Chai Society

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.”

Included in that diverse founding membership are scholars such as Noah Feldman and Michael Alexander (academic) as well as the current mayor of Newark, NJ., Cory Booker.

Guests, speakers and scholars in residence at Chai both affiliated with Yale and otherwise, as well as interviewees for a Chai archive of prominent Jewish alumi of Yale have included Jerry Springer, Will Eisner, Donna Dubinsky, Stephen A. Schwarzman, Elizabeth Wurtzel Reuben Greenberg, 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'.

Links:

Article "Opening the Ivy Doors" [http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/3005]

New York Times Article [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE4DA1F3EF931A25751C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all]

Article "Yale's members-only Jewish Club" [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/16465/edition_id/323/format/html/displaystory.html]

Official Website: [http://www.chaisociety.org/]