- Eliezer Society
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The Eliezer Society (formerly the Chai Society) is a members-only Jewish society at Yale University. Founded in 1997 by Oliver Benjamin Karp and Rabbi Shmully Hecht, the purpose of the Society is to attract Jewish and non-Jewish leaders on Yale's campus in order to create a dialogue between various branches of Judaism and between the secular and religious worlds in an intellectual salon setting. It boasts a diverse membership of Yale alumni, faculty, and students, including, Dr. Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, NJ, Professor Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School, and renowned international financier Mark Gerson. Originally founded as the "Chai Society," the name was changed to Eliezer in 2006.
In the second edition of Joining the Club; the History of Jews at Yale, published by Yale University Press in 2001, historian Dan Oren updated the earlier version of his work in consideration of recent additions to Jewish campus life. Remarking on the advent of a Jewish society with elements of traditional Yale socieites and clubs he noted:
“In 1997 Oliver Ben Karp and Lubavitch Rabbi Shmully Hecht founded the Chai Society in order to create a salon atmosphere that would attract elite Jewish and Non-Jewish undergraduate and graduate students on campus. By 2000 they had successfully enrolled a full membership and owned 3 buildings on Crown St. and were supporting several start up businesses that they hoped would boost the New Haven economy.” (Oren, 2001)
Guests, speakers and scholars in residence at Eliezer both affiliated with Yale and otherwise, as well as interviewees for a Chai archive of prominent Jewish alumni of Yale have included Jerry Springer, Robert Bookman, Will Eisner, Donna Dubinsky, Stephen A. Schwarzman, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Reuben Greenberg, Larry Coben and Henry Winkler.
In 2006, the trustees of the Chai Society, Inc., the 501c3 non-profit which supports the activities of the Yale student club, legally changed its name to Eliezer, Inc in homage to the meaning of that Hebrew name; 'My G-d will help,' and, 'Eli' being Yale's nickname, that Eliezer members should follow in the tradition of 'For G-d, Country and Yale'. (http://www.279crown.org)
External links
Articles about the Eliezer Society
Categories:- Yale University
- Organizations established in 1997
- Student societies in the United States
- Jewish organizations based in the United States
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