CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - In the bastion of higher learning known as Harvard University some students are touting a new way to study. And it's so informal, it's taking place in a house.

Rabbi Hirschy and Elkie Zarchi arrived in Cambridge with the class of 2001. Without any publicity, their house began to fill with students and community members who came for classes, discussion and the Shabbat experience. Harvard Friends of Chabad was officially recognized as a Harvard campus group by the Dean of Students last semester.

Chabad's intellectual legacy fits well in this city teeming with universities. But students are learning in an atmosphere quite unlike the typical Harvard classroom.

"The learning is refreshing," says Jeremy Bash, a graduate of Harvard Law School, '98. "Learning for its own sake doesn't feed the intellect alone, it leads to a whole different goal — it can feed the spirit."

Yet it is more than intellectual curiosity that gets people to the Zarchis'. Many of the students who frequent Chabad of Cambridge are already on their way to high-powered careers. They come to the Zarchis to take some time out and explore what role Judaism can play in their lives.

"Some of the students today are looking for intellectual stimulation, some are looking for a spiritual experience," explains says Harvard Law professor and author Alan M. Dershowitz, who is the faculty sponsor of Harvard Friends of Chabad. "Chabad has both."

"I know a lot of people who go to [Chabad to] discuss things like marriage, intermarriage and conversion," says Eric Ediden, president of the Jewish Association at Harvard Business School. "The organizations that simply plan events are not creating the intimate relationship the Zarchis are creating."

Mrs. Elkie Zarchi works hard at creating the atmosphere conducive to nurturing these relationships. "Human contact outside of formal religious settings is often the most important Jewish experience a person has," she says.

On a campus known for its academic rigor and intense competitiveness, the Chabad classes for the spirit can offer a welcome change. Business School student David Teten notes, "My benchmark is Harvard Business School where the average classroom is morally neutral and very aggressive. The Zarchis are about welcoming you and giving you a sense of camaraderie [rather than] competitiveness."

"He's terrific," Professor Dershowitz says about Rabbi Zarchi. "He understands what it means to be on the Harvard campus. He's involved intellectually in the life of the community, he understands it.

"Harvard is not the easiest community in the world, we're all a bunch of prima donnas," admits Dershowitz. "It says in Ecclesiastics, 'To everything there is a season.' [Rabbi Zarchi] understands the season of Harvard."

CHASSIDISM FOR THE IVY LEAGUE
The Zarchis are not newcomers to campus life, nor is Chabad a new presence in Cambridge. Over several decades, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of righteous memory, was in contact with many students and faculty members. Many were also touched by the efforts of other Chabad emissaries in the area.

Rabbi Zarchi himself volunteered for two years at the Chabad House in Kenmore Square, at Boston University, while studying at the Lubavitch yeshiva in Boston. "It was my experience there that inspired me to come to Cambridge," says Zarchi.

Chabad of Cambridge joins Chabad at other Ivy League college campuses like Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Yale.

In the 18 months since they opened Chabad of Cambridge, Rabbi and Mrs. Zarchi have organized classes, lectures, and informal "farbrengens" at the Law School, Business School, and college houses. This past Chanukah, Harvard Friends of Chabad sponsored a daily public Menorah lighting in Harvard Yard, a first in Harvard's history. Professors Dershowitz, Ruth Wisse and Michael Sandel were among those honored to light the Menorah.

But the couple concentrates much of its efforts on less formal happenings. "People here are inundated with fabulous speakers and towering personalities," says Rabbi Zarchi. "We feel that meeting people over a Shabbat meal, or conducting an in-depth discussion on a Jewish topic can have an even deeper impact at times."

UNDISCRIMINATING ACCEPTANCE
Shabbat at the Zarchis' is a social evening and classroom wrapped in one. Mrs. Zarchi says that she and her husband try to ensure that "the insight, depth, and perspective of Chassidism comes across in everything we do, be it one-on-one learning, group Torah classes or Shabbat meals. Human warmth and intense intellectualism work well together — and that's what's so unique about Chabad."

Professor Dershowitz is particularly fond of the fact that Chabad's doors are open to everyone. "Chabad does not have a litmus test to belong, it believes in making Judaism available to all Jews on campus," he says.

"[Chabad has] an ability to bring Jewish students from different backgrounds together very seamlessly and effortlessly," says Alyssa Quint, a Ph.D. student in Yiddish literature. Jonathan Baron, a student at both the Law and Business Schools, says that due to the "extremely warm and hospitable environment...and Elkie's excellent cooking... it's an automatic home away from home."

Though an estimated 25 percent of Harvard University's 18,500 students are Jewish, studies show that the majority do not partake of any aspect of Jewish life. "Chabad is trying to reach out to those who for whatever reason have not been touched," Rabbi Zarchi says.

Among students who are active on campus, many go to programs sponsored by Hillel, and relations between Chabad and Hillel are good.

"The Zarchis are beloved by many, and we have a wonderful informal relationship," says Dr. Bernie Steinberg, Director of Harvard Hillel. "We share the same goals, to renew Jewish life wherever we can."

"They are perfectly suited for Cambridge," says Bash. "They definitely demonstrate a sophistication and worldliness...they are contemporaries of most of the people they interact with, and can relate to them in terms of their stations in life.

"They are a wonderful and long overdue addition to Harvard."