05/21/2026
Hadar just announced the appointment of three Hadar Campus Rabbis - at Rutgers, NYU, and UMass Amherst - who will begin their roles this summer. This represents a significant expansion of Hadar’s commitment to enriching Jewish campus life. Read this EJP article to learn more, including how we will partner with local Hillels, bringing Hadar's distinctive approach to Jewish life, learning, and practice directly to student communities.
The Hadar Institute (Hadar) is making a push into Jewish campus life, announcing on Wednesday that it will place rabbis at three major universities across the Northeast for the coming academic year. The university expansion comes as part of an ongoing effort by the nondenominational egalitarian movement to extend access to its programming across every stage of Jewish life.
The three “Hadar campus rabbis” will be installed at Rutgers University, University of Massachusetts Amherst and New York University, in partnership with Hillel, the organization said.
Beginning their roles this summer, the Hadar rabbis will be embedded within their local Hillel’s staff, an arrangement intended to complement existing Jewish student programming while expanding opportunities for Hadar-style egalitarian Jewish learning, prayer and other forms of communal life.
“There’s really no substitute for being on a campus in order to have a direct and sustained relationship and connection with college students,” Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, president and CEO of the Hadar Institute, told eJewishPhilanthropy. “So we reached out to some longtime partners on campus, and they were also excited about having more rabbinic support to bolster Hillel’s presence and work with students. It was the right moment to take this next step for a deeper connection to campus life.”
Full story: https://ejphil.com/542nk
