Hillel director stresses greater Jewish involvement

If not for his wife, Richard Joel might never known about an organization devoted to promoting Judaism on college campuses -- an organization he now heads. Joel, now International Director of Hillel, was not involved in Hillel at all during his college years at New York University. But six years ago, his wife Esther convinced him to interview for the position he now holds. "She said I would never be happy practicing law," Joel said. "She literally forced me to go for an interview, which I did. To my horror, they offered me the job." Joel now calls that decision to leave his position as a law professor at the Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University "an unbelievable gift that had fallen in my lap." "It had never been my career path to be a Jewish professional," he said. "But I couldn't resist." Joel spent last weekend at the University, speaking at the Penn Hillel Foundation Friday night and taking time to talk with students and staff about the future of Jewish life on campus. According to Joel, the University's situation is an unusual one because the Hillel is already so strong. "Penn is not the norm," he said. "Penn has a long tradition of Jewish involvement but now, there is a critical mass of students proactively Jewish with inspired leadership. "We have to take a good, hard look at what's working and why and then spread the word to other Hillels," Joel said. But Penn Hillel still has room for improvement, Joel added, especially by becoming more involved with the University as a whole. "The University is a place that encounters values and Hillel has a very important role to play," Joel added. "You need to figure out how to be a part of the community if you are apart from the community." In addition, he said, Hillel should continue to work with the Steinhardt Jewish Federation Program to involve more students in Jewish life on campus. Joel stressed that Hillel should be a place "to serve all the Jewish people in the best way," while learning from and cooperating with the groups and communities around it. Achieving these goals requires a combined effort of students, professional staff and lay-leadership, he said. "There has to be a partnership of ownership," Joel said. One of his primary hopes, however, has been to expand the numbers of people involved in Hillel leadership. In 1989, he began a summer leadership assembly for Jewish students. Since its inception, it has grown to include over 200 students from almost 100 different universities. "The goal was to create an environment where people felt empowered," Joel said, adding that he now holds conventions and conferences for professional staff and lay-leaders as well. As a result of those gatherings, especially those involving students, "a revolution" has occurred on college campuses, Joel said. "The campus can be both a laboratory for Jewish renewal and Jewish renaissance and can also be its own community of renewal," he said. One of Joel's central concerns for the future lies in outreach to those Jews who may not readily become involved in an organization such as Hillel. Many Hillels, including the University's, have already begun this effort through the Jewish Campus Service Corps. The Corps gives students an opportunity to work at Hillels throughout the country, attempting to foster opportunities for other Jewish college students to become involved in campus Jewish life. According to Joel, Hillels should also attempt to deal with issues that affect the entire Jewish community -- including divisions within Judaism and the importance of Israel. Joel says his family, values, religion, lifestyle and community affect everything he does. "The most important thing is not how I earn a living but how I live my life," Joel said.