The Klehr Center for Jewish Life

Jewish Life, Lived Fully

Through Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, learning opportunities, and student-led initiatives, Jewish life at F&M is dynamic, pluralistic, and deeply relational.

Students gather here to mark sacred time, ask big questions, build friendships, and explore what it means to live Jewishly—on their own terms now and into the future.

Leadership That Begins Here

At the Klehr Center, students don’t just participate—they lead.

Through F&M Hillel, service-learning initiatives, and campus partnerships, students develop leadership rooted in responsibility, curiosity, and care for others. Jewish values like tikkun olam (repairing the world), kehillah (community), and machloket l’shem shamayim (disagreement for the sake of heaven) become lived practices on campus and beyond.

For the Entire F&M Community

As part of the College’s commitment to community and belonging, the Klehr Center collaborates across campus to create spaces where all students—regardless of background or belief—can explore identity, meaning, and connection.

We are:

• A gathering space for interfaith dialogue
• A partner in campus-wide belonging initiatives
• A bridge between academic life and lived experience
• A welcoming place for reflection, connection, and community

Learning Beyond the Classroom

The Klehr Center extends F&M’s liberal arts mission into lived experience by:

• Sponsoring lectures, discussions, and cultural programming
• Supporting Judaic Studies
• Facilitating travel and global learning
• Encouraging civic engagement grounded in Jewish values
• Empowering F&M Hillel student leaders to create vibrant, peer-led community experiences

A Place to Gather and Connect

Located on College Ave., the Klehr Center offers:

• A welcoming lounge and study space
• A kosher-style kitchen and shared meals
• Classrooms and program space
• Opportunities for informal connection
• A home base for F&M Hillel’s student life and programming

As part of our commitment to sustainability, the Klehr Center is a certified Green Office and a member of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition through Adamah.

Connected to a Broader Jewish Community

Located in the city of Lancaster, F&M offers access to a vibrant Jewish ecosystem.

Students engage with the nearby Reform and Conservative congregations, as well as a campus Chabad with student leadership, a Rabbi, and Rebbetzin.

At the same time, the Klehr Center maintains deep relationships across the Central Pennsylvania Jewish community—partnering on programs, contributing to regional initiatives, and helping shape the evolving landscape of Jewish life beyond the College.

This connection ensures that Jewish life at F&M is both grounded locally and connected regionally, offering students opportunities to engage in communities that extend well beyond their college years.