Dear Students:

At the close of this busy and exciting secular year (and for many of you, the fall semester), I wish you and your family a Chanukah of increasing meaning and illumination – lighting candles from left to right – as Hillel taught us throughout the ages.

I hope you can take a break from frantically studying for finals to view this video of my plenary address at the Union of Reform Judaism Biennial conference last week. Over 10,000 people have already opened our email containing the link and many have passed it to friends, but that may have been because President Obama spoke immediately after me. J

My speech was about you, our future leaders, and I was able to raise significant awareness of our cutting-edge “Hillel of today,” as well as share the value of the ancient teachings of Hillel the Sage.

Feedback from the conference continues to flow in from all over the Jewish world and a telling response from people of different ages and backgrounds is that they see our success as critical for the Jewish future. Jenny, whom I’ve never met in person, tweeted:

“Hillel Won. There are no Shammai houses on College Campuses.”

I like that a lot. Feel free to share your responses in on Twitter @HillelFJCL or in the comment field below.

Chanukah Sameach,

Wayne