired credit card, blank tax and selective service forms, and an envelope of cancelled checks and bills, were weeded and returned to Havurat Shalom.