Wei-Yin Ko | Student Life

Students prepare for Rosh Hashana services at the Chabad House Wednesday night. Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year.

In addition to its traditional meals and Rosh Hashana evening service, Chabad is adding morning services on the Thursday and Friday after the holiday.

Rabbi Hershey Novack said that the change was made in response to continued student requests, and was made possible due to renovations on the Chabad House, which were finished earlier this year.

“Students have asked for a number of years, but owing to a lack of facilities, we were unable to [provide additional services],” Novack said. “And so finally, this year, after we dedicated the facility—at the opened and renovated and expanded facility, we’re finally able to…do it.

“I have a feeling that some students will come for the entire thing, and others will probably drop in and then cut out to go to classes. One of the benefits of our facility is that it’s really, really close to campus.”

In the past, many students would go to morning Rosh Hashana services at a local synagogue, Bais Abraham, before coming back to Chabad for lunch.

Some noted that with the new schedule, attending services will be significantly easier than in the past.

“To take away a 10 minute walk, I’m sure it will make people more inclined to go,” freshman Jon Pascheles said. “[For] Rosh Hashana, it’ll probably be around 50 to 90 [people] at Chabad itself—I’m sure a lot of people will go.”

Others added that beyond adding extra services, Chabad did a good job of clarifying its schedule to alleviate the confusion students felt in previous years.

Sophomore Ari Rosenstrauch noted that in the past, many students would jump between Hillel, Chabad and a local synagogue for services and meals, and would have difficulty juggling the three without missing classes.

“Logistically speaking, it’s much more convenient—it’s much cleaner than what used to happen,” Rosenstrauch said. “I’m really happy they’re doing it; it gives a really better sense of community for Rosh Hashana.”

Pascheles said that he still plans to go to the local synagogue for additional services, but hopes to take advantage of Chabad’s additional services as well.

“I think there’s one day or two days that Chabad isn’t doing something…so I’ll probably end up going there for the service,” he said. “In general, I’ll probably just go to Chabad for everything that they offer—personally I just really like Chabad because it’s a lot of fun and it’s a great environment.”

Rabbi Novack mentioned that on Thursday and Friday afternoon, individuals will be sounding shofars from different locations around campus, for students to catch the most important mitzvah of the holiday even if they can’t make services.

A full schedule of Chabad’s High Holiday events can be found at http://www.chabadoncampus.org/.

This is the first time Hillel has regularly offered Shabbat dinners for free. In the past, students were required to pay for the meal in advance with meal points.

“I think the free dinner is a great opportunity to work on building [a] relationship with the community,” said senior Leora Allen, president of the Jewish Student Union (JSU). “Many students have voiced their concerns regarding the price of the dinners in the past.”

Students have worked to make Shabbat dinners free for years.

“I’m glad that Rabbi Andy [Kastner] and Jackie [Ulin Levey] made [free Shabbat dinner] a priority and [it] happened in my senior year,” said senior Jeremy Rose, the chair of Conservative Minyan. “It’s always the goal, but the fundraising was always a little separated from the students.”

The free dinners will be funded through parent, alumni and community donations, said Hillel Executive Director Jacqueline Ulin Levey.

Levey said Hillel hopes for 75 to 150 students to attend each dinner.

Although Hillel hopes to offer the free dinners for the entire year, the group has only budgeted free dinners for the fall semester. Hillel is not sure if it will be able to offer free meals in the spring semester.

“I think the free dinner is a great thing for increasing the Hillel community. The price before was a deterrent to a number of students,” said junior Max Arad, JSU vice president of religious programming.

In an effort to establish relationships between students and the local community, Hillel also plans to invite local speakers to some of the dinners.

“One thing we are trying to do is Celebrity Shabbat, where we will invite CEOs, philanthropists and other ‘famous’ friends of the St. Louis Hillel to be our celebrity guests,” said Levey.

Hillel sold part of its property to the neighboring Forsyth School last year and will renovate the other part.

Renovations on the Hillel building will take place between October and December. As a result, during that time dinners will be held off-site.

During the renovation, the Hillel building will be closed, and the Hillel office will temporarily move to a different site. Shabbat dinners will also be held off-site.

“Because we will be closing the Hillel auditorium by Yom Kippur, all our Friday night dinners will take place in College Hall or other locations on the Hilltop [Campus].” Levey said. “Students should check our website each week to confirm our location.”

The free dinner this week will be at Holmes Lounge.

Matt Mitgang | Student Life

The St. Louis Hillel at Washington University plans to sell the eastern wing its building to the neighboring Forsyth School. Once the deal is completed, Hillel will lose its auditorium, kitchens, and office spaces. The sale will provide Hillel with additional operating funds.

The money from the sale will enable Hillel to renovate its remaining facilities and cover additional programming and operating expenses.

“The sale will be beneficial for us and the future generations of our students in a variety of different ways, not just in the facility itself but for our programming in the future,” said Jacqueline Ulin Levey, executive director of St. Louis Hillel.

The facility being sold, which is located at 6252 Forsyth Blvd., was built in 1966 and houses an auditorium, kitchen, lobby, staff offices and restrooms.

“Currently, the space is integral to what Hillel does, but it’s not the prettiest of spaces, which in many ways detracts from the experience of Hillel,” said junior Philip Gibbs, vice president of social justice programming for Jewish Student Union.

The space is used to host Friday night dinners and the conservative minyan’s Friday night and high holiday services.

Although Levey was excited about the renovations, she said that physical space is no longer Hillel’s highest priority.

“One of the main goals of our work on campus is to engage students where they are….It’s not about bricks and mortar anymore. We try to be connected to Judaism in ways that are relevant and meaningful for [students] personally,” Levey said, noting that Hillel members often meet with students on campus.

Hillel will be launching a student survey to gauge how best to renovate the remaining building.

“For many years, St. Louis Hillel has sought to improve its physical facility to better serve the needs of students. With this new development, we can fulfill our dreams and also move toward ensuring the financial future for our Hillel,” Levey and Board President Alan Bornstein wrote in a news release.

Students hope that the remaining part of Hillel will be able to carry out the same functions as the addition.

“I hope they can make the space feel more warm as opposed to a sterile, institutionalized building,” Gibbs said.

Although Hillel is losing an auditorium, Levey says that services will not be too heavily impacted. They will be hosted in places on campus, like College Hall. Services are already hosted on the South 40 once a month.

“We do feel it’s important to be able to accommodate students’ worship and meal needs in our building, so one area were looking at is a possible addition that will allow us to hold nearly as many students as we can hold in the [current] auditorium,” Levey said.

Hillel administration is also working to ensure that Challah for Hunger, a group that bakes challah in the kitchen that is being sold, will be able to continue its work. The part of the building that Hillel is keeping has a kitchen that will be kashered next week.

The addition will remain a part of Hillel through the High Holidays in October. Services are generally held in the auditorium of the building on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement, respectively.

Hillel members are considering building another addition at 6300 Forsyth Blvd.

At the risk of legitimizing a baseless and ill-spirited letter, we as leaders and students of all stripes in the Jewish community here at Wash. U., feel compelled to raise our voices in support of our two rabbis on this campus, Rabbi Hershey Novack and Rabbi Andy Kastner, who were attacked in a letter to Student Life on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

While Mr. Pressman brings attention to some of the alleged beliefs within Chabad as an organization, he omits the facts on the ground about Chabad on Campus. [The Directors of the Rohr Center for Jewish Life] Chana Novack and Rabbi Hershey have created a warm and welcoming space where students of all denominations, who are each observing Shabbat and holidays in their own personal ways, can gather together and share a delicious meal as a community. None of us, in the hundreds of collective hours we have spent at Chabad on Campus, have ever felt any pressure to do something we were not comfortable doing.

Rabbi Andy, who has been on campus a mere three months, has already made a positive impression on us as a leader who is open and understanding to students of all backgrounds. We have every reason to trust that he is sincere in his and Hillel’s mission to meet all Jewish students where they are. We believe from Rabbi Andy’s actions that he is committed to pluralism; he has helped make egalitarian minyanim and has prayed at both Reform and Conservative services.

We are dismayed that Mr. Pressman uses the labels of ‘Chabad’ and ‘Orthodox’ as an attempt to scare students. We do not judge our rabbis by their ‘covers.’ Instead, we have gotten to know them as people. The actions of our rabbis define them, as it is absurd to judge someone by the actions of another.

The Jewish community on our campus is strong, vibrant and diverse, thanks in no small part to Rabbi Hershey and Rabbi Andy, something for which they do not get enough praise. We look forward to spending many more meals with both rabbis in the future. We also look forward to our rabbis teaching Torah (after all, rabbis are teachers), especially on the subjects of lashon hara (gossip) and mechila (forgiveness), central Jewish concepts that we all could meditate on before Yom Kippur.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Rose, Chair of Conservative Minyan

Elliot Rosenthal, President, Jewish Student Union

Max Arad, Vice President of Religious Programming, JSU

Justin Eisenberg, Weekday Morning Minyan Coordinator

Daniel Fishman, Wash. U. Students for Israel

Jaclyn French, Co-Chair of Reform Services

Philip Gibbs, Vice President of Social Justice Programming, JSU

Deborah Goldberg, Vice President of Cultural and Educational Programming, JSU Co-Chair of Reform Services

Maia Lamdany, Egalitarian Services Coordinator

Gideon Palte, JSU Treasurer

Seth Berkman

Sarah Ebstein

Rachel Braun

Emily Feder

Marc David Hendel

Sara Fischman-Klein

David Goldfinger

Hannah Rabinowitz

Ally Resnik

Paula Sass

Aron Soleiman

I write to correct the portrait of Washington University’s new campus Rabbi, Andy Kastner that was painted in Norman Pressman’s unfortunate invective (Letter, September 8, 2010). As chair of Hillel’s Rabbinic Search committee, I can say that Rabbi Kastner is committed to Hillel’s core principle of supporting all forms of Judaism, from secular to Orthodox.

Rabbi Kastner comes to Hillel in keeping with its long tradition of pluralism dating back to Rabbi Robert Jacobs’ service to our campus 40 years ago. The committee that recommended that HIllel hire him reflected this pluralism; it included a local Reform Rabbi and two students (one Conservative, the other Reform), as well as members of the Orthodox and Conservative communities. It was comprised of at least one Jewish atheist, and advised by a dozen students from a similarly diverse array of backgrounds. The search committee was unanimous in its recommendation that Hillel hire Andy Kastner, and excited about the prospects of his service to all Jews in our community.

Raised as a Reform Jew, Rabbi Kastner received his training at a seminary whose director ordained the first Orthodox woman, an action that has caused significant controversy within the Orthodox community. Our committee saw in Andy someone with the experience and commitment to pursue Hillel’s pluralist mission: to meet the needs of all of our Jewish students–from the non-observant secular Jew, to the Orthodox student striving to follow Jewish law. Andy’s manner and comportment is one that respects all approaches in the engagement of our tradition.

To be clear, Rabbi Kastner’s statement that he will be “Teaching Torah” (the cause of Pressman’s worries that he was a fanatic) is understood throughout the Jewish community to mean teaching and engaging the breadth of Jewish learning in all of its diversity. St. Louis Hillel welcomes that commitment as its own. One look at some of Rabbi Kastner’s class titles should give readers a better sense of Andy’s scope and interests: “Running with the Rabbi” (a 3-5 mile weekly run and conversation); “Whatever You Do Take Care of Your Shoes: Everything I needed to Know in Life I learned on Phish Tour”; and “Tikkun Olam: Is it Really Possible to Repair the World?”. Each of these classes is dedicated to exploring Jewish topics that are relevant to students and engaged broadly with our world. I would encourage readers to go to www.stlouishillel.org to contact Rabbi Kastner themselves, and to learn more about the diversity of programs that Hillel offers.

St. Louis Hillel remains committed to its core mission, characterized by Rabbi Jacobs’s long service, and currently pursued by Rabbi Kastner, Executive Director Jackie Levey, and its dedicated staff: to enrich the lives of our Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. Taken as narrowly or broadly as you like, it remains the core of Hillel’s commitment to our students. This is why Hillel is deserving of support from all members of our community, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.

Andrew Rehfeld

Associate Professor, Political Science

Landy was hired for the position last fall. He is the fourth person to fill the position in the last five years.

The board accepted Landy’s letter of resignation on Monday evening, according to an e-mail from senior Sam Guzik, Jewish Student Union (JSU) president and student representative on Hillel’s board of directors.

The e-mail, which was sent to student leaders in the Jewish community, stated that a replacement has already been selected and will assume the position beginning mid-October.

Board members declined to comment on Landy’s resignation and the leadership change.

Hershey Novack, campus rabbi and director of Chabad on Campus, said that he had positive experiences while working with Landy.

“Michael worked hard on developing partnerships with the campus community,” Novack said. “This has been a very challenging year for all nonprofit groups, and I think he worked very hard on focusing Hillel on being the best that it can be.”

Novack, however, also said he remains open for the change.

“We’re beginning a new Jewish year, and this is a time for new beginnings, apparently,” Novack said. “I welcome the new executive director with open arms and look forward to a positive collaborative partnership with the new Hillel director for years to come.”

Members of the University community will have opportunities in the coming weeks to meet the new executive director once a schedule with that person is developed.

Sophomore Paula Sass, who worked closely with Landy as the vice president of religious programming for JSU, said she was surprised to hear about his resignation, but emphasized her excitement for working with a new executive director at Hillel.

“It was overall a positive experience by and large, but we’re looking forward to new leadership,” she said.

Sass said she believes other students involved with Hillel feel similarly about the turnover.

“People are excited to meet whoever will take the position and excited about the chance to work with someone new,” Sass said.

Hillel puts on or supports several programs aimed at the Jewish community on campus, including trips to Israel and services.

Guzik also serves as the director of new media for Student Life and was editor in chief in the 2008-2009 academic year.

With the Jewish New Year only 16 days away, the staff at the St. Louis Hillel at Washington University, and involved students, are finalizing plans for High Holiday services with an additional focus in mind this time—the greater involvement of faculty in service events.

As in the past, students will have the option of attending two services on campus or attending any of the local synagogues in the area. Typically, the services are led by undergraduate students and one guest rabbi, with a different rabbi for the reform and conservative services.

While both the reform and conservative services offered on campus are student-run and led, Hillel has worked to change the overall feel of services by inviting University professors and administrators to give sermons on a variety of topics instead of continuing with the convention of having the guest rabbi give a theological sermon each day.

This year, the Saturday morning conservative service will feature professor Assaf Shelleg, the University’s Efroymson Visiting Israeli Scholar. Shelleg will speak about Jewish identity through Israeli music, with an emphasis on the liturgy of the service.

“I think [faculty] will make the services more attractive to individual students, because they may be interested in hearing a particular member of the faculty or an administrator,” said Michael Landy, executive director of St. Louis Hillel. “Those people have a sense of campus life and student life, and I think they will work hard to speak to the student body.”

Landy also notes that many students will appreciate seeing their role models and other important University figures involved with services.

“It is important to see the way that [these faculty] see Jewish campus life,” he said.

The conservative service, which will convene at the Hillel house, will hear from Landy and guest rabbi Allen Selis on Friday night, with the two speakers welcoming students to services.
Selis will speak on the second day of Rosh Hashana, the holiday celebrating the Jewish New Year, and on Yom Kippur morning, while Landy will speak at Kol Nidrei, the evening service that starts observance of the Yom Kippur holiday.

The reform service, which will meet in May Auditorium in Simon Hall, will hear from a different speaker each day. Landy and guest rabbi Dale Schreiber, rabbinic pastor for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, will speak on Friday night before Hank Webber, the University’s executive vice chancellor for administration, is scheduled to speak tentatively on connecting Judaism from generation to generation on Saturday.

The Reform service also features two guest speakers on Yom Kippur. Stephanie Kurtzman, Director of the Community Service Office,  will speak on Kol Nidrei on seeing holiness through the eyes of a child, and Risa Zwerling, wife of Chancellor Mark Wrighton and a four year academic adviser, will speak on hospitality on Yom Kippur morning.

Landy said that while the Hillel staff is responsible for arranging the logistics, the students involved have been an integral force behind the services.

“The services themselves are something that we’re thrilled that a group of students are engaged in [by] recruiting leaders, and they are part of the decision-making process of how the services look and feel,” Landy said. “The students really invest the time and energy to make the services make sense to students and to work with the Hillel staff, guest rabbis and other participants of the service.”
As in year’s past, Chabad on Campus will also be running High Holiday services. Chabad will host services and dinner on both evenings of Rosh Hashanah and will also host Kol Nidrei and Neilah services. Rabbi Hershey Novack will also blow the shofar on campus throughout the afternoon on the second day of Rosh Hashanah for those who do not attend services.

Aside from those offered at Hillel and Chabad, students also have the option of attending services at other local synagogues. Many Orthodox Jews on campus go to Bais Abraham on Delmar Boulevard.

“We definitely see students as a big part of the community, and they give a lot to the community by leading services and giving energy,” said Hyim Shafner, rabbi at Bais Abraham.

While the service is Orthodox, Shafner explained that all students who have attended services have felt at home.

“We make a real effort to be welcoming to everybody…That’s really one of the unique things about the synagogue. It brings an Orthodox passion to prayer but combines it with an extreme openness,” Shafner added. He did request that people call ahead, though, so the synagogue is prepared.

“The thing that is difficult for students when they come to campus, especially as freshmen for the first time, is that it is never going to feel like it did at home,” Landy said. “Because the holiday [Rosh Hashanah] has such a strong feeling of family from gathering for meals and services, students should seek out their new campus family—that’s what’s going to make the holiday stay significant for most students.”

Rosh Hashanah will begin on the evening of Sept. 18 and will last until dusk on Sept. 20, since the Jewish calendar is lunar. Yom Kippur starts Sept. 27 and will end at sundown the next day. It is the tradition for all Jews to fast on Yom Kippur, excluding young children and people who are ill.

With additional reporting by Josh Goldman.

Correction (9/02/09, 4:20 p.m.)

In an earlier version of this story, it was reported to us that Dean Webber was reported to be speaking on connecting Judaism from generation to generation. This is only a tentative topic. It was also briefly reported that Stephanie Kurtzman is a Hillel board member, which is not true. Student Life regrets these errors.

Washington University is a great place to be Jewish. Last summer, Jewish Living identified the campus area as the “epicenter” of one of the top 10 Jewish communities in America, describing Wash. U. as “an elite school popular with Jews from around the country, known for its kosher kitchen and strong Hillel and Chabad programs with plenty of activities.”

While you experience the breadth of college life, remember that the soul and spirit need to be developed as well as the mind. Do things that add meaning to your life. Our university, while embracing the diversity of religious life on campus, identifies itself as non-religious.

To have an active religious life during your time here, you must make the choice to get involved. Great programs and, more importantly, great people are available to you to help enrich your college experience with the vibrancy and diversity of campus spiritual life.

I know that many students who arrive at Wash. U. after years of religious school are disinterested with religious life. For many in the Jewish community, connecting with Jewish life may not be a priority in your college plan. I would like to challenge you to prove yourself wrong. Discover that becoming more engaged with your faith and sense of community can be an exciting and enriching experience.

At Chabad on Campus, we strive to create programming that high accessible and meaningful for students of all backgrounds and levels of religious observance. Highlights of our programs include organizing Israel trips for many hundreds of Wash. U. students through Mayanot’s Birthright Israel program.

We host family-style Shabbat dinners each week, which attract a diverse array of students and faculty. And, we focus on Jewish learning and teaching Torah, a rich compendium of wisdom for life. Our affiliated student groups offer substantive exciting programs and leadership opportunities.

While the Chabad movement is rooted in the fertile soil of Jewish tradition, a cursory visit will demonstrate that the students who choose to participate are from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds and affiliations and have widely varying world views.

Dozens of other groups offer services for their respective communities within a framework of mutual respect. I have helped Muslim students at Washington University advocate for Halal-approved foods to be made available in the food stores. Differences in religion demonstrate the potential to bring people together. Allowing your spiritual life to develop during these next four years will help not only you, but those around you.