Save Hillel

This email was sent to me by David Mizne, who I’m pretty sure graduated in the class of ‘95 (’96?)

I began attending Hillel in the early eighties, when it was just one building and a “Kidde Kottage” across the street. I owe everything, all the fond memories, an incredible education, maturation and continued success, to the faculty at Hillel. Staple figures such as Mrs. Galitzer and Ms. Heber expertly taught us about Jewish History and Torah. More importantly, they showed us how to be generous and compassionate individuals. As a result, I have been left with an awareness of the injustices of the world and an intense desire to effectuate change. All this I attribute to the Jewish values that were taught to me by Hillel’s gifted and conscientious educators.

During my fourteen years at Hillel, I was imbued with a strong sense of pride in the accomplishments of my people as well as an intense desire to succeed. I have since graduated from the University of Florida and will soon graduate from law school. I am certain that studying Talmud for so many years has aided me in analyzing and crafting legal arguments.

Years later, I may not remember the Pythagorean Theorem, but I do remember putting on Tefillin for the first time. I remember bagel break, Mishmar (after school advanced Talmud in 6th grade), and school plays about the triumph of the few righteous over the countless wicked. I remember weeping at the Holocaust museum and dancing the Hora. When I measure excellence, when I determine what I gained from all those years, it is the cultural learning imparted by the faculty that has made the most profound impact.

Hillel has always grappled with competing interests. Parents, administrators, and board members have always had to choose between providing students with the secular education necessary to compete in this world, and a Jewish education which guides children to ultimately improve this world. I am not sure of the best way to ensure the quality of a Hillel education, but I do know that the answer is not squandering your greatest assets.

Surely there will always be competing interests and a desire to retain only the most qualified teachers and administrators. The question is: Why do we send our kids to Hillel? What do we want for them? Can they get a better secular education elsewhere in South Florida? Maybe. But where else will they have such profound experiences, and establish a connection to something much greater than anything in this world?

Thank you Mrs. Galitzer, Ms. Heber, Mrs. Steiner, Mrs. Konovitch and all the other Hillel teachers for their many years of dedication to us.