Alumni

Welcome to Slifka Center, the home for Jewish Life at Yale. Whether you graduated before our Center opened in 1995 or had the chance to use the Center as a student, we welcome you to the hub of the Yale Jewish community. We invite you to browse this site and learn about everything that the Center offers for today’s Yale undergraduates and graduate students. We also have some programming that is designed for you!

Alumni are always welcome to visit! Graduated before Slifka opened in 1995? Come see what the hub of Jewish life looks like today. Graduated in the Slifka Center era? Come see Yale’s bustling Jewish center, see our newly renovated spaces, and stay for a meal! You can also visit our “Parents and Alumni Lounge” on the second floor where you can have a comfortable seat, use the wifi, and visit with staff, students, and colleagues.

It’s easy to stay in touch with Yale’s Jewish community even when you’re far from New Haven. Sign up for our monthly Friends of Slifka Center Newsletter to get great pictures, updates, and reflections on Jewish life at Yale today.

Want to puchase Slifka swag? Check out our Swag Shop!

Planning to visit? Contact Melinda Papowitz.

Held each year the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Game is a major highlight of the year, which draws thousands of alumni back to Yale every other year when the game takes place here.

This year the Game will take place AT YALE on November 18, 2023. Alumni who are coming to campus for the weekend are invited to celebrate Shabbat at Slifka Center, including services and Shabbat Dinner on the Friday night before, services (held early to accommodate the schedule) and lunch (either at Slifka or at the Slifka table at the Yale Alumni Association tailgate tent), and other Shabbat programming. Schedule details and registration will be available soon. In the meantime, please contact Lynn Jackson for more information.

Are you planning to attend your Yale College Reunion this May/June? Plan to include Slifka Center in your celebrations. Slifka Center offers Shabbat dinner, lunch, and third meal, along with prayer services if there is enough demand. We host a “Saturday Morning at Yale” lecture, and provide opportunities for tours, as well as kosher meals either at Slifka or to be delivered to your Class location.

We will provide information for the 2024 reunions in the Spring. You can see the schedule from our 2023 Reunions below for your reference. In the meantime, if you have any questions about reunions, please contact Lynn Jackson.

First Reunion Weekend, May 25 – 28, 2023

Classes of 1953, 1958, 1963, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008

Friday, 4 pm – Slifka Center Lobby

Kiddush and Candles – All are welcome to stop by for an open house and building tours with Slifka Center staff, with light refreshments and candle lighting.

Friday, 5:45 pm and Saturday, 8:15 am

Shabbat Services – Services will take place based on alumni interest. Please contact lynn.jackson@yale.edu if interested.

Friday, 7 pm – Slifka Center’s Kikar Schusterman, Ground Floor

Family-style Shabbat Dinner – Traditional Shabbat meal including challah and wine. Please reserve via your class’s reunion registration form. Reservations Required.

Saturday, 11 am – Sylvia Slifka Chapel, 2nd Floor

Slifka hosts “Morning at Yale” featuring Guido Calabresi ’53, ’58 LLB, Professor Emeritus of Law

HOLOCAUST TALES: HOW EVERY BLOOD MEMBER OF MY FAMILY WAS SAVED, AND WHO SAVED THEM: After Italy surrendered to Germany in September 1943, Italians of Jewish ancestry immediately found themselves in mortal danger. Professor Calabresi, former dean of Yale Law School, will relate how his family members were saved through the help of fellow citizens, poor and rich, powerful and powerless. The stories of how this happened are fascinating and “even fun in themselves,” he says, marveling at some people’s willingness to risk their lives to rescue others.

Saturday, 12 noon to 1 pm – Slifka Center Lobby

Slifka Center Renovation Tours – Slifka Center has recently completed an exciting building renovation! Come see our indoor and outdoor spaces, following the day’s “Morning at Yale” sessions.

Second Reunion Weekend, June 1 – 4, 2023

Classes of 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 2013, 2018

Friday, 4 pm – Slifka Center Lobby

Kiddush and Candles – All are welcome to stop by for an open house and building tours with Slifka Center staff, with light refreshments and candle lighting.

Friday, 5:45 pm and Saturday, 8:15 am

Shabbat Services – Services will take place based on alumni interest. Please contact lynn.jackson@yale.edu if interested.

Friday, 7 pm – Slifka Center’s Kikar Schusterman, Ground Floor

Family-style Shabbat Dinner – Traditional Shabbat meal including challah and wine. Please reserve via your class’s reunion registration form. Reservations Required.

Saturday, 11 am – Sylvia Slifka Chapel, 2nd Floor

Slifka hosts “Morning at Yale” featuring Tamar Gendler ’87, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences

FIRESIDE CHAT ON THE FUTURE WITH DEAN GENDLER: What will a Yale education look like in 2050? What differences might we see, halfway through the century, in the composition of Yale’s faculty? How will artificial intelligence change the way teachers teach and students learn? And how will Yale remain distinctive among its peers? In this conversation with Slifka Center Executive Director Uri Cohen, Dean Gendler will share how her Jewish upbringing has shaped how she considers the past and present, and influences her vision of the future. Further, Dean Gendler will discuss how the university is preparing for the future– and adapting to a future, that in many respects, is already here.

Saturday, 12 noon to 1 pm – Slifka Center Lobby

Slifka Center Renovation Tours – Slifka Center has recently completed an exciting building renovation! Come see our indoor and outdoor spaces, following the day’s “Morning at Yale” sessions.

• Click the images above for information about visiting or staying in touch, the Game, and Yale College Reunions.
• Kosher Dining at Yale
• the Yale Eruv
• Helpful Links:   
  • Yale College Reunions
  • Yale Medical School Reunions
  • Yale School of Management Reunions
  • Yale Law School Alumni Weekend – October 20-22, 2023
  • Yale Alumni Association

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