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Hillel at Sapir College:

The Center for Jewish Student Life

Hillel, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, set up its first center in Israel in 1951. Through its nine centers in Israel, Hillel impacts thousands of Israeli, new immigrant, and overseas students providing a unique vehicle for Jewish experiences, cultural expressions, and social change in Israeli society. Hillel Israel includes student centers on university campuses throughout Israel: at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, the Technion, Haifa University, Tel Hai College in Kiryat Shemona, Sapir College in S’derot, and Emek Yezreel College near Afula.

Recognizing the palpable need to establish Hillel in the Israeli periphery, Hillel at Sapir College was established in November 2007. Sapir College is located near S'derot, a vibrant city in southern Israel that unfortunately has been beleaguered by kassam missile attacks for the last nine years.

Sapir Hillel provides a variety of opportunities for Jewish students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identities, connect with a larger sense of Jewish peoplehood, and take ownership of their individual Jewish journeys: from participating in community service projects to creating art projects; from informal Jewish learning opportunities to cultural and social gatherings. Hillel is committed to a pluralistic Jewish vision that embraces all movements and streams of Judaism.

The Vision

Students in S’derot have expressed openness to learning about and celebrating their Jewish heritage, but many share a feeling of alienation from formal religious practices and institutions. Most have never had the opportunity to explore a deeper sense of what it means to be a Jew living in Israel, within an accepting, pluralistic framework. Sapir Hillel has created an open and welcoming environment in which students feel “at home” to approach, explore, and take "ownership" of their Judaism, however they define it.

Sapir Hillel’s unique programs enable hundreds of young people to undertake meaningful journeys that inspire them to explore, strengthen and celebrate their own distinctive Jewish identities. Hillel provides opportunities to learn and explore Jewish values and then translate these values into cultural and social justice projects that benefit a variety of populations in the local community. In this way, students are empowered as leaders to initiate their own visions for social change in Israeli society. Over seven hundred students have already participated in Sapir Hillel activities in its first year of activities, and we intend to double this number in the coming year.  

Sapir Hillel’s Current Programs

Programs at Sapir Hillel are divided into four main modules: Jewish Renewal: Learning and Celebration (Pluralism); Community Service (Tzedek); Arts and Culture; and Student Engagement and Leadership. Below is a sample of current Sapir Hillel programs:

Jewish Renewal: Learning and Celebration (Pluralism)

·         Osim Chagim (“Doing” the Holidays) is a workshop that offers students the tools and Jewish textual background to initiate alternative holiday celebrations on campus.

·         Parshat Hashavua brings students from all walks of life to create a community that discusses the weekly Torah portion in an informal, open environment.

·         Engagement Workshop brings together young engaged couples to learn about the traditions of Jewish marriage and plan their own ceremonies.

·         “Invitation for Learning” Beit Midrash offers students and residents of S’derot and the surrounding communities the opportunity to study topics in the Jewish sources from a variety of perspectives. This group culminates in a student-led Shavuot all-night study event.

Community Service (Tzedek)

• The Hillel Sharing G’mach at Sapir College (in Hebrew Hevra B’Am) is a unique pilot project that fuses the Jewish values of hesed and tzedakah, with ecological awareness and community volunteerism, to benefit the residents of S’derot and the Western Negev. The G’mach offers donated items like books, household items, and clothes that any area resident can purchase for a token fee. The project combines student volunteer work in the G’mach with community-building activities undertaken with other students, with youth from the nearby high school, and with the elderly.

Arts and Culture

·         Midrash Kolnoa (Midrash and Cinema) exposes students to midrash and the Jewish bookshelf by discussing themes relevant to society and community in Israeli and foreign films. The project is held in partnership with the S’derot Cinematheque, the Yael Café, and Kolot BaNegev.

·         Radio Beit Midrash is a weekly radio broadcast in which Hillel students discuss Jewish topics from the weekly Torah portion in creative ways.

·         The Creative Group offers students the chance to combine Jewish themes with creative artwork.

Student Engagement and Leadership

·         Mercaz Yozmot (The Center for Student Initiatives) offers Hillel students the chance to initiate their own program ideas on campus and in the community.

For further information: contact the Sapir Hillel office by phone: 972.8.680.2837 or by email: Hillel@sapir.ac.il.