History of Harvard Hillel

Adapted from an article in the Spring, 1994 newsletter as well as the book Minding the Store at Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, by Ruth Getz Master(1999).

The over half-century of Hillel life at Harvard began in 1944 during the dark days of World War II, developed slowly during the confusing and uncertain post-war years, survived the upheavals of the sixties, and lived to see the Jewish renaissance after 1967, which some have called "the start of the beginning of the post assimilation era." In the 1990s, Hillel assumed a new position of visibility and leadership. According to the Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard, Harvard Hillel is now "one of the most exciting and dynamic Jewish organizations in the country."

The early days. Only four students attended the very first meeting with Judah Shapiro from the Hillel Foundation. One of them, William Lee Frost, later wrote about the groups' efforts to design a Hillel chapter at Harvard. The first Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, at Five Bryant Street in Cambridge, would be "neither Zionist nor anti-Zionist, neither Orthodox nor Reform." Judah Shapiro hoped that it would instead offer "an intensive preview of what awaits him who is called a Jew."

To that end, students at Hillel organized lectures, forums, and study groups. They encouraged each other to attend services at Boston synagogues and seders at the homes of the B'nai Brith families that supported Hillel at that time. The first directors, Rabbis Harry Esrig and Maurice Zigmond, initiated student-run lectures, dances, and study groups. There were beginner classes in Yiddish and Hebrew, Friday night programs, and Sunday bagel brunches.

Expanding the vision. In 1958, Rabbi Ben-Zion Gold came to serve as the Director of Harvard Hillel. He was determined to introduce greater numbers of Jewish students at Harvard to Jewish culture and religion. He had visions of a community that would serve the broad spectrum of Jews at Harvard and hopes that the University would in time be more accepting of Jewish difference.

The Hillel scrapbooks of the time bear the evidence of his determination. Activities expanded dramatically as Rabbi Gold reached out to students and faculty. The time was right for Hillel to enter a new era. In 1969 Hillel moved to a new building at One Bryant Street, across the street from the Harvard Divinity School. Though the numbers of Jewish students at Harvard had not changed significantly, by 1970 Hillel was sponsoring eighteen to twenty social, cultural, and religious activities a week.

One of the activities began with Rabbi Gold's notice in The Crimson of a "nontraditional morning service at Phillips Brooks House." The Worship and Study Congregation began with less than ten students sitting around the table, reading the bible, and discussing what was read. Egalitarian from the start, it became a place where men and women began to lead services, read from the Torah, and discuss the weekly portion. Now led by Rabbi Norman Janis, the congregation remains a vibrant part of the Harvard Hillel community, serving faculty, community members, and students.

The openness to pluralism that William Frost, Rabbi Esrig, and Rabbi Zigmond encouraged in the forties and fifties continued to develop. The exploration of identity and activism of the sixties and seventies drew more Jewish students to Hillel. The resulting growth of activity was impressive; by 1979 Hillel had outgrown its home on One Bryant Street and moved to the former Iroquois Club building at 74 Mt. Auburn Street. During this period Hillel staff was able to further their activities and increase outreach programs: attendance started to multiply; a student coordinating council was developed to plan implement programs; and Hillel’s relationship with Harvard’s United Ministry became well established.

A permanent home. Then, fourteen years after the move to 74 Mt. Auburn Street and a half century after Harvard Hillel purchased its very first building at Five Bryant Street, Hillel broke ground for a brand new, magnificent, permanent facility, designed by internationally-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. At a ground-breaking ceremony for the new site at 52 Mt. Auburn Street, then-Harvard President Neil Rudenstine noted that Riesman Center for Harvard Hillel, Rosovsky Hall will be “an open building that represents the openness of the Jewish community to Harvard, as well as Harvard’s receptivity to the Jewish community.”

Rabbi Gold retired in 1990, and Sally Finestone, who joined Hillel in 1988, took over as acting director and served until 1993. A few months later, the Harvard Hillel community celebrated the completion of Rosovsky Hall and welcomed a new president and director, a pre-eminent Jewish educator named Bernie Steinberg.

Our path continues. Harvard Hillel today is indeed a microcosm of American Jewish life, just as Judah Shapiro predicted in 1944. We have been successful in achieving the diversity and self-confidence envisioned by Ben-Zion Gold. Life at Harvard and the world at large has changed dramatically. One-quarter of students and one-third of the faculty are Jewish. Jews feel less like tolerated guests and more like equals in a diverse community. Today, under Bernie Steinberg’s direction, Harvard Hillel is an active, highly visible force at Harvard because of its unique ability to bridge gaps between religions and peoples, as well as its broad appeal across the entirety of the campus.

Still, we have much work to do in order to realize our vision. Though we are more committed than ever to Henry Rosovsky’s belief that Harvard Hillel is "about the future and our continued identity as Jews," our global world is increasingly divided across different races, religions, and ethnicities. With unmatched need for moral leadership, we have a great responsibility to ensure that we not merely survive, but that we thrive. To that end, we remain committed to educating Harvard Hillel students to participate, to lead, and to become engaged Jewish global citizens, who will shape the world in positive ways.