International Hillel

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International Hillel

The JCSC Fellowship is part of an interesting hierarchy, because as a Fellow you answer to two higher powers. Especially in Philadelphia, the Fellow is very much part of the HGP agency and is treated as a full staff member, being offered many opportunities. At the same time, you are also part of the Center for Jewish Engagement, that being Rhoda Weisman and Melanie Gruenwald. Usually this double support system makes you feel taken care of, but once in a while you do feel pulled in opposite directions. One lesson I learned from observing the spectrum of personalities in the Hillel family is that role models and leaders don't have to be perfect all the time for them to set examples. For example, there were certain parts of different professional's personalities that were very inspiring to me, but at the same time I could see their weaknesses as part of the whole package rather than letting that ruin my image of them as a role model at all. You can still think critically of your role models and mentors and learn from their weaknesses as well as their strengths. There are three major events that Fellows participate in with the rest of the International Hillel family:

Leaders Assembly:

This week in August functions dually, as an inspirational and skill-building conference for student leaders, and also as the JCSC training. Leaders is a great chance for the JCSC Corps to start to gel as a community, for Fellows to better understand the visions and realities of the work they will be doing, and also to test out some ideas on the students at the other end of camp!

Professional Staff Conference/ JCSC Shabbaton:

Halfway through the year, most Hillel staff members are burnt out or simply exhausted. Staff conference is a great morale booster and general schooze-fest. If you are interested in moving up the ranks in Hillel, this is a great time to get out there and engage some future employers! This year we had a wonderful JCSC Shabbaton prior to PSC. As most JCSC's communicate with each other on instant messenger or conference calls, we all very much appreciated having a chance to actually put faces to the names on our buddy lists, and truly cement the friendships we started at Leaders.

East Coast Kallah: For the first time, the Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning brought the concept of Iyyun, or "delving " (into Jewish texts and thought) to life for Hillel professionals. Approximately 50 of us met at the beautiful Pearlstone Conference Center in Baltimore, taking 36 hours in January to study texts and think about how to apply Jewish context to our programs on campus. I learned a lot from Rabbi Avi Weinstein about accessible Jewish education at the Kallah, and found myself referring to the paradigms he set out during the rest of the semester.

Hillel International Center

The HIC recently opened its doors at the Charles Schusterman building in the Chinatown area of Washington DC. Hillel's Schusterman International Center staff provides coordination of such global activities as human resources, development, leadership training and communication. From their Washington, D.C. base, professionals also work with local Hillels in the areas of Jewish student life, Jewish learning, strategic services, and accreditation.

People to Know

As a JCSC, you will get to know as friends and as resources the 6 Fellows of the HIC. These Fellows

Arline and David L. Bittker Fellowship - student leadership

The Bronfman Fellowship - assistant to the International Director of Hillel, organizes campus visits for Hillel's major donors (like the Bronfmans)

Israel Fellowship - birthright israel, Israel Advocacy Mission, and on-campus Israel programs

Iyyun Fellowship - accessible Jewish learning resource, works with Avi Weinstein and the Meyerhoff Center

Samuel and Helene Soref Fellowship - works with students at schools with small Jewish populations and 0-1 Hillel professionals

Weinberg Tzedek Fellowship - social action programs and alternative spring breaks, organizes Spitzer Public Policy/ Social Action Conference

Andrea Hoffman- Director of Dept. of Student Life

Avi Weinstein- "Head Rabbi of Hillel." Avi has inspired me through the last two years to keep expanding the depth of my Jewish understanding and encorporate serious Jewish ideas into my programs. He is available as a resource to help plan Shabbatonim as well as (if you are lucky!) be a Scholar in Residence for high level programs.

Matt Grossman- "The Smoothest Guy in the International Center" Matt is the guru of fundraising and donor relations. If you ever get a chance to shadow him, you can learn alot from him about how to sell people on your vision and empower them by helping your organization financially.

Jill Goldwater- Human Resources. If serious issues come up with a Hillel professional, a problematic student, or personal concerns with your supervisionor benefits, Jill is the one to talk to. She is an excellent active listener and is ready to hear your input.

Rachel Gurshman- Tap dancer and comedian, Rachel is a member of the Hillel Players comedy troupe. Rachel, Andrea, Joel Chasnoff, and

Stevie Schiff- Conference Coordinator Extraordinaire. Stevie artfully plans and organizes Leaders, Staff Conference, Spitzer, and Lay Leaders every year, from room assignments to Richard Joel's accordian. She is also a great girl and I recommend getting to know everyone on this list!