In 1997, three students established the group for the few Orthodox students at the University.
They chose to name the new group Tikvah, the Hebrew word for hope. It was their hope that
the group would grow and be there to serve the religious students that came from Miami and
other parts of the country. Under the leadership of Justin Zeller and Michael Behar, Tikvah
became fully integrated into the Jewish community of Gainesville, Florida. The group got a
further boost when it became part of the student government of the University. Tikvah originally
conducted its services in a little room in the main building of the University of Florida Hillel
Association.
In 1998, Michael Rothenberg joined the team. That year, Tikvah expanded their base and reached
out to all the students. Tikvah worked together with the other Jewish groups, engaging in social
functions and other programs. The following year, Tikvah took on a bold project. Under the
leadership of Michael Rothenberg and with the enormous efforts of Summer Schwartz, the
group singlehandedly made the Hillel kitchen glat Kosher; a major project indeed. Furthermore,
under the supervision of Rabbi Edward Davis of Hollywood, Florida, members of the group
including Michael Rothenberg, Summer Schwartz, Michael Behar, and Aaron Cohen
supervised the kitchen and maintained its strictness to traditional Jewish dietary law. The
group used the kitchen to supervise the cooking of meals for hundreds of students and guests
every Shabbos. The cooking and preperation was done by Summer Schwartz. For the first time,
students at the University were able to get a glat Kosher meal every week.
Tikvah continued to grow. Services drew 40 - 70 students per week. Weekday morning services
were held periodically, where none had existed before. Classes were given every week, where
anyone could get their questions aswered. Michael Rothenberg led a Talmud class that drew
interest from many students (and some faculty) who never had the opportunity to study
Talmud before. Michael got the idea for starting Tikvah Online as a way to reach out to students
and millions of other people via the internet. It is now a giant resource site for Jewish learning
and the group's activities.
Tikvah joined with Yeshivah Miami and Talmudic Academy to bring a touch of
Chassidism to Gainesville. Successful Purim services were held, where hundreds of students
celebrated with members of a Miami Yeshivah and expereicned a true Megillah reading.
Due to the efforts of Michael Behar, Tikvah was able to draw Aish Hatorah to Gainesville to
conduct a world famous program. Passover services were held in the most traditional sense and
hundreds of students attended. Tikvah also brought esteemed, world famous Rabbis to town and
had Shabbatons both on campus and even in member's homes. In Summer 2000, with the
help of Michael Rothenberg and others, Chabad Lubavitch returned to Gainesville to serve
the growing, vibrant Jewish community.
Today, Tikvah continues to stand for True Torah Judaism and Jewish learning. We believe in
making this learning available to all people wherever they may be. With G-d's help, We will
continue to serve Jewish students at the University of Florida for years to come and will
continue to give access via the web for all Jews to have the vital Torah learning we Jews
so desperately need. Thank you for visiting our site.
