Benjamin Berlow ’06 Expands Religious Knowledge with Customized Jewish Studies Major

When Benjamin Berlow ’06 (Palmerton, Pa.) arrived at Lafayette, he knew he wanted to major in psychology. He also knew he wanted to make Jewish studies a part of his academic life.

“I didn’t know if a minor or major would be better to pursue,” he says, explaining that his options included a minor in Jewish studies, a second major in religious studies, or an interdisciplinary, customized second major in Jewish studies. “In the end, I decided to double major with a custom major.”

This past fall, Berlow took an Intermediate Hebrew course and an independent study version of the Hebrew Bible class. Completing all of the work for the independent study with additional assignments, Berlow periodically met with Hebrew Bible instructorRobert L. Cohn, Berman Professor of Jewish Studies.

Berlow says he was glad to work with Cohn, noting that their families have belonged to the same synagogue for most of his life.

“He is a very qualified mentor academically,” he says. “I often found myself in a situation in which I thought I had a very profound question, and he would hand me an essay that he wrote years ago that answered my question in the greatest of detail.”

He says that while the Hebrew Bible course was his first independent study, “time and time again professors adapt to my needs and concerns to help my education. Lafayette professors work with students to make their goals possible.”

Berlow adds that he’s glad for the opportunity to create an individualized major.

“Overall, I could not be happier with my choice and with the quality of courses offered here at Lafayette,” he says.

In addition to enjoying the College’s state-of-the-art facilities, Berlow says, “I love the courses I have taken and am taking now, and I’m almost positive that I want to pursue this major to a career in some way, shape, or form.”

President of the campus chapter of Hillel, he hopes to pursue a Hillel International fellowship in Washington, D.C. or on a college campus following graduation, which would allow him to work with Hillel professionals across the nation and implement student Hillel programs.

“After [the fellowship], I’m planning on going to graduate school for psychology and eventually ending up in the academic world,” he says.

Berlow is enhancing his education in Jewish studies by serving as an editorial assistant to Ilan Peleg, Charles A. Dana Professor of Social Science, for the international Israeli Studies Forum. They finished the spring issue over the January interim session.

“My main task is to make sure that all of the articles are consistent and in the same format,” he explains. “This means, for instance, that all of the references are similar and the articles use similar language and spelling.”

The content of the journal, ranging from current political developments in Palestine to Israeli literature reviews, has been especially interesting recently, says Berlow, who occasionally reviews such articles and helps flesh out their content.

He is vice president, set designer, and webmaster of the Marquis Players, a student group that produces an annual musical to benefit charity, and will play a lead role in its production of Anything Goes this semester. He also is an America Reads tutor at local elementary schools and Lehigh Valley Childcare, a psychology tutor through Lafayette’s Academic Resource Center, and a song leader for Jewish services. In addition, he is an active member of Association of Lafayette Feminists, QuEST (Questioning Established Sexual Taboos), College Democrats, Lafayette Intercultural Networking Council, Students for Social Justice, and Forensics Society. He graduated from Palmerton High School.

“I think my experience at Lafayette has really helped me evolve as a leader and a person,” he says. “Throughout all of my experiences, I believe that I have grown into a more caring, devoted, and charismatic human being.”

Benjamin Berlow ’06 studied the Hebrew Bible with Robert Cohn, Berman Professor of Jewish Studies.