Social Action
Berkeley Hillel is committed to supporting Jewish students engaging with their Jewish values through volunteering, mutual aid, and social action in the Bay Area, nationally, and abroad. By embracing Jewish values of chesed (kindness) and tzedek (justice), our students can positively impact Berkeley, on and off campus.
Read descriptions of all our offerings here! Please reach out to Chance Reiniesch, our Social Action Associate, with any questions at creiniesch@berkeleyhillel.org.
Student-Powered Programs
Challah for Hunger: Enjoy braiding challah? Are you concerned about food insecurity on college campuses? Join Challah for Hunger every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with 50-60 fellow students who come together to braid and bake challah with a variety of themes and special flavors. The challah is sold to directly benefit food pantries and shelters fighting to end hunger on campus in Berkeley and across the United States.
MitzVote: In Pirkei Avot, we are taught “it is not up to you to finish the work, but you are not free to abandon it.” MitzVote is our non-partisan campaign to mobilize Jewish students and get out the vote! MitzVote student leaders provide opportunities for students to register to vote, engage in phone banking and post-carding, and learn from peers and professors about what is on the ballot this fall. Get more information about MitzVote here.
- The Repair Alumni Cohort: Having participated in the Repair the World Fellowship, the Repair Alumni are student leaders equipped to bring social action and organizing to their peers at Berkeley Hillel. Through continuing to participate in regular Jewish learning and building off their knowledge of the socio-political landscape of the Bay Area, the Repair Alumni plan and lead volunteering events at Berkeley Hillel each semester.
- The Repair the World Fellowship: The Berkeley Hillel-Repair the World Fellowship is a partnership that helps engage students in community service grounded in Jewish values and learning. Students will learn professional skills, gain issue-area education on topics of housing justice, food justice, environmental justice (and more), build bridges across lines of difference, and have meaningful Jewish experiences while serving alongside our neighbors in the East Bay.
Applications for this fellowship are currently closed. - L’Shomra: Jewish Responses to Climate Change: We are told in the creation story that God placed human beings in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it: l’ovda ul’shomra. In this fellowship, we will grapple with one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change. Join as we explore our relationship with this world and our responsibility to protect it as we learn from contemporary sources and Jewish ancestral wisdom.
Applications for this fellowship are currently closed.
Current Fellowship Offerings
Current Service Opportunities
Thursday, March 20th, 8 p.m.
In partnership with Repair the World, join Shalom Bayit and the Repair Alumni Cohort for a workshop teaching best practices for communication, boundary setting, and healthy relationships in Jewish communities.
