School of Arts and Sciences

For Students

Dear Students,

This month the Jewish community celebrated the festival of Purim, which commemorates the survival of the Jews in ancient Persia who were under threat of extermination from the genocidal intentions of Haman the Agagite. The story is recounted in the biblical book of Esther, named for the heroine of the story, Queen Esther, who uses her influence with King Ahasuerus to prevent Haman from carrying out his plan.

As those who are familiar with the holiday know, Purim is a carnivalesque festival, a day that celebrates the sudden and salvific reversal of fortunes of the Persian Jews; observances of the holiday often include costumes, playful, even scandalous sketches and jokes, and more than a little drinking. It’s a time to express gratitude and, in many ways, it is the epitome of the old Jewish joke that describes all holidays as celebrations of the same story: “they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat.”

For all its fairy-tale qualities, however, there’s one moment in the book of Esther that always stops me in my tracks and makes me do some serious soul-searching. It happens early in the story, when Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, informs her of Haman’s plot and charges Esther with the responsibility of speaking to the king to save her people. At first, Esther demurs, claiming that it is too risky for her to approach the king without having been invited for an audience. Mordecai’s response is short and powerful: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace…who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.”

In a way, Mordecai’s charge to Esther is the biblical version of the widely shared poem by the Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, “First They Came…,” which so powerfully condemns the silent complicity of German intellectuals and clergy during the rise of Nazism. But I think it’s actually a more precise call than Niemöller’s poem because it explicitly highlights Esther’s position of relative privilege and links that privilege with ethical responsibility. In other words, the call to speak out is not only in the eventual service of self-preservation (“They came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me”), it is specifically a function of having the privilege of speaking out, irrespective of whether those with privilege are under direct threat or not.

I have been thinking a lot about this kind of responsibility lately and how much it needs to inform my own actions. Unfortunately, we don’t lack occasions that call for some kind of response. And to be clear, I am not talking about public statements. Those are, in my view, largely performative and of little value on their own. What I am talking about are actions that make explicit our values, our priorities, and our commitments to the most vulnerable among us. It’s not only or even mostly about public defiance of the current administration, it’s about using whatever privilege we have to stand up for our own values, ensuring that the people who look to us for strength and support know that we are in their corner and that we see their struggles and anxieties.

The challenges we face in the coming months and years are significant. But we can only face them successfully if we don’t shy away from them, if we don’t duck and cover, if we lean into our institutional mission and our personal values.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey

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Featured News

Brandeis Emergency Fund for Students

The Brandeis Emergency Fund was created to assist currently active, high-need, undergraduate and graduate students experiencing some kind of unexpected financial emergency when other resources are not available.

The Fund focuses its limited resources on students with high demonstrated financial need (students with an EFC of approximately $20,000 or below, as determined by a financial aid application) who are experiencing unexpected financial emergencies for which no other funds are available (students are expected to apply for, and utilize, all other sources of funding before receiving emergency funds, including, if applicable, federal loan funds).

For updated information about eligibility criteria, examples of what can and cannot be considered, and the process by which to apply for emergency funds, please visit the Brandeis Emergency Fund website.

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Faculty Messages to the Class of 2025

As Brandeis seniors complete their final semester, the department and program chairs  offer professional advice and words of encouragement. Read the messages on our website!

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Office Relocations on Campus

Over the break, there were multiple department relocations around campus, resulting in part from the University's workspace policy aimed at reactivating office space while reducing operational expenses. Below is a list of who moved where. For questions, please contact Campus Planning and/or the departments. Updated locations are listed below:

• International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO): Upper Gerstenzang Library in the Science Quad
• Office of Study Abroad: Upper Gerstenzang Library in the Science Quad
• Office of Graduate Affairs: Upper Gerstenzang Library in the Science Quad
• Academic Fellowships Office: Usdan floor 2 in the former Study Abroad space
• Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations (URCC): Usdan floor 2 in the former Study Abroad space
• The Department of Sociology: Heller-Brown Building
• The Registrar: first floor of the Goldfarb Library

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Student Accessibility Support

Students with disabilities make up an important part of our Brandeis community, and includes individuals with a range of physical, sensory, psychological, medical, and learning disabilities. While appreciating the strengths and needs of all students, Student Accessibility Support collaborates with students and campus partners to ensure equitable access to the university experience.

If you have previously connected with SAS, please email your accommodation letters to course instructors right away. As a reminder, they are not retroactive and so timely notification to professors is important.

If you have not been previously in touch with SAS but you have received accommodations and supports in prior learning environments or believe that you may be eligible, SAS is glad to connect with you. Please email us at Access@brandeis.edu. We hope you have a wonderful semester.

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