By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO, Calif.—The organizers and philanthropists of
Operation Birthright might smile with satisfaction if they met Andrew
Hoffman, 21, a San Diego State University senior majoring in business.
By his account, he had drifted away from Jewish communal life following his
bar mitzvah at Temple Solel in suburban Encinitas. When he enrolled as
an SDSU freshman, for example, he wasn't interested in attending Jewish events
at Hillel. As far as he was concerned, that Jewish organization's
headquarters at 5742 Montezuma Road were just too far from his dormitory to
make the trip across the campus worth his while.
But then, he said, he read an ad placed by Hillel in the Daily Aztec inviting
Jewish students to participate in Operation Birthright's free trip to
Israel. The "free " part really got his attention.
Yesterday, I met Andrew Hoffman at one of the temporary booths set up on a San
Diego State walkway where members of student organizations, hoping to attract
new members, handed out literature. His booth was that of the Jewish Student
Union, the on-campus partner of Hillel. Not only is Hoffman involved in
Jewish life today, he serves as this year's JSU president.
When Charles Bronfman and other philanthropists concerned about Jewish
"continuity" announced Operation Birthright in 1999, it was in
response to studies suggesting that at different stages of their lives, Jewish
youngsters can be turned on to Judaism.. Enrolling a student of elementary
school age in a Jewish Day School is one means. Sending older children
to overnight Jewish summer camps is another. And, arranging for college
students and other young adults to spend time in Israel, being exposed to it
in its many facets, is a third.
Introducing myself, I asked Hoffman if he could take a little time to tell me
about himself and the organization he heads. He agreed and we trouped
over to the air-conditioned Montezuma Hall, where this zayde could take
notes without shvitzing.
Hoffman went to Israel two years ago on an Operation Birthright Program with
other youngsters from San Diego State. Israeli soldiers his own age,
carrying M-16 rifles, caught his attention, Hoffman said. Americans are
not used to seeing soldiers in the streets with their loaded weapons, but in
Israel such scenes are a fact of life because of the ever-present need
for soldiers to be ready to spring to Israel's defense Hoffman related
to those soldiers who are "defending our religion."
He also enjoyed the group of Jewish students from San Diego State who became
his travel companions on the Birthright bus tours all over Israel. When
the two-week trip ended, he wanted to keep up the contact.
That brought Hoffman to Hillel.
In his same sophomore year, he signed up for a Hillel sponsored program to do
mitzvah work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With other Hillel members,
Hoffman spent his Spring Break painting a school in the slums, playing bingo
with elderly Jews at a retirement center, teaching kids from a poor
neighborhood about dental hygiene (with the help of Portuguese interpreters),
and visiting a botanical gardens with other children from poor families.
Last year, Hoffman was elected as vice president for social affairs of
the Jewish Student Union, which as on on-campus organization sends a
representative to the Associated Students and also is able to sponsor
on-campus events. Soon, in fact, the JSU will have its first office in the
Aztec Center complex. Off campus, many JSU members use the Hillel
House as a social headquarters and there is considerable overlap between the
two organizations' memberships. Because of its religious nature, Hillel
is precluded from being an on-campus organization of the state university.
Nobody knows for certain how many Jewish students there are at San
Diego State University, but Hoffman is comfortable with the estimate that it
may be as many as 3,000, or roughly 10 percent of the total student
population. About 300 students, or 1 percent of the student
population, are signed up on Hillel's or JSU's mailing lists, and perhaps 50
students comprise the core group.
Asked why the numbers seem so low, Hoffman suggested two reasons.
One, he said, is that many students are under the impression that all people
do at Hillel are those "Jewish things" such as holding Shabbat
services or observances of the various Jewish holidays. Many college
students, afraid of appearing "dorky," or "nerdy," tend
therefore to avoid Hillel, not realizing they are missing exciting
secular activities such as local "mitzvah" days and group
participation in Operation Birthright.
Another possible reason, he said, may be the fact that fraternities and
sororities are quite popular at San Diego State. "This is a big
Greek school," he said, an assessment that was made clearly evident by
the number of booths representing the fraternities and sororities. Many
students who want to be Jewishly involved think that Alpha Epsilon Pi and
Alpha Epsilon Phi, the predominantly Jewish fraternity
and sorority of San Diego State, offer more exciting and encompassing
activities, he said.
There is some crossover between these organizations as well as cooperation, as
indicated by the fact that Alpha Epsilon Phi and Hillel shared one of the
outside booths during the current first week of classes. But, he noted,
the Greek organizations have heavy schedules of their own activities, which
along with the requirements of studying, keep some people from checking out
Hillel.
Hoffman said one of the Hillel activities planned this year which may attract
socially-minded Jewish students is a party cruise around the harbor.
Another one will feature an appearance by Slam poet Kevin Coval.
Whether Jewish students participate in Hillel, or the Jewish fraternity and
sorority, or attend classes offered by SDSU's Jewish Studies program, Hoffman
believes it's important for them to be in some way involved.
"It's our religion and our identity," he said. "They need
to find some special connection."