History

The RPI-Sage Hillel is a chapter of the national Hillel Foundation, which has an interesting history. It grew from a small handful of students to become a "home away from home" for many Jewish students. Hillel is a center for student development and is provoking "a Jewish renaissance."

 

  In the Beginning...

Hillel was founded in 1923 by Rabbi Benjamin Frankel who served as a rabbinic intern at Temple Sinai in Champaign, Illinois. He became familiar with the Jewish students at the University of Illinois and saw them as a generation of young Jews struggling to come to terms with America and their Jewishness. He decided to start Hillel with the goal of conveying Jewish civilization to a new generation. Hillels opened at Wisconsin in 1924, at Ohio State in 1925, and at the University of Michigan in 1926. By 1935, the organization boasted 11 foundations. Hillel quickly grew from just a handful of students to a world wide organization.

 

  Home Away From Home

The organization has helped the Jewish community to thrive through many difficulties. It has helped children of immigrants find a place in the American Jewish community as well as nurture young scholars by providing Jewish education for those with little background. It has also helped Jewish students overcome open discrimination on their campuses. Many Jewish students have described Hillel as a "home away from home," a place where they could share their fears and successes, where they could feel the comfort of a family while asserting their independence from it, a place where they could grow as individuals and as Jews.

 

  A Jewish Renaissance

Hillels were being created that were not only religious and social centers, but were also centers of Jewish learning. In an era when Jewish studies were rarely offered in an academic setting, Hillel provided them. Hillel not only earned the respect of students, it earned the respect of academia at a time when Jews were sometimes accepted grudgingly. Hillel took pride in the fact that non-Jewish students attended these classes, fostering understanding and good relations with future American leaders of all faiths. By creating a valuable, thriving community on campus, and serving as a center for student leadership and development, Hillel helped provoke a "Jewish renaissance" and a nurturing home for Jewish engagement.