With the start of university term around the corner this September, as well as the High Holy Days not far behind in October, Progressive Jewish Students (PJS) is here for all needs on campus and beyond.

We cater not just to the quarter of Jewish university students who identify as Progressive Jews – but also all those who are unaffiliated, secular, Progressive-curious or looking to try something new.

As students file back to uni, they will barely have a moment to breathe and get settled in – often in new accommodation with new housemates – before the High Holy Days season is upon them.

For university students, and indeed all those aged between 18 and 26, Progressive Judaism offers free High Holy Days tickets.

PJS – as the university chaplaincy that sits under both Liberal and Reform Judaism – is affiliated to more than 80 synagogues and congregations around the country.

We connect university students with their local Progressive community, one that is usually new to them, as their Jewish home away from home.

Are you at Edinburgh Uni over Rosh Hashanah? How about free student tickets to Sukkat Shalom, Edinburgh’s Liberal Jewish community? Studying at Cambridge when it’s Yom Kippur? What about spending it with Beth Shalom Reform Synagogue in the city?

Whether you find yourself in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Norwich, Newcastle, York or dozens of other places around the country, you are near a Progressive – Liberal or Reform – Jewish community that PJS can connect you to.

In a similar vein, PJS facilitates egalitarian prayer and study spaces – especially important when, unfortunately, many Jewish societies meet in Orthodox-only premises, where egalitarian prayer is discouraged or downright not allowed.

As part of this, we plan to co-host Kabbalat Shabbat Friday evenings with the London unis starting this autumn.

PJS also offers year-round pastoral support on all matters. At this time, we are increasingly providing help for those struggling with antisemitism on campus, and those – such as student leaders in Warwick and Manchester – who have shared with us the pain of intra-Jewish tensions and recriminations (from all sides) that have arisen around Israel-Palestine.

PJS is here for all students, including those who feel disenfranchised religiously or politically by other Jewish, more Ortho-normative offerings, like Aish, Chabad and University Chaplaincy.

Another way that PJS maintains a vibrant Progressive Jewish life on campus is through regular festival pack mailings. Aided by a generous grant from the NLPS Trust, we send out hundreds of packs so students can celebrate Pesach, Chanukah and the festivals they associate with home.

To get in touch, find us on social media – including @progressivestudentchaplain on Instagram – or please email PJS@progressivejudaism.org.uk.

• Written by Rabbi Leah Jordan, Progressive Judaism Student Chaplain