Jewish Life at Harvard Needs Each of Us: Last Chance to Support Harvard Hillel this Year

Dear beloved fellow members of Harvard’s Jewish community,

I hope my message finds you, and those close to you, well.

We’ve done so much this year, and you’ve seen so many of those stories: inspiring students to create Jewish community with and for one another; grieving the deaths of Hersh and the other hostages and celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut; leading the coordinated effort against anti-Semitism while defending Harvard from disingenuous and dangerous attacks.

Amidst all of that, it can be hard to distill the essential point: the heart of Harvard Hillel is a two-way street of faith.

• Faith in Judaism to add depth, meaning, purpose, and hope to our students’ lives. The rhythms of Shabbat and the holidays, the nobility and poignance of joining in a people spanning continents and centuries, the wisdom and brilliance of Torah study – these are the spiritual riches that we introduce students to, deepening and sweetening their lives.
• Faith in our students to write the next chapter of Judaism. Each generation is called upon to take up the mantle of Jewish life – transmitting traditions to children, finding the ways the Torah will speak to the crises and opportunities of a new future, leading and inspiring our community as we face new threats, and ultimately leaving its mark on a tradition built by the diligent work of a hundred generations.

In other words, Harvard Hillel brings the potential of Harvard’s Jewish community into reality – to enrich Judaism and the world at large. Everything we make, we make together, and our power comes from both the power of what we have inherited and our shared voice. As the High Holiday liturgy says, “each person’s signature is upon it.”

Today is the last day of our fiscal year – the last day on which your contribution will raise the bar for what we can aim for in the coming year. If each person receiving this email makes a contribution of just $18, Harvard Hillel will have over $100,000 more to dedicate to Jewish life in the coming year. Every additional dollar of support expands Harvard Hillel’s capacity to create Jewish life throughout Harvard: more intimate Shabbat dinners that build relationships and a connection to Shabbat; more student travel that opens eyes and expands worlds; more effective advocacy about Israel and anti-Semitism across every branch of the university; and on and on.

In this community, everyone matters: Jewish life is what we create – together.

I’m asking you to join me in building a Jewish life at Harvard Hillel that transforms students’ lives, improves Harvard, and makes an impact on the future of the Jewish community and beyond.

Please make your first contribution to Harvard Hillel today.

Brachot,

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein
Executive Director