A Challenge to Hillel
A challenge to Hillel Centers on Jewish campuses: Shouldn’t Hillel be using its influence on campuses round the globe...
JTA reported this week that Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is opening its doors to non-Jews to, in effect, become more relevant to Jewish students who live in diverse communities, diverse dorms, and attend classes with people from every neighborhood, race, and religion. I have not read one positive sentence about this decision. And while I feel for the many folks out there who see this as a negative, allow me to offer a perspective I’ve yet to seen to be offered. There is a way for Hillel to open its doors to non-Jews and remain a Torah-true sanctuary in a sea of co-ed debauchery.
If it is the case that Hillel has been suffering due to lack of interest on the part of Jewish students, that is indeed a very sad situation. Is ‘very sad’ strong enough? I would say it is tragic. Were I born into this world a Jew, Hillel would be exactly the kind of organization with which I would be totally enamored. Heck, I’m not even Jewish or in college and I’m in love with them. Here’s an excerpt from the Hillel website explaining what they are all about.
Hillel seeks to inspire every Jewish student to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life. Hillel’s mission is to enrich the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Hillel pursues its mission by: Creating a pluralistic, welcoming, and inclusive environment; Fostering student growth and the balance in being distinctively Jewish and universally human; Pursuing tzedkut (social justice), tikkun olam (repairing the world) and Jewish learning; Supporting Israel and global Jewish people-hood; A commitment to excellence, innovation, accountability, and results.
In the midst of the boozing, video games, noisy dorms, frat parties, hangovers, and the often silly classes people are mandated to pay thousands of dollars to take to earn a degree, there is Hillel: an oasis of Jewish atmosphere and Torah. This is a place where a love of Israel is fostered, where charity is emphasized, where Jews can meet other Jews to potentially marry each other instead of marrying out, where people can learn Torah together after a kosher meal. Thank God there is such a place for students.
Somehow, despite all of the aforementioned terrific benefits, too few Jews are interested in the kosher Hillel loveliness. So I want to share with the good people of the Hillel Foundation the following possibility and it’s an idea that’s quite ancient when you think about it. If young Jews want to spend time with non-Jews at Hillel events, could not Hillel use their position on campuses round the globe to share information about the Seven Universal Commandments with those non-Jews?
Here are some facts: Non-Jews are commanded by Hashem to follow seven commandments derived from Genesis. Very few, and I mean a minuscule number, actually understand this. In fact, many Jews don’t understand this. When anyone, Jew or Gentile, lives by the Torah in a way that is appropriate for his or her nation, they connect with their Creator, and tap into the Force that makes anything possible. Anything. And no conversion is necessary for the non-Jew.
Why can’t spreading this truth straight from the Torah be part of the Hillel mission? This need not involve chasing down non-Jews and shoving religious views down people’s throats. If non-Jews show up to a Hillel event of their own free will, what’s wrong with educating them about this? There are aspects of Torah that apply to us all. There are areas of Torah study that are appropriate for non-Jews. And we need, in my opinion, learned Jews to teach this Torah to us. Let me make it clear again, I loathe the thought of someone, unsolicited, shoving a holy book down my throat. But if I inquire, if I show up to a house of worship or to an event at a religious institution, of course I expect people to share their beliefs. At Hillel, I expect Torah.
Let’s talk about intermarriage for a moment. Intermarriage is cutting off the limbs of many Jewish family trees. We all know this. And we all know that college campuses are naturally places where many of these folks fall in love. Gentiles who have developed a love of Torah, who have an inkling about the role of Jews and non-Jews in the Torah scheme of things- these are the folks who understand the devastation intermarriage brings. These are people who want to preserve the Jewish nation. Teaching about the Seven Universal Commandments and helping non-Jews to see the big picture creates an understanding in both communities about the importance of marrying within one’s nation. In many ways, the more Torah I have learned, the more I see the massive commitment one must make to live a truly kosher, observant Jewish life. And it makes me feel grateful that I am who Hashem has made me, much more than it creates a desire to convert.
As a Bat Noach, I learn Torah that is appropriate for non-Jews to learn, often alongside Jews. Over the years I have been blessed to meet many Jews who have been inspired by Bnei Noach to learn more Torah, who have been reinvigorated by our energy, and who enjoy learning with us about the different paths Jews and non-Jews have to the same destination. Hillel has an opportunity to tap into this positive momentum.
To pile on, I will add that there is no more powerful tool for creating a love of Israel than Torah. Open to any page in the Chumash and you will learn about the epic importance of Israel for Hashem, for the Jews, and for the entire world. Jews and non-Jews need to understand this is a deep down way. Israel needs this more than ever, and Israel needs it right now. Hillel can play a part in creating non-Jewish advocates for Israel whose views won’t change with the ebb and flow of party politics because their connection to Israel will flow from their connection to the God of Torah. Am I the only one excited by this?
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