Reflections from a Hillel Intern on Pride Month
This year, Pride Month coincides with the reading of Sefer BaMidbar, the Book of Numbers. At the outset of the book, we learn that God spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, a topic addressed by the rabbis in BaMidbar Rabbah, an 11th century book of midrash, or rabbinic allegory.
Why did God choose to speak to Moses in the desert, of all places? The sages taught the Torah was given through fire, water, and desert, because each of these three things are given freely to all of humanity. Thus, Torah, too, should be given freely to all of humanity.
When I came across this interpretation, I immediately thought of Hillel’s tagline, “All Kinds of Jewish.” Through Hillel, any Jewish college student is welcome to freely access Jewish tradition, culture, and community. Any Jewish college student should be able to walk into a Hillel building and feel not only like efforts are being made to include them, but that they belong just as much as anyone else. Gay, straight, trans, cis: Hillel can be your home away from home.
Over the past year, I have interned for the Center for Student and Staff Wellbeing at Hillel International, learning invaluable lessons about how validating and affirming one’s identity can affect well-being. Our holistic wellness is deeply important, and the ability to look at someone’s soul and affirm who they are and that they belong is crucial in today’s world. Research shows LGBTQ+ young people with at least one accepting adult in their life report significantly lower rates of attempted suicide. It is absolutely essential that LGBTQ+ college students find accepting adults at Hillel, peers with shared experiences, and programming that supports their well-being and equips them to tackle the challenges of their world.
When I first interviewed for the intern position, Hillel International Associate Director of Student and Staff Wellbeing Sarah Cohn asked me how I practiced self-care. At the time, I was chair of the Jewish Student Union at my college, working multiple jobs, completing a double major, and applying to rabbinical school, all while being generally heartbroken by the state of the world – and feeling the weight on my shoulders to repair it. I told Sarah that I didn’t need a self-care practice, since the work I was doing was fulfilling, meaningful, and important to me and others. As you might imagine, this was not the best response during an interview for a position on a wellness team. Sarah called me on it, and I am profoundly indebted to her.
The Center for Student and Staff Wellbeing team helped me realize just how essential an individual wellness practice is. It should not be secondary to our lives, something we do only when we have the time. It is foundational, and it’s how we learn to flourish and thrive – especially in a world that often wants to keep us subdued.
It’s been a privilege to work at Hillel International for the past year and see the many kinds of important work that Hillel does for Jewish college students, including:
The Center for Student and Staff Wellbeing offers grants to help campus Hillels bolster their well-being programs, hire mental health and/or wellness professionals, and create spaces dedicated to improving wellness.
The social impact team offers microgrants to help campuses become engaged in social justice work. This could be anything from facilitating LGBTQ+ interfaith spirituality groups to volunteering with marginalized populations. Working across identity and talking across difference is how we build a world in which we all become liberated.
Several years ago the Center for Jewish and Israel Education adopted a policy lovingly called the Kranjec Test that increases the voices of women and other minority genders on our source sheets. For millennia, Jewish texts and our study of them have been dictated by men. Hillel is at the forefront of pushing for change in this arena, so many brilliant voices that have been left off to the side for too long can be brought into the center.
Ari Levy, Hillel’s associate vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion recently completed Keshet’s Shivyon Project, a year-long, cohort-based project of training, consultation, and learning. Keshet conducted an internal assessment, hosted a full-day of learning, worked with Ari to create a sustainable plan for action, and established tools for ongoing work to support LGBTQ+ staff at Hillel. Ari’s support and the institution’s support of LGBTQ+ personnel is essential, and I am grateful for it.
This past year has also been my first as a rabbinical student at Hebrew College’s Rabbinical School, not to mention a painful and immensely challenging year for the Jewish people. My queer and Jewish identities have always intersected, and I am deeply committed to promoting LGBTQ+ belonging in Jewish community and tradition. To train as a spiritual leader while working for Hillel International and witnessing the culture that Hillel promotes has been an incredible privilege. It gives me hope for the future of mainstream Jewish society, one in which “All Kinds of Jewish” are accepted and belong.
This Pride Month and every day moving forward, may Hillel continue to be a leader in cultivating communities in which all can freely access Jewish tradition, culture, and community because they feel affirmed and a deep sense of belonging.
Emma Mair is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College, located north of Boston. She likes to celebrate Jewish joy, ask bold questions, and facilitate meaningful experiences for all kinds of people.