Why is your support of Berkeley Hillel so important? Donations from individuals make up more than half of Hillel’s annual budget, over $350,000. Your gift will enable Hillel to continue a 77 year tradition serving as the center for Jewish life at Cal.

With your support Hillel will continue the Jewish renaissance among U.C. Berkeley students. Here’s what two of those students said recently about Hillel:

Over the past 4 years Hillel became an important place for me to explore, experience and take action as a person, a Zionist and a Jew. The Jewish community I experienced at Cal was unlike any other in regards to its pluralism and constant striving to become an even more welcoming place for all Jewish students. My college career was largely defined by my involvement at Hillel, and my experiences there influenced me much more than any class I took.

-- Devora, Class of 2005

I'll never forget the feeling I got as I walked through Hillel’s doors. I mingled amongst strangers, but felt as though I was home. My first Shabbat at Hillel touched me so deeply that I have been back every Friday since. Shabbat at Hillel is quite possibly the most wonderful part of my week. Services give me perspective on the week and help me reflect on what’s most important in my life. Dinner is a time to talk, laugh and sing with friends and as many as 200 other students. Shabbat and all the other days of the week at Hillel have taught me the importance of being part of a Jewish community.

As I become more involved in Hillel’s social, political, and spiritual activities I am learning and growing. As a young Jewish woman searching amidst the chaos of our ever-changing reality for my identity, I am so grateful that Hillel is helping me find it.

Because of Hillel, I am becoming the person I want to be.

-- Rebecca, Class of 2005

If every student, when they came to Cal, had a place like Hillel to go to the university would be a much better place.