Hillel Celebrates 85!
קראו את הראיון בעברית
What unites us as "the Jewish people" is not simply that we have enemies but that we have found a way to incorporate our values and our diverse ways of life into the things that are meaningful to us, our families and our communities. A special interview with Wayne Firestone
By the Sapir Hillel staff
Last Monday, June 8th, during Sapir Hillel's weekly radio program, we recorded a special interview with Mr. Wayne Firestone, President of Hillel International, in honor of Hillel's 85th Birthday.
Mr. Firestone recounted the creation of the first Hillel at Illinois University and discussed the growth and evolution from that one Hillel House into an international organization.
How was Hillel first established as an organization?
Hillel started at the University of Illinois, at a time when it was very difficult for Jews to be Jews on American campuses. Over the years, the organization has adapted in the same ways that Jews have adapted to life not only in the USA, but around the world. So the progress that we have seen is that more and more Jews continue to do one thing in common, which is to continue with their education. We have seen Hillel grow to over 500 centers around the world, including 10 different locations in Israel. We are very proud that in the past few years the issue of "Jewish Identity" has entered the lexicon and entered the thoughts of young Israelis as well as students around the world. Frankly, for us it is not a surprise, but it is really an amazing development, not only with Israelis who define themselves as Hiloni (not religious) or Dati (religious) but more importantly also with those who do not define themselves at all. There is much that they have to contribute to the discussion of Jewish identity for young people around the world.
What in your opinion is the big difference or uniqueness of Hillel Israel in comparison to the rest of the Hillels around the world?
One program that emerged from Israel a few years ago is called Yedidi Hashachachta and the basis for the program is the idea that Israelis have actually forgotten more than some Jews around the world ever even knew. There is richness to the discussion and activity in the Hillels in Israel that are very authentic to understanding the Jewish experience today. Obviously the activities in Israel are conducted almost exclusively in Hebrew, but they borrow from memories of Jewish life from the Diaspora as well, from Ladino culture, from the time of Jewish life in Europe and throughout the world. So really it is a meeting-place for different Jewish identities. Israelis have a different level of contribution - their desire to explore what the texts, books and their heritage mean to them today. Programs like Parashim Ba'Layla (the Sapir Hillel radio program on the Torah Portion) are very inspiring. This is a discussion that Israelis have to lead; they cannot follow from others in the Diaspora.
Actually, you were here at the exact studio that we are recording right now half a year ago during the G.A. Can you tell us your feelings towards Hillel Israel and how involved you are in what is going on in Israel?
I have a very warm memory of that trip, because when I was in university many years ago, I also worked in a college radio station. I saw the pride of the staff with all their new equipment and the ability to broadcast and even record some of the sessions over the Internet, reaching Kol Ha'negev (the Negev) and Kol Ha'olam (the whole world). It's very impressive and for me it was really an indicator of how we are connected and how we can connect in different ways today; it is just a matter of creativity and imagination. We connect through music, we connect through other forms of culture, through our language - whether they are the same or different. This became very real for me during my trip to Sapir College, obviously before the war in Gaza, but watching how life is thriving in Sderot and in other parts of Israel, in spite of the challenges, and watching how the community has been built there, made me very proud to share this story with my colleagues. That is because the story of Sapir College and the story of the Jewish people is not simply that we have enemies, but it is that we have found a way to transmit our values and our lives and what is meaningful to us, our families and our communities, in spite of the challenges and in spite of the constant fears that exist in our small world and in the larger world.
Where do you see Hillel at the age of 120? What is your vision for Hillel?
The one thing I am sure of is that Jewish students will continue to go to university and they will continue to study, so we will be here. One vision that I would share is a vision of Ahavat Israel (the love for Israel). Even though we are physically separated and we are now technologically connected in different ways, the trend that I hope to see developed in the coming decades is that we begin to build bridges of love and Judaism, that we do not just divide, but rather we look for ways to find beauty and meaning in our different lives, in more respectful ways. I remember my first trips to Israel as a college student, and the idea that while Israelis were family, they were the "poor cousins." The way I look at it today actually, Israelis are our "rich cousins," because they are rich with so much knowledge and with so much experience about what it means "to be Jewish" - even those who have forgotten much about their heritage. The coming decades present us with an opportunity to really reclaim a notion of what the Jewish people and Ahavat Israel could look like, and that is something that could be very exciting. So, it begins with birthday cards and radio stations, but who knows where it will lead?
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