On Monday July 9th, I visited the Hillel center located on St Augustine St, located in Tallahassee, Florida. As I walked up to the steps of the center, I realized the door was kept locked. A bell was required to be rung in order to get the attention of the working staff. At first, this informed me that this center was safe and organized and could be a place I could count on. As I walked in I met with Dan Leshem, the executive director of Hillel at Florida State University.
As I sat down with Mr. Leshem he gave me a unique perspective on how Hillel has impacted a large society. After asking “what exactly Hillel is” I was informed that Hillel is a Jewish student run organization that exists on college campuses around the country and world with the mission to offer Jewish students the opportunity to participate and engage in some aspect of Jewish life while at college. These aspects can include reservations, a wilderness camp that is on a lake, Friday night services, full Shabbat dinners, and Jumba (Zumba but for Jews). During the summer these events happen just as often (weekly), but with less participants. In the summer session 30 students are expected for a full Shabbat dinner, while during the fall around 50-75 students are expected.
I further questioned Mr. Leshem about how Hillel has impacted him directly. He continued to explain that Hillel impacts each individual differently. Hillel is not part of any single denomination which makes it possible to serve every Jewish student in any way whether it is in a social or religious context. The common thread of Hillel is that they provide a community where any Jew on campus can feel like they belong to something. While interviewing Mr. Leshem, I was surprised to find that Hillel has some non-Jewish activates. Activities are open to everybody to enjoy and experience.
After conducting more research, I found out that Hillel chose the name because it is based on one of the early founding religious fathers of Judaism after the destruction of the temple. His writings have been included in several writings and has been concerned with Jews and how they face the outside world primarily concerned with ethics and behaving right in the world. Hillel faculty here at FSU see themselves as training future leaders of the world.
Personally, Mr. Leshem has experience with leading a birth right trip. This experience was very instrumental in his view towards Israel and has shaped his teaching. He continued to describe that the smallest ideas have the largest transformational impact on the students.
As the interview came to an end, I decided to take another route and get another perspective on Hillel by interviewing a student. According to Jason Randall, a day at Hillel is very productive. Hillel is open every day of the week and students and individuals can come in and study or hangout. This is so important to Jason because having a place to come and hangout with free Wi-Fi and with friends no matter their religion means a lot. Leadership members are also in the building for at least 2-3 hours a week planning activities because it is such a student run center. For Jason particularly, Hillel creates a sense of belonging and a network of friends. It is a place individuals can go and constantly have people standing by them. Jason continued to describe during the interview that this community is unique because the people here at FSU and part of Hillel have different intentions than those at different colleges. The people here are truly focused around making sure everyone is consistently positive and looking for what they can do to make your life the best possible thing.
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