Outreach a Success for Campus Hillels
Congratulations to both Rabbi Josh Feigelson and Aaron Weil for their recent coverage in a JTA article
. The article highlights how they have helped Hillel move beyond designing successful outreach programs for students on the periphery of Jewish life – their programs are now attracting students campus-wide. Thanks to the generous support of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation, JOI has had the privilege of working with both of these innovative Hillel professionals through a partnership with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
Last November I had the opportunity to travel to Northwestern University to meet with Rabbi Feigelson and the Hillel’s student leadership. After a presentation on outreach methodology for the student leadership and a short tour of campus, I got to see first hand the diverse group of students involved and engaged by Hillel’s “Ask Big Questions” Initiative. This initiative, in which students are encouraged to pose questions to www.AskBigQuestions.com, tries to use Jewish wisdom to answer contemporary challenges. Students from across the religious and cultural spectrum posed questions, and the reactions were discussed during one of the Hillel’s Fireside Chats, featuring a professor who spoke about that week’s headlining “Big Question.”
That’s just one example of Hillel “throwing open it’s doors” to everyone. Hillel chapters are also organizing interfaith programs, and non-Jews now sit on Hillel boards. This reflects what many Hillel directors see as a growing desire by students to make Hillel as culturally diverse as possible. As a JOI program officer and former participant/student leader at my alma mater’s campus Hillel, it’s exciting to read that Hillel International and local campus Hillels are breaking down boundaries and lowering the barriers to all students’ participation in Jewish life on campus. Aaron Weil sums it up nicely, and we at JOI agree:
“The benefit to us,” Weil continued, “is by making ourself a place that is open to all, Jews are going to feel more comfortable to go there because they’re not going to a place that is Jewish only. Jews are looking today, in general, for opportunities to be Jewish but not to be separate.”
Let me start with, I am not oppossed to opening doors & lowering barriers…….that said. One of my neighbors in order to stop her daughter from dating a non- Jew sent her child to Israel for a year - only to have her get engaged to an Arab student.
One of the reasons we as parents look for schools with high jewish populations and active Hillels is so our children will meet other Jews. To have non- Jews on the boards of Hillel’s and opening the doors to all faiths, does in fact water down the odds that your child will mingle with other Jewsih students ( and find their potential soul- mate ) We as parents had certain “expectations ” which we can no longer count on.
Comment by Ell — April 3, 2008 @ 6:29 am
I agree. As a former Hillel president in college, it was always our policy to do OCCASSIONAL intergroup (rarely interfaith) events as a means of increasing our exposure to Jewish students, in order that those students would ultimately feel comfortable coming on their own to other Hillel events, where we strove to create a Jewish-only environment.
As Ell points out, part of the reason is that we wanted to encourage Jews dating Jews, which is difficult to promote on campuses, and which was an important goal of the Hillel governing board, the parents who wanted their kids to attend HIllel events, and those Jewish students who were inclined to attend on their own.
Even now, I hear from singles in their 30s and 40s that they don’t know where to go to meet other Jews. Everything seems to be open to everyone and interfaith, etc., and it is very frustrating for those who want to date and marry another Jew. At least in college Hillel created an environment where those who sought it out knew to expect that they’d meet another Jew there.
For Hillel to strive to be more open by promoting interfaith events and allowing nonJews on the board I think defeats its purpose. While I agree that it is becomming increasingly difficult to get Jews on campus to come to Hillel, that does not mean Hillel should thwart its own purpose in order to get people in the door. If they feel they can no longer serve the Jewish campus students by providing a Jewish environment, then perhaps it is time for a new, creative initiative that can do it to replace Hillel.
Comment by marc — April 3, 2008 @ 10:42 am
While I dont agree with either of you, it is also important to recognize that the kids in college today prefer diverse environments–and Hillel is not about “preventing intermarriage” it is about nurturing Jewish identity wherever that leaders an individual.
Comment by Kerry Olitzky — April 3, 2008 @ 11:23 am
Unfortunately “History repeats itself.”
Hillel “throwing open it’s doors” to everyone and having non-Jews sit on its boards will only lead to one conclusion: Jewish assimilation.
The intellectual, Moses Mendelssohn, a supposedly Orthodox Jew, opened himself to the outside world and not one of his grandchildern married a Jew. I guess the misguided Hillel groups are heading in the same direction of eventual assimilation.
Comment by Michael — April 4, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
There are lots of campus groups with non-Jews on their boards. If Hillels become like every other ‘culturally diverse’ group, why go to Hillels?
There used to be no Chabad on campus programs. Now there are lots of them. Wonder why?
Comment by Dave — April 5, 2008 @ 11:35 pm
I wondr if in our attempt to be open and accepting and ” lowering our barriers” we are in fact watering down our expectations. In my schul ( a Conservative / Egalitarian )we’ve removed the words ” Beit Midrash ” Beit Teffilah” from our web-site because the powers that be felt it was too intimidating and they wanted to ” lower the barrier” . If they would remove the Hebrew from the service and did away with kippot and tallism, I’m sure that would eliminate all barriers not just lower them. Maybe we are going too far in eliminating barriers. There should be ” some ” qualifications needed for joining a club.
Comment by Ell — April 7, 2008 @ 6:48 am
Ell makes a great point. Some “barriers” need to be lowered in order to reach more Jews. Others are still necessary in order for something that is a “Jewish” program or environment to retain its distinction from non-Jewish ones. Otherwise, why bother?
Comment by marc — April 7, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
Lowering barriers is not about watering down Judaism. It can also be about building a support mechanism like a ramp up. As for Ell’s website, the challenge of a website is determining who it is for–those who are already on the inside or those who we want to welcome in.
Comment by Kerry Olitzky — April 7, 2008 @ 10:15 pm
At JOI, you do a wonderful job of reaching out to the unaffiliated, trying to bring them into the circle of Judaism. However, those closer to the center of that circle have to realize who their target audience is and not alienate those already in that circle who just might be trying to get even closer to that center.
Comment by Ell — April 8, 2008 @ 6:59 am
It is about creating a supportive environment for all–no matter where they are on the literacy spectrum
Comment by Kerry Olitzky — April 9, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
Not to be argumentative ( who me? ) …I don’t see a Jew sitting on the board of the local CYO. How many Jewish board members are there at the Muslim Society on any college campus? Any white board members on the local Afro- American Society of a college campus. There is nothing wrong with being open and welcoming to the entire Jewish spectrum, otherwise as Marc says, what’s the point? Why bother calling it a Jewish anything? Drop the Jewish and just have an ” Inter-faith ” meeting place. We want our children to go to a school that has an active Hillel so that can continue their Jewish upbringing and interact with other Jews. There are more than enough activities on a college campus for them to meet and socialize with different ethnic groups.
Comment by Ell — April 10, 2008 @ 6:27 am
Perhaps you dont see Jewish people on the boards of these other institutions because we have not established a precedent on ours. I also think that there is still a political overtone with Muslim institutions that is not the same with secular institutions. we also have to realize that if we welcome people in, then we have to be willing to deliver on the promises we are making or we shouldnt be making these promises.
Comment by Kerry Olitzky — April 11, 2008 @ 9:24 am
I definitely agree with Ell. We can be welcoming to all Jews, and lower barriers in order to make Hillel more atractive to Jews so that they will be more open to the Jewish environment Hillel is supposed to foster. But if Hillel’s goal (as opposed to means) is to be more open to everyone, both Jews and nonJews alike and to focus more on interfaith events, then it is treading in dangerous waters that will lead Hillel down the road of irrelevence. Once there is little that is disctinctly “Jewish” about Hillel, then it will die out.
Comment by marc — April 11, 2008 @ 11:12 am