Center for Jewish Life - Hillel at Princeton University
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Center for Jewish Life Building

The Center for Jewish Life building is owned and maintained by Princeton University through the Office of Religious Life in order to serve the Jewish needs of the Princeton University community. The University also runs the kosher dining hall. The building houses two auditoriums which are also used for prayer services, classes, lectures, and other events, a kosher dining hall, library, Beit Midrash, computer cluster, lounge, offices, pool room and TV lounge. The building is handicapped accessible. Outside groups wishing to use the space are referred to Conference and Event Services

Dining Hall and Kosher Food Services

The CJL Dinning Hall is supervised by the Orthodox Union.  For over 80 years the Orthodox Union has maintained the highest standard of kosher supervision. Today the OU certifies more than 400,000 products making it the world’s most recognized and the world’s most trusted kosher symbol. For more information check out http://oukosher.org/.

The Kosher Dining Hall is open to all Princeton students and part of the University's meal plan. The dining hall hours are:
Weekdays:
Breakfast 8:00 am-9:00 am
Lunch 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Dinner 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
         Friday dinner: 6:30-8:30
Shabbat meal times can vary.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are typically meat days.
Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are customarily dairy days.
Vegetarian choices are available at all meals.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Effective July 1, 2009, Dining Services will no longer accept checks or cash at the checker stations at the Center for Jewish Life. The only accepted transaction for non-students is Paw Points. By placing money on your TigerCard (University I.D.), or CJL Meal Card, you can set aside the funds you will need to buy food, Princeton University apparel, and more. More information about Paw Points is available on the TigerCard web site. www.princeton.edu/tigercard

Faculty and Staff

For University faculty and staff, Paw Points can be added to an account which is linked to the holder's TigerCard.

Guests and Friends

Guests who visit the CJL for meals can pick up a CJL Meal Card from the welcome Desk or from the Dining Hall. This card can then be filled with Paw Points for dining.

Purchasing Paw Points

Paw Points, whether for a generic or personal TigerCard, may be purchased in three ways:

  1. Online at www.princeton.edu/tigercard.  Purchases may be made via a major credit card on a secure web site.
  2. TigerCard Paw Points VTS machine in the Frist Campus Center, 100-level.  This un-attended kiosk accepts cash only and is available during Frist Campus Center business hours (www.Princeton.edu/Frist).  A Bank of America ATM is conveniently located on the 100-Level in the Frist Campus Center.
  3. In person at the TigerCard office, New South A-Level.  The TigerCard office hours may be found on-line at www.princeton.edu/tigercard.  Purchases may be made by cash, check or credit card at the TigerCard office.

Meals for Shabbat, Passover and other Holidays

The CJL dining hall prepares special meals for Shabbat, Passover & other Jewish holidays.  For these events, meal times vary from the typical schedule.  For more information, visit http://www.princetonhillel.org/

Contract meal plan holders (undergraduate, graduate students).

Any student who has a meal plan with the University can eat at the CJL by presenting their PU ID card at the entrance to the dining hall. 

Meal Card Information

A student’s University ID card serves as his or her meal card. The student must present this card to be admitted to meals.

Meal Prices

Please see residential dining services web site for current meal prices

PU Points.

The Points system turns any Princeton University ID card into a debit card which may be used at any dining facility on campus.  Points may be purchased at this site.  http://facilities.princeton.edu/dining/points_plans.htm

Passover Meals

The CJL operates a fully Kashered kitchen during the holiday of Passover.

Prospective Students Visiting Campus

The CJL is pleased to provide one guest meal to our dining hall for each prospective undergraduate or graduate student during their visit to Princeton.  Stop by the Welcome Desk or Program Office to obtain a meal pass.

Room Reservations

Spaces at the CJL can be reserved for University affiliated groups by contacting the CJL administrator, Ruth Palmer, rpalmer@princeton.edu. Non-affiliated groups may reserve space through Princeton University Conference Services, cvcs@princeton.edu.

Kosher Food-to-Go

Kosher meals to go may be pre-ordered by emailing iczarny@princeton.edu in advance.  Meals may by picked up during regular meal hours. 

Kosher catering

The CJL dining hall is available to cater PU Kosher functions on campus.  For more information, contact oscarsm@princeton.edu.

For more information about Princeton Dining or to view daily menus, visit http://facilities.princeton.edu/dining/

CJL Library

The CJL maintains an English language library of approximately 2,150 volumes, on the second floor across from the main office. Although our primary mission is to serve the students, faculty and staff of the University, we also welcome community members and visitors. Library categories include Bible and Tanach, Talmud and Midrash, Marriage and Family, Judaism and Contemporary Issues, History, Mystery & Science Fiction, Israel, Holocaust and others. Most books may be signed out for up to a semester. The Reference collection includes a set of Encyclopedia Judaica and the Schottenstein edition of the Talmud Bavli.

The Hebrew language collection, housed further down the hall in the Beit Midrash, is available for borrowing and study.

CJL Video Collection

Movies may be signed out from the CJL during office hours. We have around 300 videos and DVDs including many from the Jewish Heritage Video Collection. For a representative sample of titles see their website: www.jhvc.org or stop in the CJL main office for the complete list.