Originally published 4/7/08, 8:41 AM, Eastern Daylight Time. The link no longer works.
Hillel is opening up its facilities to non-Jews! Think of the Reprecussions!
To quote Attorney Douglas Aronin
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Hillel is opening up its facilities to non-Jews! Think of the Reprecussions!
To quote Attorney Douglas Aronin
But one thing that both the excerpt and the full JTA article make clear is that the change in orientation is one that Hillel professionals on many campuses feel is being forced upon them by the realities of campus life. If you want to attract Jewish students who are not already actively Jewish, you're going to need to offer something that they find attractive. In the pre-Richard Joel era, Hillels generally were satisfied with just serving the Jewish needs of those who were already actively Jewish. Would we be better off going back in that direction?And to 1uote Rabbi David Willig:
I wonder what would happen if a group of Whites wanted to join the BLACK STUDENT ASSOCIATION, or Jews join the Moslem Student Union. DW
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Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com
2 comments:
At the core of the issue is really the confusion over Jewishness. Are we simply an ethnic grouping similar to a Black Student Association? If yes, of course non-Jews can't be part of the group but the Hillel decision is really showing that for many Jews, they don't want to identify in such a manner. Are we maybe, though, a group based on a shared idea, theology or value similar to a Moslem Student Union? If yes, then of course someone who doesn't share these ideas can't be part of the group but who says that this is defined by ethnic Jewishness? Let us suppose the shared idea is a pro-Israel political perspective -- then don't we want to non-Jews with such perspectives to be part of the group? In the article on the subject, the Korean student mentioned enjoyed the Shabbat meal and atmosphere as much as any Jew -- can't he be part of the group based on shared ideology? If not, why is this idea only for ethnic Jews? All that the Hillel decision showed us is that we are confused about the nature of Jewishness -- and the faster we recognize that, the better it will be for all of us.
Rabbi Ben Hecht
Years ago a group in Toronto put on a version of Hamlet in which the title character was played by a black woman. In an interview I saw in the paper, she justified the casting by saying that since this was a play, then anyone of any colour and gender could take the role because acting out what Shakespeare intended to be seen was the most important thing, not the colour or gender of the actor/actress.
The interviewer then mentioned a prominent play in which the character was written to be male and black and asked if she'd have a problem with a white woman playing the part. She immediately agreed that only a black man could do it because whites don't understand the black experiences and therefore the acting couldn't reflect the author's original intention.
In other words, what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine.
A Jew could join the Muslims Students Association but God help him if he shows up for an anti-Israel rally and mentions a dissenting point of view.
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