NEWS

Cambridge-It's got Harvard, History and Jewish Life, too

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by Ruth Rovner

At the outdoor café just steps away from Harvard Square, two chess players are engrossed in a game, while others stand and watch. Nearby, at the kiosk, students are browsing among the foreign newspapers or hurrying by, lugging bulging book bags, as they enter the gate that leads to Harvard Yard.

Further up on Harvard Square, a student with a guitar is giving an impromptu concert, and a small crowd has gathered to listen.

It's all part of the collegiate ambience of Cambridge. Situated just across the Charles River from Boston, this New England town is dominated by the presence of its most famous university (Massachusetts Institute of Technology is also in Cambridge, but it has a lower profile). The shop windows display Harvard sweatshirts, pennants and other Harvard souvenirs. The subway stop is "Harvard." Even the newspaper kiosk in Harvard Square is a national historic landmark because of its Harvard identity.

That's why we began our exploration of Cambridge with a wallking tour Harvard Yard. Led by a trained guide who was also a Harvard student, our tour covered many campus landmarks and also gave us historical details.

We saw Massachusetts Hall, for example, where 500 Continental Army soldiers were once housed. As the oldest still-standing campus building, it was built in l720. But students were attending Harvard even earlier than that.

The nation's oldest university was established in l636 by a vote of the court of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Later it was named for John Harvard, a young minister who, when he died in l638, left his library and half his estate to the new institution. Since then it has educated many illustrious students, including six U.S. Presidents, starting with John Adams.

Our tour covered varied sites, from the freshman dormitories where Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau once lived to the imposing Widener Library, the largest university library system in the world and the nation's third largest library .

After the tour, there was still much more of Cambridge to explore. So we next boarded an old-fashioned trolley for a narrated spin around town. We passed historic sites like Cambridge Commons, the square where each year cannons celebrate the day in l776 when the British left town and General George Washington and l6,000 troops took over. Harvard's dorms became temporary barracks for the soldiers.

And we rode up wide, tree-lined Brattle Street and saw stately mansions, many once owned by wealthy Tories (that's why the street was once nicknamed Tory Row). We also saw the former home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, now a historic site open to the public. Lower Brattle had a more distinct college flavor- and its own history. There was, for instance, the former blacksmith's shop which is now an outdoor café; and the Brattle Street theater, a movie house for art films. This was once the theater where Paul Robeson sang when he was excluded everywhere else.

In contrast to historic Brattle Street, Charles Square is a modern plaza with outdoor courtyard- often the scene of jazz concerts- elegant boutiques and a brick-styled hotel.

We also rode along the tranquil river area with boathouses and castle-like turreted buildings which serve as dorms for Harvard's upperclassmen. Some of them were out jogging, walking, and cycling along the wide river promenade: Cambridge is an exceptionally bike-friendly town, with thousands of student cyclists.

When our tour trolley returned to Harvard Square, we were ready to explore Jewish Cambridge. First we visited a handsome brick building with palladium window at #74 Mt. Auburn Street, headquarters for Harvard Hillel.

Inside, it's a cheerful place humming with activity. Five different student congregations worship here, and this is also the cultural hub for the large contingent of Jewish students at Harvard. Facilities include a kosher restaurant open to the public, plus meeting rooms for Hillel's varied cultural programs- everything from Israeli folk dancing to Talmud courses.

From here it was just a short walk to Tremont Street, where Temple Beth Shalom is located. Known as the Tremont Street shul, it's a modest building that is headquarters for the city's one congregation.

Outside, we admired the landscaped garden enclosed by a colorful tile wall, with the tiles depicting sites related to the city's Jewish history.

Inside, executive director Miriam Klapper was busy at her desk,but took time to tell us about the congregation which now numbers l40 families. "It's a warm, friendly congregation," she said, showing us the sanctuary, where services are led by Rabbi Moshe Holzer.

Actually, this eclectic congregation holds two services, one traditional and the other egalitarian, in which women are called to the bimah. "And at the end of each service, the two groups join together in the vestry downstairs," said Ms. Klapper.

The two groups - both of which include students from both Harvard and MIT- conclude services together and then share in a sit-down kiddush every Friday evening. "And visitors are always welcome," emphasized Ms. Klapper.

True to the college town ambience of Cambridge, this is a congregation with an active cultural life. For instance, it hosts a series called "Cambridge Lectures on Contemporary Thought" and other events such as klezmer concerts.

But the most famous event is the annual Simchat Torah celebration, when the entire street is closed to traffic and young and old, students and locals, sing and dance in the street. "It draws as many as a thousand people," said Ms. Klapper. "They sing and dance well into the night."

From Harvard Yard to the Tremont Street shul, Cambridge is a lively college town- so lively that it's easy to forget about Boston across the river and enjoy an entire weekend here with the students. ###--

---The information booth at Harvard Square has helpful pamphlets and information about tours. For advance information call Cambridge Discovery Tours at 6l7-497-l630.

---Temple Beth Shalom on Tremont Street, phone 6l7-864-6388, holds Shabbat services Friday evenings, and visitors are welcome.

---Harvard Hillel (phone 6l7-495-4696) has a kosher restaurant open to the public.