Charge on into meaningful and beautiful Judaism!

Hillel

Central Florida

Last year, when the calendar was switching from 5775 to 5776, we wrote that the times, they are a changin, and if last year was about changing, this year is about changed. More specifically, being changed,

as an organization

as a community

and as the home for Jewish life on campus.

Three years ago, we walked into a crisp, state-of-the-art building with the intent of creating a home. Mezuzzot were hung, furniture was purchased, and refrigerators were stocked with food and drinks. Our staff was excited and our students were... not coming. So we waited.

And we waited...

And we realized that home, much like Judaism, isn’t a place. Home is a feeling.

So we changed.

We focused on being there for our student’s social, emotional and spiritual needs. We placed less of an emphasis on being cool, and more of an emphasis on being real. We recognized that our students were looking for authenticity and would not tolerate anything less than everything meaningful and beautiful in Judaism—why should our students accept anything less than everything meaningful and beautiful. 

We are the Jewish home for more than 6,000 college students, and we are the guarantee of the Jewish future. The home we create, and the home that is filled with our students, the Jewish community on campus, deserves to be Jewish and it deserves to be real.

And so do the rest of us.

Our custom, as Jews, is to wish everyone a sweet new year for Rosh Hashanah and a meaningful fast for Yom Kippur. Our wish to the community this year, is a year filled with authentic Jewish experiences, a fast filled with the meaning of 6,000 years of tradition, and, of course, a hearty Charge On!

Aaron Weil, Executive Director & CEO

Russell Goldberg, Chairman of the Board