A Mazal Tov, an Introduction, and a Farewell
Dear beloved members of Harvard’s Jewish community,
I hope my message finds each of you well, and that in these first weeks of summer you’re finding relaxation, exploration, and – if you’re looking for them – new challenges.
Before anything and everything – a huge mazal tov to Jacklyn and her husband, who gave birth to her son this morning! Baby and mother are both doing well, and we can’t wait to congratulate Jacklyn and David ourselves and welcome their little guy as the youngest member of Harvard’s Jewish community.
Now, the introduction: for those of you I haven’t met, my name is Jason, and I’m the new director of Harvard Hillel. I’m a native of Washington, DC (Temple Micah); went to Montgomery Blair High School (math/science magnet); and lived in Adams and concentrated in Social Studies (plus prison tutoring & bassoon in MSO). After Harvard I lived for 2 years in Ma’ale Gilbo’a and studied at the yeshiva there, went to JTS for rabbinical school, and taught at Hadar for 8 years. I met my wife, Arielle ‘07, in Rabb while we were both undergrads, and we, together with our 3 children (Raphael, 10; Elijah, 7; Chavi, 18 months), are equal parts thrilled and grateful to make Boston and at Harvard our home (this move has major ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ vibes for us). I’m coming fresh off of six years at a different school just down I-95, and I can’t wait for summer to end so that I can meet you and begin building friendships and community together.
As I think about what I want Harvard Hillel to be(come) in the coming years, I keep returning to the Talmud’s wise observation that “a person can only learn Torah in a place that her heart delights in.” Here, as everywhere, learning Torah is never just about learning a set of facts: it is the pinnacle of religious (and therefore human) flourishing – equal parts intellectual and existential, personal and communal, ever-new and eternal. A person cannot bring such moments into being by sheer force of will, our Rabbis of blessed memory teach us: we require a place, and friends, that have earned our trust in the humility, kindness, brilliance, and courage of others – and where they can count on us as we do on them.
In some broad way, the Jewish community’s advocacy in the face of the ugliness we’ve seen and heard since October 7 (and before it, though more quietly) is about making Harvard a place where we and others can delight, and thereby truly learn. While we can and must advocate, we can’t fix Harvard on our own, and we shouldn’t wait for it to right itself. It is within our powers to make Hillel into a place where each of our hearts desires to be, an ark amidst the storm, a place where G!?d’s presence is real and the dignity of each person is manifest, a foretaste of the world to come directly across the street from the Lampoon.
And, if and when we make Hillel into a place that draws us in and up, together – it won’t merely be a pleasant place to do p-sets or pray, eat bagels or learn Talmud. You will start to notice gaps and not-yet-realized possibilities, and will also know that others will join you in filling 52 Mt. Auburn St. with new ideas, new melodies, and new possibilities for Jewish life. Nothing could be more important for this community, or the future of the Jewish people, than each of you and all of you finding your voices here, together.
If and when you have questions, concerns, or ideas – about this place, about Judaism, or just about life and its struggles (and delights) – I do hope you’ll reach out to me. You can always reach me at this email, and book a time to speak here. This Sunday night, I’ll be holding a Zoom q&a at 7pm to introduce myself and lay out my vision and plans. And in the meantime, if you’re curious about who this new rabbi and Hillel director is and what he’s about, you can check out this podcast; my letter to the Yale Jewish community on October 26; or this essay (longer, more personal, and more academic than the other pieces) on how becoming a father upended my relationship to Torah, in the best of ways.
And, ending with a note of farewell: this was the final week of the one and only Noah Hirsch-Rechter at Harvard Hillel. Noah – you’re amazing, and we already miss you. One of my great regrets of my timing is that our time here overlapped for just one Shabbat dinner. You’ve left big, charismatic, and deeply humane shoes to fill. We’ll be rooting for you across the pond, and always looking forward to updates. And if you find yourself in this Cambridge any time soon, come on over – this place will always be your home.
Wishing each of you a Shabbat of joy and enjoyment, with eagerness and awe at the possibilities before us.
Shabbat shalom,
Executive Director
Harvard Hillel