Job Description

Orthodox Rabbi and Educator at Harvard Hillel to begin Summer 2025

Harvard Hillel is looking for a dynamic Orthodox rabbi and educator to foster and build a warm, compelling Jewish community for students, faculty, and staff.  The ideal candidate will make Jewish tradition accessible and meaningful through teaching, mentorship, and pastoral care.  They will be an exemplar within a pluralistic community and use the deep wisdom of Judaism to inspire the Jewish and wider Harvard community.  The Orthodox rabbi also guides student leaders, empowering them to build a vibrant Orthodox community.  

This role is 10 months/year with June and July off.  

What You’ll Do

• Mentorship and Pastoral Care: Build substantial relationships with at least 120 undergraduate and graduate students (both Orthodox and non-Orthodox) through pastoral care, chevruta learning, teaching, and mentorship.
• Orthodox Student Minyan Advising: Serve as the student minyan adviser, providing classes, drashot (sermons), chavrutas (study partnerships), and organizational support. In addition, serve as a  halakhic and  hashkafic guide to Orthodox students, as necessary.
• Exemplar in a Pluralistic Community: Represent Orthodox Judaism within the broader Harvard community, supporting observant students' needs (kashrut, Shabbat, conversion, chagim ), and actively participating in the Harvard Chaplains' interfaith community while respecting the non-proselytization agreement.  They will participate in larger campus life, learning and engaging with non-observant students to bring the richness of Judaism’s intellectual and spiritual wisdom into Hillel’s public sphere.  
• Collaboration with Hillel Staff: Work closely with Hillel staff to plan and execute programs, attend meetings, and assist with events, and report to the Campus Rabbi. Assist the rabbinic team and student-facing staff teams with planning and engagement goals.
• Shabbat Hospitality: Regularly host students for Shabbat and holiday meals to bring a sense of home and close community for students away from their families. 
• Jewish Education:  Offer two high-level Jewish classes each semester, designed to enhance students' Jewish knowledge and connection to texts and tradition.  Learn with a dozen students regularly in chevruta . 
• Shabbat and Holiday Planning:  Support students and the rabbinic team in planning meaningful Shabbat and holiday celebrations, including at least one off-site Shabbaton for the Orthodox community. 
• Point of Contact with the Orthodox Minyan:  Serve as Harvard Hillel’s liaison to the Orthodox minyan that meets at Harvard Hillel for the purpose of scheduling, financial management, and facilitating undergraduate and graduate student participation in the broader Cambridge Orthodox community.
• Outreach and Relationship Building:  Maintain and build relationships with Jewish day schools to attract prospective students to the community.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• Orthodox rabbinic ordination. 
• Experience in engagement and building meaningful relationships and previous experience in program visioning and implementation. 
• Relevant work experience in grassroots community organizing, Hillel, youth movements, camping, or experiential Jewish education within Orthodox communities.
• A strong knowledge of Jewish content, ranging from traditional texts to contemporary Jewish wisdom. An ability to transfer knowledge of these texts through engaging teaching.
• Expertise in leading complex conversations and creating accessible classes about Judaism. 
• A warm, engaging, approachable personality with a commitment to creating an inclusive, friendly, and welcoming Orthodox community and a vibrant, pluralistic Hillel community.
• A commitment to and passion for creating Jewish community and generating excitement around halakha, Torah, and on Orthodox way of life.
• Confidence in initiating and running programs; intrinsic motivation; a willingness to admit what you don’t know; and excitement to learn in those areas. 
• Creative problem-solving, proactive communication, and an ability to collaborate across teams both inside and outside of Hillel.
• Curiosity about… everything. You are hungry to learn and ask insightful questions before offering solutions. You are just as much a learner as you are an educator.
• Membership in good standing in a rabbinic alumni association with established ethical guidelines.  

What You’ll Receive

Competitive salary range of $95,000-$105,000 for 10 months a year of employment.  

• A network of students, parents, and university partners who will inspire you and become lifelong professional resources and partners.
• Opportunities for professional development, mentoring, and Jewish study.
• Colleagues and support from across the Hillel movement.
• Travel opportunities, both domestic and international.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Tax Deferred Retirement Plan, Life, AD&D, and Long Term Disability insurances, Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• Plenty of Hillel and university swag.

About Harvard Hillel

Harvard Hillel is the Jewish center of the world’s greatest university. Home to 500 Jewish undergraduates and 1,800 Jewish graduate students, Harvard Hillel’s mission is to train a generation of Jewish students to lead a divided Jewish community in an uncertain future - by helping mentoring them as they create an inspiring, life-shaping community of meaning with and for one another during their years as students.

Cambridge, Massachusetts is a rapidly growing observant Jewish community with synagogues, independent minyanim, an eruv, kosher restaurants, and hundreds of observant Jews.   Students, young professionals, young couples, and families call "Camberville" home. We also have many Jewish resources including mikva’ot across the river in Brookline, Brighton, and Newton.   

About Hillel International

In 1923, Rabbi Benjamin Frankel started Hillel with humble means, a noble mission and a breathtaking vision: to convey Jewish civilization to a new generation. Today, Hillel International continues to enrich the lives of Jewish students and is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities across North America and around the world. As Hillel evolves as an organization, the mission remains steadfast: to create lasting connections with every Jewish student that foster an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel and train them to become the next Jewish leaders.

Hillel is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an accepting and inclusive environment for all.

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